Knowledge Regarding Conduct Disorder among Primary School Teachers in Selected Primary Schools of Shimla City

Article History

Received: 25.09.2020; Accepted: 08.10.2020; Revision: 18.10.2020; Published: 21.10.2020

Author Details

Mrs. Shashi Kiran¹ and Dr. Harvinder Kaur²

Authors Affiliations

¹PhD Scholar, Himalayan University, Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh & Clinical Instructor cum Sister Tutor, Sister Nivedita Govt. Nursing College, IGMC, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, India.

²Supervisor, Himalayan University, Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh India

Abstract: Background: Children with conduct disorders often experience problems in interpersonal and academic relationships and achievements, which are typically suffer serious problems for themselves and those care for them (involve their teachers). The behaviors associated with conduct disorders may be first observed by teachers and they play a pivotal role in the recognition, referral and treatment of conduct disorders. Objectives: The objectives of the present study were (i) to assess the knowledge of primary school teachers regarding conduct disorders (ii) to associate the knowledge regarding conduct disorders with selected socio-demographic variables. Material & Methods: A cross sectional descriptive research study was done from June-July 2018 among 100 primary school teachers selected from 20 schools of Shimla city. A pre-validated, self administered, structured questionnaire was used for data collection and random sampling technique was used to select the study participants. Knowledge score was measured in the following three categories: Good, average and Poor. Mean frequency & Chi square tests were used for statistical analysis. Results: The mean score of knowledge regarding conduct disorder was 5.18 ±1.77. Results revealed that only two fifth of the primary school teachers (43%) had average knowledge about conduct disorder. There was no significant association of their age, gender, professional qualification, teaching experience, religion and marital status with their knowledge regarding conduct disorders. Conclusion: Study reveals that most of the school teachers have inadequate knowledge regarding conduct disorders among primary school teachers and they need to be educated and trained regarding conduct disorders.

Keywords: Conduct disorders, Knowledge, Primary School Teachers, Shimla.

Introduction

Behavioural problems can happen in children of all ages. Some children have serious behavioural problems. Sometimes, a child's behaviour can affect their development and interfere with their ability to lead a normal life. When behaviour is this much of a problem, it is called a conduct disorder. Conduct disorder can cause a lot of distress to children, families, schools and local communities Savitha et al., (2016).

Conduct disorder (CD) is characterized by a pattern of behaviour that violates the basic rights of others or age appropriate norms and rules of society. Conduct disorder can be extremely challenging for parents, teachers, and mental health professionals. Conduct disorder also exacts a high cost in terms of personal loss for children, families, and society (Savitha et al., 2016; & Ogundele, M. O. 2018).

Conduct disorder is one of the most difficult disorders to treat because it is complex and requires carefully designed and coordinated treatment interventions aimed at multiple areas of functioning. Considerable resources are required to properly assess and implement an effective treatment plan for children with conduct disorder. Conduct disorder is one of the most frequently diagnosed disorders of childhood and adolescence (Savitha et al., 2016; & Ogundele, M. O. 2018; & Sagar, R. et al., 2019).

India is home to almost 19% of the world’s children. More than 1/3rd of the country’s population, around 440 million is below 18 years. In that 8–10% of children are between 6 and 10 years of age. Conduct is the most serious psychiatric disorder. Studies shows that 6–10% boys and 2–9% of girls have conduct disorders. Serious violation of rules, often stays outside at night despite parental prohibition begins before 13years of age and the problem of running away from home overnight are some of the major conduct disorders (Frank, T. 2000; & Naganandini, R. 2018).

Difficulty in school is an early sign of potential conduct disorder problems. While the child’s IQ tends to be in normal range, they can have trouble with verbal and abstract reasoning skills and lack behind their classmates. Consequently, they feel as if they do not “fit in.” The frustration and loss of self-esteem resulting from this academic and social inadequacy can trigger the development of conduct disorder (Sreevani, R. 2010 & Naganandini, R. 2018).

Objectives of the Study

1. To assess the knowledge of primary school teachers regarding conduct disorder in Shimla city.

2. To find the Association of knowledge of primary school teachers with selected demographic variables (Age, Years of teaching experience, Educational qualification, religion, Marital status).

Materials and Methods

Research Approach -Descriptive

Research Design- Descriptive cross-sectional design

Setting of the study- Primary School of Shimla City

Study duration- between June-July 2018

Study population- Primary school teachers of Shimla city

Sample size-100 Primary school teachers

Sampling Technique-Randomly Sampling Technique

Sampling criteria- 20 Primary school were selected randomly from all primary schools of Shimla city and 5 Primary school teachers who were present on the day of the study were selected randomly after explaining the purpose of the study.

Informed consent/assent was taken from selected primary school teachers and confidentiality of the teachers was also maintained

Inclusive Criteria- Teachers available during the period of data collection in study setting and who were willing to participate in the study.

Exclusion Criteria:

Teachers who were not willing to participate in the study and who were not present during data collection.

Development of Tool:

Knowledge related questionnaires (15)

Description of Tool

Section A-Socio-demographic characteristics of the Primary school teachers (Age, Gender, Educational status, marital status, religion and Source of information regarding conduct disorder).

Sections B-There were fifteen structured knowledge questionnaire having four options. The teacher had to choose right one. One mark was given for each correct answer and zero for incorrect answer. The maximum score was 15 and minimum score was zero. Scoring was done on the basis of marks as > 66%(11-15)=Good, 33%-66%( (5-10) =Average,<33 ( 0-5)=Poor

Validity of tool - by the experts in this field

Permission- obtained from the concerned head of the schools.

Ethical Consideration- Ethical approval was taken from the Institutional Ethical Committee of Himalayan University for conducting the study.

Data collection: By myself under the guidance of supervisors and Teachers was given 15 minutes time to complete that questionnaire and collected at the end of the prescribed time

Data analysis: With appropriate statistical test in terms of frequencies, percentage, mean, standard deviation and Chi-Square test. P value of less than 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant.

Results

Table 1: Socio-demographic variables of Primary school teachers