The prevalence of internalizing and externalizing behavior problems and their relationship with demographic characteristics in children surviving the 2017 earthquake in western Iran: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background: Natural disasters may lead to personal and social dysfunction in children. Objectives: Therefore, the present study was conducted to determine the prevalence of behavioral problems and their relationship with demographic characteristics in children surviving the 2017 earthquake in western Iran. Methods: This was a cross-sectional-analytical study. The statistical population included all children surviving the 2017 earthquake in western Iran. The sample size included 335 subjects selected by convenience sampling. Achenbach Child Behavior Checklist (Parent Form) was the data collection tool. Chi-square and Fisher’s exact tests were used to analyze the data. Results: The results of this study showed that rule breaking (5.3%) and somatic complaints (2.4%) were the most and the least prevalent behavioral problems in children, respectively. General behavior problems (8.3%), internalizing behavior problems (7.4%) and externalizing behavior problems (7.1%) were the most prevalent, respectively. Gender of the children had a significant statistical relationship with somatic complaints and attention problems; loss of home with rule breaking, internalizing behavior problems, and general behavior problems; number of children in a family with anxiety; ages of the father with social problems, aggression, internalizing and externalizing behavior problems; father’s educational level with withdrawal; mother’s educational level with attention problems, aggression, externalizing behavior problems and general behavior problems; economic status with aggression (P<0.05). Conclusion: Given the significant prevalence of behavioral and psychiatric disorders in children surviving the earthquake, identifying children at risk is important for the prevention, early diagnosis, and treatment of these children.