International Journal of School Health
Volume:10 Issue: 1, Winter 2023

The prevalence of adolescent hypertension is on the rise due to multiplicity of certain risk factors, like obesity, unhealthy dietary behaviour, physical inactivity, tobacco use, alcohol addiction, and academic stress. The present study aimed to estimate the prevalence of elevated blood pressure and hypertension among adolescent school children and identify the factors influencing it. The present observational, cross-sectional study was conducted in two higher secondary schools in a block of Murshidabad district, West Bengal, from February to April 2021. The subjects included 15 to 19-year-old school students. Multistage random sampling method was used for selecting a sample size of 183 adolescent school children. Data were obtained by interviewing the study participants, measurement of blood pressure and anthropometric measurements. Chi-squared test and binary logistic regression were used for bivariate and Multivariable data analysis, respectively, with P<0.05 as the level of significance. The mean of Systolic Blood Pressure and Diastolic Blood Pressure were 115.02+10.853 and 71.52+8.484 mm of Hg, respectively. The overall prevalence of elevated blood pressure and adolescent hypertension was 21.3% (95% CI 15.4-27.2). The prevalence was significantly higher among those with paternal education of above middle school (AOR=1.803, P=0.011), high socioeconomic status (AOR=3.16, P=0.02), and high Body Mass Index for their age (AOR=11.474, P<0.0001). Smart phone use (P=0.03) and family history of hypertension (P=0.029) were also found to significantly influence elevated blood pressure among the subjects in bivariate analysis. Measurement of blood pressure, as a part of school health programme, should be given priority with emphasis on physical activity at school, health promotion to avoid unhealthy diet, and restricted smart phone use.

Theoretical and empirical evidence indicates that emotions primarily influence students’ behavior during adolescence. This study aimed to determine the effect of emotion regulation training on aggression, rumination, and self-control in female students with low academic performance. This study was quasi-experimental with a pre-test-post-test design and a control group. The statistical population included all female students with low academic performance in a junior high school in Tabriz, Iran during the first semester of the 2021-2022 academic year. Among them, 50 students were selected as the research sample by randomized cluster method and randomly assigned to experimental and control groups through the random coin toss method. The data were collected by Tangney ‘s self-control scale (SCS), Boss & Perry’s aggression questionnaire (AGQ), and Nolen-Hoeksema & Marrrow’s mental rumination scale (RRS). An emotion regulation training package was performed for the experimental group. The control group received no intervention. The data were analyzed by paired t-test and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) using SPSS version 27. After applying the intervention, the mean scores of variables were 45.40±8.10, 40.52±10.79, and 74.52±9.87 in the experimental group and 40.48±6.11, 48.56±11.58, and 88.2±10.74 in the control group, respectively. Hence, emotion regulation training was effective in reducing aggression (P=0.001) and mental rumination (P=0.014) and increasing self-control (P=0.019). This study proved that emotion regulation training could effectively decrease aggression and mental rumination and increase self-control in students with low academic performance.

The fear of failure in students may evoke positive and negative feelings such as pleasure, hope, anxiety, and stress, and they may resort to self-handicapping mechanisms to cope with these feelings. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of rational emotive behavioral therapy (REBT) on academic self-handicapping (ASH) and academic engagement in high school students. This was a quasi-experimental study using a pretest-posttest design with a control group. The statistical population consisted of all male high school students in Ahvaz, Iran, of whom 30 (aged 15-18 years) were selected as the sample through cluster random sampling and randomly assigned into the experimental and control groups (15 students in each group). All participants filled out the academic self-handicapping scale and the academic engagement questionnaire in the pretest. The participants in the experimental group attended 10 sessions of REBT, while the control group received no intervention. At the end of the intervention, all participants took the posttest. The data were statistically analyzed using SPSS version 25. The mean±standard deviation of academic involvement in the post-test of the control group was 54.66±7.17, which was significantly different from the REBT group (78.32±4.13) (P<0.001). Moreover, the mean±SD of ASH in the control and experimental groups were 93.20±16.40 and 78.00±17.47, respectively, which were statistically significant (P=0.020). There was no significant difference between the research variables in the pre-test and post-test of the control group, while there was a significant difference between the pre-test and post-test of the REBT group in terms of academic engagement and ASH in the students (P<0.001). REBT was effective in improving students’ ASH and academic engagement. Therefore, school officials are recommended to provide suitable conditions for the rational-emotive growth of students to improve academic engagement and control ASH among them.

One of the most prominent challenges faced by students with learning disorders is attention and working memory deficits. This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of play therapy in improving attention and working memory in students with specific learning disorders. The study employed a quasi-experimental design with pre-test and post-test measurements, including a control group. The statistical population consisted of all fourth-grade students with specific learning disorders in Dezful, Iran, in 2022. Thirty students were purposively selected and allocated to either an experimental or control group, with 15 participants in each group. The experimental group received play therapy sessions (ten 90-minute sessions and one session per week), while the control group received no intervention. The Test of Variables of Attention (TOVA) and the Working Memory Test Battery for Children (WMTB-C) were used for data collection. The analysis of covariance was used to analyze the data via SPSS version 26. The study included 30 students with specific learning disorders, aged 10.24±2.26 years. In the pre-test stage, the experimental group’s mean scores for central executive, visual-spatial sketchpad, and phonological loop were 59.47±2.03, 44.80±3.21, and 64.27±1.62, respectively. In the post-test stage, these means increased to 71.87±3.24, 59.87±2.97, and 78.73±2.93, respectively. Furthermore, the experimental group’s mean attention scores increased from 69.53±16.81 in the pretest stage to 84.93±14.35 in the post-test stage. The findings indicated that play therapy was effective in improving the attention and working memory of students with specific learning disorders (P<0.001). The results suggested that play therapy can be an effective intervention for improving academic achievement by enhancing attention and working memory in students with specific learning disorders.

Identifying the factors motivating children to participate in sport activities, such as football, is of great importance. That mentioned, the present study aimed to investigate the internal and external psychological factors affecting the development of children’s motivation to participate in football activities. In this study, we used descriptive-correlation method via structural equation modelling. We recruited 129 male children aged 11 to 14 years old who attended football schools of Tehran, Iran, in 2022. Moreover, the research variables were measured with a self-made questionnaire, including 32 items for assessing eight factors (four internal and four external factors). We also utilized structural equation method via Lisrel for examining the structural relationships among the research variables. The participants’ body mass index (BMI) was in a normal range {median of 16.50(1.45)]. The results showed that both internal factors (attractiveness of sports, T=4.828; sense of responsibility, T=5.618; challenge spirit, T=3.117; sense of advancement, T=4.909) and external ones (team climate, T=2.847; social encouragement and support, T=5.108; content of practice, T=4.010; coach support, T=5.552) had significant and direct effects on children’s motivation to participate in football. Furthermore, the results of model fit revealed the good fit (RMSEA=0.05) of our model. It was found to be necessary that coaches make efforts to meet children’s basic psychological needs (including autonomy, competence, and relatedness) in order to increase intrinsic motivation in children.

Hidden dropout is an important global issue which was studied before pandemics. The present study aimed to explore the experience of students’ hidden dropout during the COVID-19 pandemic. This is a qualitative study conducted in Tabas, South Khorasan province, Iran in 2021. The participants comprised 37 teachers, parents, and students who were interviewed through semi-structured interview. Data were analyzed via thematic analysis. Our results revealed that the new ways of teaching were greatly influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic, causing dissatisfaction in the participants. Five main categories emerged, namely unfair educational platform, decreased teacher authority, informalization of education rituals, reduction of the school social dimensions, and the emergence of action norms and preferences. Upgrading the educational platform on a national scale is one of the serious necessities. Additionally, it seems essential to increase the knowledge, skills, and technological literacy of all groups under similar conditions.