Risk factors of psychosocial problems among children working in workshops in Alexandria

This study was conducted to determine whether psychosocial problems occurring among working children are associated with other social or occupational factors. A sample of 34 working children ageing from 10-14 years was studied. They were classified into 2 groups according to the occurrence of psychosocial problems as anxiety, eating or sleeping problems, fatigue, nightmares etc... Interview data were examined to identify factors that might be considered as risk factors in psychosocial problems. Ten variables distinguished children with psychosocial problems. These variables were classified by the discriminant analysis technique, by order of importance as effort done, housing conditions, nature of the work, substance intake, educational status, degree of job satisfaction, income, nutrition, age and occupation. These variables correctly classified 100% of the affected group and misclassified 13.3% of the non affected group. This could alert health professionals to the existence of more pervasive disturbances in the child's labor conditions, as well as the child's environment.