Preschool-level socio-economic deprivation in relation to emotional and behavioural problems among preschool children in Sweden

Natalie Durbeej; Richard Ssegonja; Raziye Salari; Anton Dahlberg; Helena Fabian; Anna Sarkadi

doi:10.1177/14034948231218040

Preschool-level socio-economic deprivation in relation to emotional and behavioural problems among preschool children in Sweden

Scand J Public Health. 2024 Jan 2:14034948231218040. doi: 10.1177/14034948231218040. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Natalie Durbeej¹, Richard Ssegonja^{1

2}, Raziye Salari¹, Anton Dahlberg¹, Helena Fabian¹, Anna Sarkadi¹

Affiliations

¹ Child Health and Parenting (CHAP), Department of Public Health and Caring Sciences, Uppsala University, Sweden.
² Respiratory, Allergy and Sleep Research, Department of Medical Sciences, Uppsala University, Sweden.

PMID: 38166546
DOI: 10.1177/14034948231218040

Abstract

Aims: The aim of this study was to explore the association between preschool-level socio-economic deprivation and emotional and behavioural problems among preschool children in Sweden using a multilevel approach.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we used data on 2267 children whose parents and preschool teachers had responded to items measuring individual-level socio-economic deprivation and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) for assessment of emotional and behavioural problems. Further, the Socioeconomic Structure Compensation Index (SSCI), collected from Uppsala municipality, was used to assess preschool-level socio-economic deprivation. Unadjusted and adjusted multilevel logistic regression models were used to explore the relations between preschool-level socio-economic deprivation and emotional and behavioural problems.

Results: In unadjusted models, children who attended preschools classified as highly deprived had elevated odds for emotional symptoms (odds ratio (OR) 1.71) as rated by parents. However, this association did not remain significant after adjusting for individual-level socio-economic deprivation factors. In both unadjusted and adjusted models, children who attended preschools classified as moderately deprived had elevated odds for peer-relationship problems as rated by parents (OR 1.63; adjusted OR 1.48). There were no significant associations between preschool deprivation and emotional and behavioural problems as rated by preschool teachers.

Conclusions: Swedish preschools may have a compensatory capacity in addressing children's emotional and behavioural problems, whereas preschool-level deprivation remained significantly associated with peer-relationship problems after controlling for individual-level socio-economic deprivation factors. This implies that peer-relationship problems in deprived preschools need to be addressed in a broader community context.

Keywords: Socio-economic deprivation; Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire; emotional and behavioural problems; preschool children.