Behavioral Problems Among Preschool Children in Thailand’s Southernmost Province: A Cross- Sectional Study

Behavioral Problems Among Preschool Children in Thailand’s Southernmost Province: A Cross- Sectional Study | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Behavioral Problems Among Preschool Children in Thailand’s Southernmost Province: A Cross- Sectional Study Mayuening Eso, Rhysa McNeil This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7111030/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 8 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Background As Thailand enters a full-fledged aging society, investing in and monitoring early childhood development is crucial for sustainable elderly care—especially in the Deep South provinces, where unrest, poverty, drug use, and low educational attainment persist. This cross-sectional study investigated the prevalence of behavioral problems among preschool children and how these problems vary according to child characteristics and parental socioeconomic status. Methods Data were collected through questionnaires, with teachers from three early childhood centers in Pattani Province evaluating 150 children aged 2–4 years. K-means clustering was employed to group children based on 13 behavioral indicators. Frequencies and percentages were used to describe the distribution of the data, and the chi-squared test was applied to assess associations between behavioral outcomes and the demographic characteristics of children and their parents. Results The most prevalent behavioral issue was frequent crying or attention-seeking when demands were not met, affecting 10.6% of the children. The second most common behavior was a lack of cooperation or participation during learning activities, affecting 10% of the sample. Based on the behavioral scores, K-means clustering identified three distinct groups representing varying levels of behavioral risk. The first cluster, representing minimal risk, had a mean score of 0.89 and a median of 0. The second cluster, indicating moderate risk, had a mean of 8.75 and a median of 8. The third cluster, representing high risk, had a mean score of 27.17 and a median of 25.5. For further analysis, the moderate- and high-risk clusters were combined to form a single "behavioral problem" group. Overall, 22% of the children were classified as exhibiting behavioral problems. The prevalence varied across different demographic groups, suggesting that child and parental characteristics may influence behavioral outcomes. Conclusions These findings underscore the importance of early identification and intervention. Relevant agencies—including educational institutions, health services, and early childhood organizations—should be aware of behavioral issues in young children and take proactive measures to address them. Behavioral problem Preschool children Deep south of Thailand Unlabeled data K-means Clustering Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Reviews received at journal 04 Sep, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 22 Aug, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 20 Aug, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 08 Aug, 2025 Editor invited by journal 17 Jul, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 16 Jul, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 16 Jul, 2025 First submitted to journal 13 Jul, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7111030","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":499219257,"identity":"9f78d2ac-7552-403b-ab2c-ecb1e353803d","order_by":0,"name":"Mayuening Eso","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA7ElEQVRIiWNgGAWjYPACCRDB+ADGZSZWC7MBlMfYTKxVbBJEadFtP2Mm8XGHRZ68A/Ox6oI/hxn42w+wPy7Ao8XsTI6Z5MwzEsWGB9jSbs9sO8wgcSaBsXkGPi0HcsykedskEjc28Jjd5m04zMBwA+gwHnxazr8xk/4L1sL/rZgH6DB5glpuAG1hBGqZz8DDxszDdpjBgLCWZ8WWvUAtG5jZjKVntqXzGJ5JbJyN32HJG2/8bKtLnN/e/PBzwR9rObnjhw98xqeFgYEDEoEGhyGRDlTM2IBXAwMD+wMwJd9AXDoZBaNgFIyCEQgAcjZJpcPgyM8AAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"","institution":"Prince of Songkla University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Mayuening","middleName":"","lastName":"Eso","suffix":""},{"id":499219258,"identity":"c91ca9df-eca2-49bf-b326-db3c6258e78a","order_by":1,"name":"Rhysa McNeil","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Prince of Songkla University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Rhysa","middleName":"","lastName":"McNeil","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-07-13 04:08:10","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7111030/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7111030/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":89012576,"identity":"e253df92-ca27-4b71-9d95-619bbf3244cb","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-08-13 17:42:01","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":700775,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"manuscriptbmc20250716.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7111030/v1_covered_e91643f0-2f7b-4dde-b3c7-5a77cd7aad27.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Behavioral Problems Among Preschool Children in Thailand’s Southernmost Province: A Cross- Sectional Study","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"bmc-public-health","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"pubh","sideBox":"Learn more about [BMC Public Health](http://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"https://www.editorialmanager.com/pubh/default.aspx","title":"BMC Public Health","twitterHandle":"@BMC_series","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"BMC Series","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Behavioral problem, Preschool children, Deep south of Thailand, Unlabeled data, K-means, Clustering","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7111030/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7111030/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003ch2\u003eBackground\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eAs Thailand enters a full-fledged aging society, investing in and monitoring early childhood development is crucial for sustainable elderly care\u0026mdash;especially in the Deep South provinces, where unrest, poverty, drug use, and low educational attainment persist. This cross-sectional study investigated the prevalence of behavioral problems among preschool children and how these problems vary according to child characteristics and parental socioeconomic status.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eMethods\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eData were collected through questionnaires, with teachers from three early childhood centers in Pattani Province evaluating 150 children aged 2\u0026ndash;4 years. K-means clustering was employed to group children based on 13 behavioral indicators. Frequencies and percentages were used to describe the distribution of the data, and the chi-squared test was applied to assess associations between behavioral outcomes and the demographic characteristics of children and their parents.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eResults\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe most prevalent behavioral issue was frequent crying or attention-seeking when demands were not met, affecting 10.6% of the children. The second most common behavior was a lack of cooperation or participation during learning activities, affecting 10% of the sample. Based on the behavioral scores, K-means clustering identified three distinct groups representing varying levels of behavioral risk. The first cluster, representing minimal risk, had a mean score of 0.89 and a median of 0. The second cluster, indicating moderate risk, had a mean of 8.75 and a median of 8. The third cluster, representing high risk, had a mean score of 27.17 and a median of 25.5. For further analysis, the moderate- and high-risk clusters were combined to form a single \"behavioral problem\" group. Overall, 22% of the children were classified as exhibiting behavioral problems. The prevalence varied across different demographic groups, suggesting that child and parental characteristics may influence behavioral outcomes.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eConclusions\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThese findings underscore the importance of early identification and intervention. Relevant agencies\u0026mdash;including educational institutions, health services, and early childhood organizations\u0026mdash;should be aware of behavioral issues in young children and take proactive measures to address them.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Behavioral Problems Among Preschool Children in Thailand’s Southernmost Province: A Cross- Sectional Study","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-08-13 17:17:55","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7111030/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2025-09-04T07:16:31+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"24567459123133104357144908818718691323","date":"2025-08-22T08:49:42+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"218389498797577915434006243590696624054","date":"2025-08-20T12:43:18+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2025-08-08T12:20:04+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvited","content":"","date":"2025-07-17T09:51:01+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2025-07-16T08:06:13+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2025-07-16T08:02:57+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"BMC Public Health","date":"2025-07-13T04:01:49+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"bmc-public-health","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"pubh","sideBox":"Learn more about [BMC Public Health](http://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"https://www.editorialmanager.com/pubh/default.aspx","title":"BMC Public Health","twitterHandle":"@BMC_series","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"BMC Series","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"68ad277b-36c7-45b9-81d9-c85e8f79eb35","owner":[],"postedDate":"August 13th, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"under-review","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2025-08-13T17:17:55+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2025-08-13 17:17:55","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-7111030","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-7111030","identity":"rs-7111030","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"8U1c8b4HqxoKbykW_rLl7","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}