Background & Objective(s): Emotional and behavioral problems among adolescents represent a considerable public health problem in developing countries. These problems are considered a source of stress for adolescents as well as their families, schools and community. Emotional health and wellbeing of young people have implications on their self-esteem, behavior, school attendance, educational achievement, social cohesion and future health and life chances. To estimate the prevalence of emotional and behavioral problems and to determine the association between these problems and socio-demographic variables among adolescent students in Assiut district. Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted in randomly selected secondary schools (2 urban and 2 rural) in Assiut district, and 400 students were included in the study. Self-administered questionnaires were used to collect study data which included: personal data, socioeconomic status scale and self-reported version of Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) (Arabic version) which included 25 items divided into 5 subscales (conduct problems, hyperactivity, emotional symptoms, peer problems and prosocial behavior) Results: About 45 % of adolescents were identified with emotional and/or behavioral problems using the SDQ. These problems included conduct, emotional, peer problems, prosocial and hyperactivity difficulties (36.0%, 42.3%, 5.0%, 28.5% and 24.8% respectively). Emotional difficulties were significantly higher (p value= 0.02) among females (40.4%), while conduct difficulties were more prevalent among males (47.5%). The majority of students with emotional/ behavioral problems (90%) reported high negative impact of such problems that was significantly associated with female sex, rural residents, students of low socioeconomic level and whose mothers were housewives. Conclusion: Screening secondary school adolescents in Assiut district revealed high prevalence of emotional and behavioral problems that was associated with perceived enormous negative impact. Further studies and intervention programs are greatly needed to address adolescent mental health needs.

PurposeThe aim of this study was to design an Arabic computerized battery of cognitive skills for training children with specific learning disabilities (SLD).Subjects and methodsNineteen students from fourth grade primary schools in Assiut, Egypt, who were previously diagnosed with SLD, agreed to participate in the rehabilitation program. The study passed through four stages: first stage, detailed analysis of the cognitive profile of students with SLD (n=19), using a previously constructed diagnostic cognitive skill battery, to identify deficits in their cognitive skills; second stage, construction of an Arabic computerized battery for cognitive training of students with SLD; third stage, implementation of the constructed training program for the students, each tailored according to his/her previously diagnosed cognitive skill deficit/deficits; and fourth stage, post-training re-evaluation of academic achievement and cognitive skills’ performance.ResultsStudents with SLD have a wide range of cognitive skill deficits, which are more frequent in auditory cognitive skills (68.4%) than in visual cognitive skills (64.1%), particularly in phonological awareness and auditory sequential memory (78.9%). Following implementation of the training program, there was a statistically significant increase (P<0.001) in the mean scores of total auditory and visual cognitive skills, as well as in academic achievement (P<0.001) of the study group.ConclusionRemediation-oriented diagnosis of cognitive skills, when tailored according to previously diagnosed cognitive deficits, leads to the improvement in learning abilities and academic achievement of students with SLD.

Background Dyslexia is characterized by difficulties in spelling and reading. The aim of this study is to identify domains of cognitive strength and weakness of students with dyslexia and to study the effect of an especially designed computerized training program on their reading abilities. This study was conducted on 2nd-grade primary school students in Asyut city, Egypt (n = 560). Identification of students with dyslexia was done using Arabic Reading Achievement test and a newly constructed computerized Arabic Cognitive Abilities diagnostic battery for Reading (CADB-R). Training was applied using a newly constructed Computerized Cognitive abilities training battery for reading (CATB-R). Results The prevalence of dyslexia was 13.9% (N = 52/373), and it was higher among girls (15.8%) than boys (11.7%). After application of the training program, there was a significant increase in post-training mean scores of CADB-R score in their total and all sub-items. Conclusions All struggling readers should be included in well-tailored research-based rehabilitation programs. Clinical trial registration Training Second-grade Dyslexic Students Using a Computerized Program in Assiut, Egypt (Dyslexia), NCT04642859, 12 November 2020. URL: https://register.clinicaltrials.gov/prs/app/action/Status?uid=U000495F&ts=10&sid=S000AD3G&cx=20acrp