Asian pearlsRelationship between personal, maternal, and familial factors with mental health problems in school-aged children in Aceh province, Indonesia

•Mothers rated mental health problems in their school-aged children at abnormal level.•School-aged children with mental health problems experienced more emotional problems than behavioral problems.•Academic competence, family environment-relationship dimension and maternal parenting stress had relationship with mental health problems in school-aged children with mental health problems.•Child psychiatric nurse should assist young school-aged children with mental health problems.•Psychiatric nurse should improve family relationship and reduce maternal parenting stress.

Recently, mental health problems (MHP) in school-aged children have become a global phenomenon. Yet, the number of children affected remains unclear in Indonesia, and the effects of mental health problems are of concern. The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence of MHP in school-aged children and its relationship to personal, maternal, and familial factors in Aceh province, Indonesia. Participants were 143 school-aged children with MHP and their mothers. They completed the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, Social Competence Questionnaire, Brief Family Relationship Scale, Parental Stress Scale, Parent's Report Questionnaire, and Indonesian Version of the Beck Depression Inventory-II. Mainly, children were rated to have emotional symptoms by their mothers (37.8%). Factors such as academic competence, family relationships, and maternal parenting stress are related to MHP. Given the high prevalence of school-aged children that have emotional symptoms, child psychiatric mental health nurses should give special attention to assist them during their school years. Moreover, nurses should aim to improve family relationships and reduce maternal parenting stress.