Positive childhood experiences and their association with behavioral problems in Thai early adolescents

Positive childhood experiences (PCEs) may promote resilience and reduce behavioral and emotional problems, but evidence from Asian low- and middle-income countries is limited.

To describe PCE prevalence and its associations with parent-reported behavioral and emotional problems among early adolescents in Bangkok, Thailand.

A cross-sectional school-based survey in Bangkok enrolled adolescents aged 10-13 years and their parents (n = 540). Adolescents completed a Thai-validated 7-domain PCE measure; parents completed the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Multivariable logistic regression estimated adjusted odds ratios (aORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Receiver operating characteristic analyses evaluated the discrimination of PCE counts.

Participants' mean age was 11.4 years; 54.8% were female, and 81.1% reported ≥ 4 PCEs. Parent-reported the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire risk/problem prevalence ranged from 13.0% to 22.2%. In multivariable models, mentorship was associated with a lower odds of emotional problems (aOR = 0.14, 95%CI: 0.06-0.32), hyperactivity (aOR = 0.35, 95%CI: 0.16-0.77), and low prosocial behavior (aOR = 0.09, 95%CI: 0.04-0.20). The opportunity to share ideas with caregivers was also protective for emotional problems (aOR = 0.13, 95%CI: 0.05-0.35) and hyperactivity (aOR = 0.07, 95%CI: 0.03-0.17). Having ≥ 4 PCEs was associated with lower odds of emotional problems (aOR = 0.26, 95%CI: 0.08-0.83) and hyperactivity (aOR = 0.32, 95%CI: 0.11-0.98). Receiver operating characteristic analyses showed acceptable-to-good discrimination; for the emotional problems area under the curve was 0.835 (95%CI: 0.790-0.881).

PCEs, particularly mentorship and caregiver-child idea sharing, were robustly associated with fewer behavioral and emotional difficulties in Thai early adolescents, supporting culturally relevant resilience-promoting strategies.