[Evaluation of Cantabrian children's behaviour using the Eyberg questionnaire].
Ambulatory care pediatricians must be able to detect changes in children's behavior since these problems occur in approximately 50% of pediatric consultations. for this reason, useful and easy evaluation methods, such as the Eyberg questionnaire on child behavior are needed.


OBJECTIVE
To determine the prevalence of behavior disorders in Cantabrian children by using the Eyberg inventory and to evaluate the possible influence of certain variables (age, sex, parents' education, television, reading and school performance) on children's behaviour.


METHODS
A transversal study was carried out in June 1998 with the help of the parents of 796 children, aged from 2 to 13 years, who filled in the Spanish version of the Eyberg questionnaire for the screening of changes in children's behavior. All the children taking part in this survey were recruited from pediatric consultations in Cantabrian health centers. Forty-seven ambulatory care pediatricians took part in this study.


RESULTS
< "he/she can't keep still" (25.6%) and less frequently "he/she hits the parents" (0.4%). Lower frequency of behavior disorders was associated with younger age, female sex, greater parent education and later commencement of television viewing. Higher frequency of behavior disorders was associated with longer hours spent in television viewing. The children with behavior disorders spent up to 2.84 hours/week more watching television than other children. This difference rose to 4.99 more hours/week in children aged 10 to 13 years.


CONCLUSIONS
In view of the prevalence of behavior disorders observed in the population studied, ambulatory care pediatricians should use the Eyberg questionnaire as a matter of routine.
Capa García
L
L
Centro de Salud Besaya. Los Corrales de Buelna. Santander.
Bercedo Sanz
A
A
Redondo Figuero
C
C
González-Alciturri Casanueva
M A
MA
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002653:Child Behavior Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D013030:Spain; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires