Social, emotional and behaviour difficulties in Maltese schools

This paper presents the result of a national study on social, emotional and behaviour difficulties (SEBD) in Maltese schools, the first one of the kind in Malta. The study made use of ten percent of the school population in over one hundred state and non-state primary and secondary schools in Malta and Gozo, with seven thousand students, their parents and teachers selected to participate in the study. It sought to explore the nature and distribution of SEBD in Maltese schools, examine the relationships between SEBD and socio-cultural factors as reflected in the school, family and community contexts, and identify the risk and protective factors for SEBD. This paper presents the key findings of the study, and makes various recommendations in the prevention and management of SEBD and the promotion of socio-emotional literacy in schools. A key message is the complexity and multifacetedness of this phenomenon, and the need for multilevel, multisystemic interventions.