Mothers Knowledge and Practices regarding Nail Biting among their Primary School Children.

Authors

1 Nursing Specialist in Benha University Hospital

2 Professor of Community Health Nursing, Faculty of Nursing- Benha University, Egypt.

3 Assist. Professor of Community Health Nursing, Faculty of Nursing- Benha University, Egypt.

Abstract

          Background: Nail biting often seen when the affected person is stressed, frustrated, nervous, embarrassed, hungry or when bored in situations. Mother is the first one to know and connect with a child and play the most fundamental role in a child’s early life. This study aimed to assess mothers’ knowledge and practices regarding nail biting among their primary school children. Design: A descriptive research design. Setting: This study was conducted at 25% of Primary Schools at Benha City, 5 schools from total schools (22) selected by simple random sample. Sample: Purposive sample of mothers from previous selected schools (n=131). Tools: Two tools used in this study: I): A structured interviewing questionnaire was concerned with socio-demographic characteristics of mothers and knowledge of mothers about nail biting habit. II): Observational checklist to assess children nails abnormality and practices of the studied mothers regarding controlling of nail biting. Results: 66.4% of the studied mothers aged from 30< 40 years old with mean ±SD 31.51±4.22. Meanwhile, 41.2% of them were secondary education, and 89.3% of them were from urban areas. Whereas 93.9% of them were married, 77.9% of them not worked and 59.5% of them had enough monthly income. 54.2% the studied mothers had poor knowledge about nail biting, 82.4% of them had unsatisfactory total practices level. Conclusion: 13.0% of studied mothers had good knowledge about nail biting, while 17.6% of them had satisfactory total practices level. There were statistically significant correlations between total knowledge and total practices scores of the studied mothers regarding nail biting. Recommendations: Develop health educational program for mothers and their children to improve knowledge, attitude and practices regarding prevention of nail biting

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Journal of Nursing Science Benha University
Volume 6, Issue 2
July 2025
Pages 242-254

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