Comparison of anxiety prevalence among based and offshore National Iranian Drilling Company staff's children in Ahvaz, 2013

BACKGROUND: Anxiety is one of the most common psychological issues among all age groups including children. The main role of parents has been known to support their children. Being far away from a source of support has been shown to be a potential trigger for childhood anxiety. Periodical jobs, including offshore work, are among the main reasons for absence of one of the parents. Therefore, this study aims to assess anxiety in children of National Iranian Drilling Company offshore staff. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this historical cohort study, 160 students including 80 boys and 80 girls were selected through convenient random sampling from the schools of National Iranian Drilling Company. Data were collected using Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Inventory (by Reynolds and Richmond), consisting 37 items and a demographic questionnaire. The collected data were statistically analyzed by t-test and logistic regression tests through SPSS software. RESULTS: The mean anxiety score was 12.80 among offshore staff's children and 11.67 among the children of the based staff. The ratio of manifest anxiety among the offshore workers’ children was significantly more than the based ones’. CONCLUSIONS: Based on the findings, offshore fathers’ job affects the anxiety of the children.