This analysis, which makes part of a pilot study on the mental health of pupils attending eleven primary schools included in the Slovene Network of Health Promoting schools, deals with the children's perception of their mentaland emotional health. The methods of data acquisition were adopted to the primary school-age population; qualitative data were analysed by the method using a system of categories and sub-categories. What most usually makes children happy and satisfied is their relationships with other people, mostly their friends and family members, as well as their participation in joint activities. On the other hand, failure at work is the most common reasonfor their feeling unhappy and miserable. This failure is reflected in family relationships, as well as in the child's self-image and his ability to participate in peer groups. Children mostly blame themselves for their poor school record. Unsatisfactory relationships with the "significant others" may also be an important source of their unhappiness. Being successful, to some extent at least, is an important factor which promotes the child's confidenceand self-acceptance. As the child grows older, the importance of material goods gradually decreases and the child's self-image becomes his mainconcern and potential source of his happiness. Children begin to use active strategies to solve their problems and find the way out of their distress; they increasingly seek advice of their parents and friends, the later playing a crucial role in their decision making. In order to use the obtained data for the drawing up of effective programmes of mental and emotional health promotion, certain problem complexes identified in this study, e.g. school setting and poor academic performance, need to be explored in more depth. In this context it would also be judicious to find out how the mental health of schoolchildren is perceived by the teachers and/or parents, and in which aspects their perception differs most notably from that of the pupils.
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