Objective To explore the effects of after-school tutoring for school-age children on their emotions and behaviors， and to provide a basis for developing after-school tutoring and psychological support strategies for school-age children.
Methods Four elementary schools in a district of Shanghai were selected by simple random sampling method. Whole group sampling was conducted by class， and parents of students were surveyed by general questionnaire and the scale of strengths and difficulties. Information was collected on the basic conditions of children and families and the results were compared and analyzed.
Results This study showed that 88.26% of children attended extracurricular classes， of which 26.16% attended 3 or more classes， 42.5% attended cultural classes， 28.3% attended sports classes， and 59.8% attended art classes. Children who did not attend classes had higher pro-social scores. Children who attended reading class had lower scores for emotional problems that was a protective factor for emotional problems. Children who chose extracurricular programs in sports and reading also had lower overall scores for difficulties. Excessive use of electronic devices by school-age children on weekdays or weekends had a negative effect on emotional and conduct problem scores regardless of whether they chose extracurricular programs. It appeared that the choice of cultural programs， art programs and different levels of exercise intensity had no effect on children's emotions and behaviors.
Conclusion For children with low pro-social level， extracurricular classes should be carefully selected. For extracurricular classes， more reading and sports-related courses can be considered， which have positive effects on school-age children’s emotions and behaviors. Regardless of the choice of extracurricular classes， try to avoid excessive online classes.
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