ArticleEuropean journal of public health2019
Increase of internalized mental health symptoms among adolescents during the last three decades.
Article in European journal of public health, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 31 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
31 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- The global prevalence of mental health disorders among runaway and homeless youth: A meta-analysis.European child & adolescent psychiatry · 2025Pooled it
- The Association Between Emotion Recognition and Internalizing Problems in Children and Adolescents: A Three-Level Meta-Analysis.Journal of youth and adolescence · 2024Pooled it
- Longitudinal Evidence for Age- and Sex-Invariant Dimensions of Internalizing Symptoms from Childhood through Adolescence: Self-Worth, Social Anxiety, and Withdrawal.Research on child and adolescent psychopathology · 2026Article
- Article
- Policy implications for improved and equitable mental health - the Swedish case: a summative content analysis of findings across 26 years from two qualitative meta-syntheses.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Prospective associations between parental warmth and knowledge in late adolescence and depression and anxiety symptoms in young adulthood: a Swedish cohort study.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Caring for the 'Heads-Down Generation': Screen Time and Physical Health Complaints Among Adolescents in Poland.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
- Beyond the debate: toward pragmatic evaluation of Australia's social media age restrictions.The Lancet regional health. Western Pacific · 2026Review
- The impact of family and peer relationships on developmental trajectories of depressive and anxiety symptoms among young people: a person-oriented approach.Child and adolescent psychiatry and mental health · 2026Article
- Sugar-sweetened beverage consumption, waist-to-height ratio and psychological symptoms among Chinese adolescents.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Factors associated with school absenteeism in adolescents with mental illness: a multivariate analysis.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Article
- Sex differences in associations between hair glucocorticoids and internalizing symptoms in adolescents.Comprehensive psychoneuroendocrinology · 2025Article
- Associations between academic achievement and internalizing disorders in Swedish students aged 16 years between 1990 and 2018.European child & adolescent psychiatry · 2025Article
- Gender Differences in Alexithymia, Emotion Regulation, and Impulsivity in Young Individuals with Mood Disorders.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Article
- Co-occurring cyber and in-person victimisation of bullying and sexual harassment: the associations to depressive symptoms in Swedish adolescents.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Characteristics of children with a psychiatric disorder in 1999, 2004 and 2017: an analysis of the national child mental health surveys of England.Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines · 2025Article
- Healthcare Professionals' perspectives on AI-driven decision support in young adult mental health: an analysis through the lens of a shared decision-making framework.Frontiers in digital health · 2025Article
- Transforming growth factor-β superfamily members as potential biomarkers for adolescent major depressive disorder.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Article
- Why does youth unemployment lead to scarring of depressive symptoms in adulthood? The importance of early adulthood drinking.Scandinavian journal of public health · 2024Article
- Diverging trends in alcohol use and mental health in Australian adolescents: A cross-cohort comparison of trends in co-occurrence.JCPP advances · 2024Article
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4 authors.
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Abstract
backgroundPrevious studies suggest an overall increase of adolescent mental health symptoms globally since the 1980s until today, especially an increase of internalizing symptoms in girls. Due to methodological limitations of these studies, further studies are warranted to obtain a more solid knowledgebase.
methodsThis study was cross-sectional and compared two separate but geographically identical groups of adolescents in a middle-sized industrial municipality in Northern Sweden at two time-points [(i) 1981, n = 1083, (505 girls, 577 boys), response rate 99.7%; (ii) 2014, n = 682, (338 girls, 344 boys), response rate 98.3%]. All students in their last year of compulsory school were included. The same self-report questionnaire, consisting of four sub-scales (functional somatic-, anxiety-, depressive symptoms and conduct problems), was used at both occasions. Data were analyzed with descriptive statistics, two-way ANOVA and general linear model.
resultsSymptoms of anxiety and depression and functional somatic symptoms, increased among both boys and girls from 1981 until 2014 (P < 0.001 for all subscales), and the increase of these symptoms was higher in girls. Conduct problems were significantly higher in boys in 1981 and decreased over time so that in 2014 there was no longer a significant difference between boys and girls regarding conduct problems (P = 0.286).
conclusionIn this population-based study spanning over 30 years, both girls and boys showed increasing internalizing problems, while conduct problems decreased. To halt this trend, we need a deeper understanding of the impact of the major societal changes that have occurred during the last three decades.
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