ArticleJournal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines2025
Exploring mechanisms behind the increasing gender gap in adolescent psychological symptoms, 2002-2022: the role of national-level gender equality.
Article in Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers.
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Who cites it
14 citing papers in PubMed.
- Why girls have worse mental health than boys.Nature human behaviour · 2026Article
- Loneliness and desire for thinness explain sex differences in adolescent internalizing problems.Nature human behaviour · 2026Article
- Age-Stratified Analysis of Social Environmental Drivers of Depression Among Chinese Young People Aged 10-24 Years.Actas espanolas de psiquiatria · 2026Article
- Balancing barriers: Family, career, and gender equality in radiation oncology and radiation research-An interdisciplinary prospective survey among the young workforce.Strahlentherapie und Onkologie : Organ der Deutschen Rontgengesellschaft ... [et al] · 2026Article
- Changes in self-rated health and its association with social determinants - repeated cross-sectional surveys among Finnish adolescents from 1981 to 2025.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Gender differences in adolescent anxiolytic, hypnotic and sedative use across 32 European countries: a multilevel analysis of the influence of country-level gender inequality and economic factors.European journal of public health · 2026Article
- Perceived academic pressure and mental health in adolescents: a cross-sectional study examining individual vulnerabilities and school climate.Child and adolescent psychiatry and mental health · 2026Article
- Emotional and behavioural difficulties in gender minority compared to cisgender adolescents: identity specific findings from a contemporary national study.Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines · 2026Article
- Country-level gender inequality and sex disparities in adolescent chronic pain: A 47-country analysis.Preventive medicine · 2026Article
- Time trends in psychosomatic symptoms among Hungarian youth using repeated cross sectional HBSC data from 2002 to 2022.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Examining Secular Changes in Health Risk Behavior Profiles and Their Associations With Mental Distress During Adolescence.International journal of public health · 2026Article
- The changing epidemiology of child and adolescent mental health requires an immediate policy response.Public health in practice (Oxford, England) · 2025Article
- The silent crisis in girls' mental health.Nature human behaviour · 2025Article
- Mental health and substance use problems among adolescents in Lesotho: Prevalence, access to care, and association with lifestyle factors.Journal of research on adolescence : the official journal of the Society for Research on Adolescence · 2025Article
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7 authors.
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Abstract
backgroundInternalising problems have increased considerably among adolescents in the last decades, particularly among girls, resulting in widening gender gaps. This study examined whether the gender gap in psychological symptoms increased more in more gender-equal countries in the period 2002-2022, and if so, to what extent this could be explained by changes over time in the experience of stressors (i.e. schoolwork pressure, body dissatisfaction, low classmate support) among boys and girls in these countries.
methodsNational data on gender inequality (UNDP Gender Inequality Index) were combined with aggregated individual-level data from the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study (2002-2022) across 43 countries (N = 1,268,220). Absolute and relative gender gaps in psychological symptoms were regressed on survey cycle, GII and their interaction. Next, interactions of survey cycle and either schoolwork pressure, body dissatisfaction or classmate support were added to the model.
resultsIncreases in the absolute and relative gender gap in psychological symptoms between 2002 and 2022 were stronger in more gender-equal countries, mainly due to larger increases in psychological symptoms among girls in these countries. Also, less favourable time trends for schoolwork pressure and classmate support were found in more gender-equal countries for boys and especially girls. The larger increase in schoolwork pressure among girls in more gender-equal countries partly explained the increased absolute gender gap in psychological symptoms in these countries.
conclusionsWhile national-level gender equality was positively associated with boys' and girls' mental health in the early 2000s, this association has become negative for girls in more recent years. The benefits of gender equality for girls' mental health may have become overshadowed by the increased experience of stressors, especially schoolwork pressure. Far from advocating that gender equality is a negative situation, these findings suggest that much work remains to achieve full gender equality, where men and women really share the burdens and stressors in everyday life.
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