Gender differences in subjective well‐being, self‐esteem and psychosocial functioning in adolescents with symptoms of anxiety and depression: Findings from the Nord‐Trøndelag health study
- 25 January 2011
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Wiley in Scandinavian Journal of Psychology
- Vol. 52 (3), 261-267
- https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9450.2010.00859.x
Abstract
Derdikman‐Eiron, R., Indredavik, M. S., Bratberg, G. H., Taraldsen, G., Bakken, I. J. & Colton, M. (2011). Gender differences in subjective well‐being, self‐esteem and psychosocial functioning in adolescents with symptoms of anxiety and depression: Findings from the Nord‐Trøndelag health study. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology52, 261–267. Gender differences in the prevalence of symptoms of anxiety and depression during adolescence are well documented. However, little attention has been given to differences in subjective well‐being, self‐esteem and psychosocial functioning between boys and girls with symptoms of anxiety and depression. The aim of this study was to investigate gender differences in the associations between such symptoms and subjective well‐being, self‐esteem, school functioning and social relations in adolescents. Data were taken from a major population‐based Norwegian study, the Nord‐Trøndelag Health study (HUNT), in which 8984 (91% of all invited) adolescents, aged 13–19 years, completed an extensive self‐report questionnaire. Although prevalence rates of symptoms of anxiety and depression were higher in girls than in boys, a significant interaction between gender and symptoms of anxiety and depression was found in respect of each of the following outcome variables: subjective well‐being, self‐esteem, academic problems, frequency of meeting friends and the feeling of not having enough friends. These interactions indicate that the associations between symptoms of anxiety and depression and lower subjective well‐being and self‐esteem, more academic problems in school and lower social functioning were stronger for boys than for girls. Our findings may contribute to an earlier assessment and more efficient treatment of male adolescent anxiety and depression.Keywords
This publication has 30 references indexed in Scilit:
- Concurrent changes in conduct problems and depressive symptoms in early adolescents: A developmental person-centered approachDevelopment and Psychopathology, 2009
- Disorders of Childhood and Adolescence: Gender and PsychopathologyAnnual Review of Clinical Psychology, 2008
- Parasympathetic Regulation and Parental Socialization of Emotion: Biopsychosocial Processes of Adjustment in PreschoolersSocial Development, 2008
- Adolescent adjustment and well‐being: Effects of parental divorce and distressScandinavian Journal of Psychology, 2006
- Trajectories of Peer Victimization and Perceptions of the Self and Schoolmates: Precursors to Internalizing and Externalizing ProblemsChild Development, 2005
- The prevalence of child‐psychiatric disorders among 8–9‐year‐old children in Danish mainstream schoolsActa Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 2005
- Measuring the mental health status of the Norwegian population: A comparison of the instruments SCL-25, SCL-10, SCL-5 and MHI-5 (SF-36)Nordic Journal of Psychiatry, 2003
- Adolescent psychopathology: II. Psychosocial risk factors for depression.Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 1994
- How well can a few questionnaire items indicate anxiety and depression?Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 1993
- Hypertension labelling, life events and psychological well-beingPsychological Medicine, 1990