Age and Gender Differences in Emotional and Behavioral Functioning Among Youth Referred to a Psychiatric Outpatient Clinic at a Public Hospital
Background: Emotional and behavioral difficulties are prevalent among children and adolescents referred for psychiatric care. This study examined how these challenges vary across age and gender, including regulatory functioning. It also explored whether emotion regulation mediates the relationship b...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2025-05-01
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| Series: | Children |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/12/6/683 |
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| author | Inbar Levkovich Uri Yatzkar Vered Shenaar-Golan |
| author_facet | Inbar Levkovich Uri Yatzkar Vered Shenaar-Golan |
| author_sort | Inbar Levkovich |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: Emotional and behavioral difficulties are prevalent among children and adolescents referred for psychiatric care. This study examined how these challenges vary across age and gender, including regulatory functioning. It also explored whether emotion regulation mediates the relationship between depressive symptoms and internalizing problems and whether this mediating effect is moderated by gender and age. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 661 children and adolescents (aged 9–17 years) referred to a psychiatric outpatient clinic. Participants completed self-report questionnaires assessing depressive symptoms (MFQ-C), anxiety (SCARED-C), emotion regulation (DERS), and emotional/behavioral problems (SDQ). Statistical analyses included group comparisons and moderated mediation modeling using SPSS 27. Results: Adolescents aged 15–17 years reported significantly higher levels of depressive symptoms, emotion regulation difficulties, and anxiety-related symptoms compared to younger participants. Girls exhibited higher levels of internalizing symptoms and greater emotion regulation difficulties than boys, whereas boys showed more conduct problems. A significant gender × age interaction was found for depressive symptoms. Depressive symptoms indirectly affected internalizing problems through emotion regulation, with the strongest effect among adolescent girls. Conclusions: The findings emphasize the need for developmentally tailored assessment and intervention strategies in youth psychiatric care. Emotion regulation emerged as a central mechanism linking depressive symptoms to internalizing difficulties, particularly in older adolescent girls, supporting the design of targeted interventions to reduce emotional distress. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-3301bcd7f95844eea3ed52ee1cb70760 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2227-9067 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Children |
| spelling | doaj-art-3301bcd7f95844eea3ed52ee1cb707602025-08-20T03:26:20ZengMDPI AGChildren2227-90672025-05-0112668310.3390/children12060683Age and Gender Differences in Emotional and Behavioral Functioning Among Youth Referred to a Psychiatric Outpatient Clinic at a Public HospitalInbar Levkovich0Uri Yatzkar1Vered Shenaar-Golan2Faculty of Education, Tel-Hai Academic College, Kiryat Shmona 1220800, IsraelDirector of the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Department, Ziv Medical Center, Safed 1311502, IsraelDepartment of Social Work, Tel-Hai College, Kiryat Shmona 1220800, IsraelBackground: Emotional and behavioral difficulties are prevalent among children and adolescents referred for psychiatric care. This study examined how these challenges vary across age and gender, including regulatory functioning. It also explored whether emotion regulation mediates the relationship between depressive symptoms and internalizing problems and whether this mediating effect is moderated by gender and age. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 661 children and adolescents (aged 9–17 years) referred to a psychiatric outpatient clinic. Participants completed self-report questionnaires assessing depressive symptoms (MFQ-C), anxiety (SCARED-C), emotion regulation (DERS), and emotional/behavioral problems (SDQ). Statistical analyses included group comparisons and moderated mediation modeling using SPSS 27. Results: Adolescents aged 15–17 years reported significantly higher levels of depressive symptoms, emotion regulation difficulties, and anxiety-related symptoms compared to younger participants. Girls exhibited higher levels of internalizing symptoms and greater emotion regulation difficulties than boys, whereas boys showed more conduct problems. A significant gender × age interaction was found for depressive symptoms. Depressive symptoms indirectly affected internalizing problems through emotion regulation, with the strongest effect among adolescent girls. Conclusions: The findings emphasize the need for developmentally tailored assessment and intervention strategies in youth psychiatric care. Emotion regulation emerged as a central mechanism linking depressive symptoms to internalizing difficulties, particularly in older adolescent girls, supporting the design of targeted interventions to reduce emotional distress.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/12/6/683mental healthemotion regulationdepressiongender differencesadolescentschildren |
| spellingShingle | Inbar Levkovich Uri Yatzkar Vered Shenaar-Golan Age and Gender Differences in Emotional and Behavioral Functioning Among Youth Referred to a Psychiatric Outpatient Clinic at a Public Hospital Children mental health emotion regulation depression gender differences adolescents children |
| title | Age and Gender Differences in Emotional and Behavioral Functioning Among Youth Referred to a Psychiatric Outpatient Clinic at a Public Hospital |
| title_full | Age and Gender Differences in Emotional and Behavioral Functioning Among Youth Referred to a Psychiatric Outpatient Clinic at a Public Hospital |
| title_fullStr | Age and Gender Differences in Emotional and Behavioral Functioning Among Youth Referred to a Psychiatric Outpatient Clinic at a Public Hospital |
| title_full_unstemmed | Age and Gender Differences in Emotional and Behavioral Functioning Among Youth Referred to a Psychiatric Outpatient Clinic at a Public Hospital |
| title_short | Age and Gender Differences in Emotional and Behavioral Functioning Among Youth Referred to a Psychiatric Outpatient Clinic at a Public Hospital |
| title_sort | age and gender differences in emotional and behavioral functioning among youth referred to a psychiatric outpatient clinic at a public hospital |
| topic | mental health emotion regulation depression gender differences adolescents children |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/12/6/683 |
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