Social Inequalities in Adolescents’ Psychological and Somatic Complaints: Cross-National Trends Between 2002 and 2022 and the Role of Societal Changes
ObjectivesCross-national differences in long-term trends in social inequalities in adolescents’ mental health remain poorly understood, as does the impact of societal changes. We tested (1) whether the association between family socioeconomic status and psychological and somatic complaints changed b...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2025-01-01
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| Series: | International Journal of Public Health |
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| Online Access: | https://www.ssph-journal.org/articles/10.3389/ijph.2024.1607709/full |
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| author | Mathilde E. Brons Paola Berchialla Marco Helbich Maxim Dierckens Michela Lenzi Joanna C. Inchley Gonneke W. J. M. Stevens |
| author_facet | Mathilde E. Brons Paola Berchialla Marco Helbich Maxim Dierckens Michela Lenzi Joanna C. Inchley Gonneke W. J. M. Stevens |
| author_sort | Mathilde E. Brons |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | ObjectivesCross-national differences in long-term trends in social inequalities in adolescents’ mental health remain poorly understood, as does the impact of societal changes. We tested (1) whether the association between family socioeconomic status and psychological and somatic complaints changed between 2002 and 2022, (2) the extent to which these trends varied across countries, and (3) whether changes in income inequality, schoolwork pressure, and internet activity within countries were related to these trends.MethodsUsing data from 903,344 adolescents across 32 countries from the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study between 2002 and 2022, we employed multilevel models to investigate the research questions.ResultsWe observed a nonlinear increase in psychological and somatic complaints over time. On average, social inequalities in both outcomes remained stable across countries, although the trends varied from one country to another. Only income inequality explained the differences between countries in these trends. In countries where income inequality increased over time, social inequalities in psychological complaints became smaller.ConclusionOur study highlights ongoing global disparities in adolescents’ mental health problems, urging for more effective health policies. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-d2b09610fee948c388c5f8fa022658c6 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1661-8564 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | International Journal of Public Health |
| spelling | doaj-art-d2b09610fee948c388c5f8fa022658c62025-01-31T04:11:19ZengFrontiers Media S.A.International Journal of Public Health1661-85642025-01-016910.3389/ijph.2024.16077091607709Social Inequalities in Adolescents’ Psychological and Somatic Complaints: Cross-National Trends Between 2002 and 2022 and the Role of Societal ChangesMathilde E. Brons0Paola Berchialla1Marco Helbich2Maxim Dierckens3Michela Lenzi4Joanna C. Inchley5Gonneke W. J. M. Stevens6Department of Interdisciplinary Social Science, Utrecht University, Utrecht, NetherlandsDepartment of Clinical and Biological Sciences, University of Torino, Torino, ItalyDepartment of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Utrecht University, Utrecht, NetherlandsDepartment of Public Health and Primary Care, Ghent University, Ghent, BelgiumDepartment of Developmental and Social Psychology, University of Padova, Padova, ItalyMRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United KingdomDepartment of Interdisciplinary Social Science, Utrecht University, Utrecht, NetherlandsObjectivesCross-national differences in long-term trends in social inequalities in adolescents’ mental health remain poorly understood, as does the impact of societal changes. We tested (1) whether the association between family socioeconomic status and psychological and somatic complaints changed between 2002 and 2022, (2) the extent to which these trends varied across countries, and (3) whether changes in income inequality, schoolwork pressure, and internet activity within countries were related to these trends.MethodsUsing data from 903,344 adolescents across 32 countries from the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study between 2002 and 2022, we employed multilevel models to investigate the research questions.ResultsWe observed a nonlinear increase in psychological and somatic complaints over time. On average, social inequalities in both outcomes remained stable across countries, although the trends varied from one country to another. Only income inequality explained the differences between countries in these trends. In countries where income inequality increased over time, social inequalities in psychological complaints became smaller.ConclusionOur study highlights ongoing global disparities in adolescents’ mental health problems, urging for more effective health policies.https://www.ssph-journal.org/articles/10.3389/ijph.2024.1607709/fulladolescents’ psychological and somatic complaintsfamily SESsocial inequalitiescross-national trendsHBSCincome inequality |
| spellingShingle | Mathilde E. Brons Paola Berchialla Marco Helbich Maxim Dierckens Michela Lenzi Joanna C. Inchley Gonneke W. J. M. Stevens Social Inequalities in Adolescents’ Psychological and Somatic Complaints: Cross-National Trends Between 2002 and 2022 and the Role of Societal Changes International Journal of Public Health adolescents’ psychological and somatic complaints family SES social inequalities cross-national trends HBSC income inequality |
| title | Social Inequalities in Adolescents’ Psychological and Somatic Complaints: Cross-National Trends Between 2002 and 2022 and the Role of Societal Changes |
| title_full | Social Inequalities in Adolescents’ Psychological and Somatic Complaints: Cross-National Trends Between 2002 and 2022 and the Role of Societal Changes |
| title_fullStr | Social Inequalities in Adolescents’ Psychological and Somatic Complaints: Cross-National Trends Between 2002 and 2022 and the Role of Societal Changes |
| title_full_unstemmed | Social Inequalities in Adolescents’ Psychological and Somatic Complaints: Cross-National Trends Between 2002 and 2022 and the Role of Societal Changes |
| title_short | Social Inequalities in Adolescents’ Psychological and Somatic Complaints: Cross-National Trends Between 2002 and 2022 and the Role of Societal Changes |
| title_sort | social inequalities in adolescents psychological and somatic complaints cross national trends between 2002 and 2022 and the role of societal changes |
| topic | adolescents’ psychological and somatic complaints family SES social inequalities cross-national trends HBSC income inequality |
| url | https://www.ssph-journal.org/articles/10.3389/ijph.2024.1607709/full |
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