Loneliness and a desire to be thinner may help explain higher rates of depressive symptoms in adolescent girls
Adolescence, the critical developmental stage between childhood and adulthood, is often marked by significant changes in friendships, appearance, preferences and attitudes. For some young people, it can be a tumultuous period accompanied by substantial emotional distress.
A recent study published in Nature Human Behaviour suggests that loneliness and a desire to be thinner may contribute to higher rates of depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation in adolescent girls compared to boys. The research, conducted by a team of international scientists, analyzed data from over 3,000 Japanese adolescents aged 12, 14, and 16 as part of the Tokyo Teen Cohort.
The findings indicate that girls were more likely than boys to experience internalizing problems, with depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation being 34.7% and 46.3% higher in girls at age 16, respectively, compared to their male counterparts. The study suggests that these factors could account for a significant portion of the sex differences in mental health outcomes among adolescents, indicating a potential link between emotional distress and these two factors in girls.
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