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Three decades of adolescent health: Unveiling global trends across 41 countries in psychological and somatic complaints (1994–2022)

Schrijvers, Karen, Cosma, Alina, Potrebny, Thomas, Thorsteinsson, Einar, Catunda, Carolina, Reiss, Franziska, Hulbert, Sabina, Kostičová, Michaela, Melkumova, Marina, Bersia, Michela and others. (2024) Three decades of adolescent health: Unveiling global trends across 41 countries in psychological and somatic complaints (1994–2022). International Journal of Public Health, 69 . ISSN 1661-8556. E-ISSN 1661-8564. (doi:10.3389/ijph.2024.1607774) (KAR id:108012)

Abstract

Objectives: This study examined (non-)monotonic time trends in psychological and somatic complaints among adolescents, along with gender differences.

Methods: Repeated cross-sectional Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) data from 1994 to 2022 covering 15-year-old adolescents from 41 countries (N = 470,797) were analysed. Three polynomial logistic regression models (linear, quadratic, cubic) were tested for best fit, including separate analyses by gender and health complaints dimension.

Results: Time trend patterns varied by gender and health complaints dimension. Increases were found in 82.3% of cases (linear 25%, quadratic U-shaped 28.7%, cubic 28.7%), while 14% showed no clear trend, and 3.7% decreased. Boys typically showed linear increases or no clear trend over time, whereas girls generally showed cubic or U-shaped trends. Psychological complaints often displayed U-shaped or cubic patterns, whereas somatic complaints mostly showed linear increases.

Conclusion: Psychological and somatic complaints demonstrated diverse time trend patterns across countries, with non-monotonic patterns (U-shaped and cubic) frequently observed alongside linear increases. These findings highlight the complexity of changes within countries over three decades, suggesting that linear modelling may not effectively capture this heterogeneity.

Item Type: Article
DOI/Identification number: 10.3389/ijph.2024.1607774
Uncontrolled keywords: adolescence; mental health; gender differences; cross-national; HBSC
Subjects: B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology
R Medicine > R Medicine (General)
Divisions: Divisions > Division for the Study of Law, Society and Social Justice > School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research > Centre for Health Services Studies
Funders: Department of Health and Social Care (https://ror.org/03sbpja79)
Depositing User: Sabina Hulbert
Date Deposited: 02 Dec 2024 08:52 UTC
Last Modified: 04 Dec 2024 11:12 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/108012 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

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