Determinants of health and well-being in adolescents
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Wien Klin Wochenschr https://doi.org/10.1007/s00508-020-01726-6
Determinants of health and well-being in adolescents Review of sex differences with a focus on boys Gloria Mittmann
· Beate Schrank
Received: 30 March 2020 / Accepted: 30 July 2020 © Springer-Verlag GmbH Austria, part of Springer Nature 2020
Summary A wide variety of variables determine health and well-being in adolescence. How these variables may differ in relation to gender or sex is often not clear. In addition, research on sex differences often focuses on females rather than males. This review gives an overview on the literature with respect to possible gender/sex-specific determinants and correlates of health and well-being in adolescent boys. The search strategy used the approach of a narrative review, which led to 17 papers being included. The data synthesis employed a qualitative and descriptive analysis approach. We found sex differences in three categories: clinical symptoms, health and wellbeing, and risk behavior. The results show a variety of determinants that lead to sex differences in health outcomes, such as peer relations, social economic status, physical activity and coping styles. Strengths and limitations of the literature and implications for future research are discussed. Keywords Mental health · Gender differences · Clinical symptoms · Risk behavior · Childhood Author contributions Idea and critical revision by Beate Schrank; literature search, analysis, and original draft preparation by Gloria Mittmann with supervision from Beate Schrank. G. Mittmann () · B. Schrank D.O.T. Research Group for Mental Health of Children and Adolescents, Ludwig Boltzmann Society at Karl Landsteiner University of Health Sciences, Dr. Karl-Dorrek-Straße 30, 3500 Krems an der Donau, Austria [email protected] B. Schrank Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Tulln, Tulln, Austria Karl Landsteiner University of Health Sciences, Krems an der Donau, Austria
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Introduction Adolescence is a time of physical, psychological, and social development [1]. Going through these changes in a healthy way (e.g. avoiding drug use, safe sex, stable mental health) protects adolescents’ health and well-being during and after this transition [2]. It is therefore of vital importance to promote healthy behavior in this period. In order to provide adequate health programs, it is also important to know as much as possible about how to best help each individual. This includes research about possible gender/sex differences relevant for health and well-being in adolescents. It is clear that gender/sex differences exist from an early age and are already pronounced in adolescence. For example, boys have been found to be more aggressive [3], take more risks [4], and have higher self-esteem [5], while girls have more health symptoms and use more emotion regulation strategies [6]; however, gender/sex differences are often neglected in research [7]. Why is it important to concentrate on gender/sex differences specifically in adolescents? By looking
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