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The European Journal of Public Health Advance Access originally published online on June 23, 2005
The European Journal of Public Health 2005 15(4):380-385; doi:10.1093/eurpub/cki097
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© The Author 2005. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Public Health Association. All rights reserved.

Youth Health

A possible contributor to the higher degree of girls reporting psychological symptoms compared with boys in grade nine?

Katja Gillander Gådin and Anne Hammarström

Correspondence: Katja Gillander Gådin, PhD, Department of Health Sciences, Mid Sweden University, SE-851 70 Sundsvall, Sweden, tel. +46 60 14 85 41, fax +46 60 14 89 10, Email: katja.gillander-gadin{at}miun.se

Background: It is a recurrent finding that adolescent girls report psychological symptoms in a higher degree compared with boys. The explanations for this difference vary, but the psychosocial school environment has never been a focus in these explanations. The aim of this study was to analyse whether psychosocial factors at school were associated with a high degree of psychological symptoms among boys and girls in grade nine, with a special focus on sexual harassment. Methods: The study was based on a cross-sectional study including 336 pupils (175 girls and 161 boys) in grade nine (about 15 years old), who answered an extensive questionnaire. The non-response rate was negligible (<1%). Logistic regression analysis was used to analyse whether school-related factors (teacher support, classmate support, sexual harassment), body image, and parental support were associated with a high degree of psychological symptoms. Results: Sexual harassment at school was associated with a high degree of psychological symptoms among girls. Conclusions: Sexual harassment must be acknowledged as a negative psychosocial school environmental factor of importance for the high degree of psychological ill-health symptoms among girls compared with boys.

Keywords: adolescents, psychological symptoms, psychosocial factors, school, sexual harassment


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