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Gender, the gender gap, and their interaction; analysis of relationships with children’s mental health problems

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Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

A Correction to this article was published on 15 October 2021

This article has been updated

Abstract

Purpose

The present study seeks to examine gender differences in internalizing and externalizing problems either parent/teacher or self-reported and to investigate the influence of country-level gender gap on children’s mental health problems across countries with high and low gender gap across Europe.

Methods

The School Children’s Mental Health in Europe (SCMHE) survey collected data on primary school children living in six European countries, using self-reports (SR) from children (Dominic Interactive), as well as combination of parent- and teacherreports (P/T C) (Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire) to assess internalizing and externalizing mental health problems. The World Economic Forum’s (WEF’s) Global Gender Gap report’s Gender Gap Index (GGI) was used to categorize countries with high and low gender gap.

Results

Boys had greater odds of externalizing problems (OR = 2.6 P/T C, 1.95 SR), and lower odds of internalizing problems (OR = 0.85 P/T C, 0.63 SR). The gender gap’s association with mental health problems was different depending on the informant used to identify these problems. A small gap was a risk factor based on reports from adults for externalizing (OR = 1.53) and internalizing problems (OR = 1.42) while it was a protective factor for SR internalizing problems (OR = 0.72). For these problems the gender gap impacted boys and girls differently: a small gender gap was protective for boys but not for girls, including when controlling for key confounding variables.

Conclusions

The differential impact of country-level gender gap observed between self-reported and parent- or teacher-reported mental health is complex but nevertheless present trough mechanisms that are worthwhile to study in depth, with a special attention to the informants and the type of problems examined.

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Funding

This study was funded by the European Union, Grant number 2006336 (Kovess-Masfety).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Paris, LPPS, Paris, France

    Vivianne Kovess-Masfety

  2. Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA

    Miriam J. Woodward & Katherine Keyes

  3. The Romanian League for Mental Health, Bucharest, Romania

    Adina Bitfoi

  4. Centro di Psichiatria di Consulenza e Psicosomatica Azienda Ospedaliero Universitaria di Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy

    Mauro Giovanni Carta

  5. Yeniden Health and Education Society, Istanbul, Turkey

    Ceren Koç

  6. Clinic of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Vilnius, Vilnius, Lithuania

    Sigita Lesinskiene

  7. New Bulgarian University, Sofia, Bulgaria

    Zlatka Mihova

  8. Behavioural Science Institute, Pluryn, Research and Development, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands

    Roy Otten

  9. Laboratoire de Psychologie EA4139, Université de Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France

    Mathilde Husky

Authors
  1. Vivianne Kovess-Masfety
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  2. Miriam J. Woodward
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  3. Katherine Keyes
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  4. Adina Bitfoi
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  5. Mauro Giovanni Carta
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  7. Sigita Lesinskiene
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  8. Zlatka Mihova
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  9. Roy Otten
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  10. Mathilde Husky
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Correspondence to Vivianne Kovess-Masfety.

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In the original publication of the article, the first author family name has been incorrectly published. The correct author name is Vivianne Kovess-Masfety.

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Kovess-Masfety, V., Woodward, M.J., Keyes, K. et al. Gender, the gender gap, and their interaction; analysis of relationships with children’s mental health problems. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 56, 1049–1057 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-020-01950-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-020-01950-5

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