Psychosomatic health problems among adolescents in Sweden--are the time trends gender related?

BACKGROUND Since the economic recession in Sweden in the 1990s alarming reports about deteriorating mental and psychosomatic health among young people have repeatedly been published but reliable survey data are rare. The purpose of the study is to describe the trends in psychosomatic health problems among adolescents, focusing on gender differences. METHODS The analysis is based on repeated cross-sectional data collected 1988-2005 among about 15,000 adolescents (15- to 16-years old) within a county in Sweden. The data were collected in schools using a questionnaire that was completed anonymously. A composite measure of psychosomatic health problems based on eight items was used. RESULTS Psychosomatic health complaints among boys increased mainly during the in-recession time period, while the health problems among girls increased only slightly during the crisis, but increased dramatically in the post-recession time period. Only among boys did the variance in psychosomatic health increase successively across years of investigation, implying that the psychosomatic health among boys on average did not change over time. CONCLUSIONS In showing different trend patterns across genders, the present study nuances and qualifies previous reports on deteriorating mental and psychosomatic health among adolescents. Whether the gender-related trend patterns are due to differences in the relative influence of economic and social stress factors or if they reflect other factors such as changes in the educational systems should be addressed in future studies.