Little is known about societal processes that contribute to changes in adolescent mental health problems. This study aims to fill this gap using data from the Health Behavior in School-aged Children study between 2002 and 2018 (ncountries = 43, nindividuals = 680,269, Mage = 14.52 (SD = 1.06), 51.04% female), supplemented with other international data. National-level psychological complaints increased more strongly among girls than boys. National-level schoolwork pressure, single-parent households, time spent on internet, and obesity were generally rising. In both boys' and girls' samples, increases in national-level schoolwork pressure, obesity, and time spent on internet use were independently associated with increases national-level psychological complaints. However, national-level obesity and psychological complaints were more strongly related among girls than boys. Results highlight the potential impact of societal-level processes on adolescent mental health problems.
Keywords: Gender; Health Behavior in School-aged Children (HBSC); Mental health problems; Mid-adolescence; Trends.
© 2023. The Author(s).