Demographic, Social, and Economic Factors of Internalizing Problems in Referred and Non-Referred Adolescents

Lucía Antolín-Suárez, Francisco J. Nieto-Casado, Ana Rodríguez-Meirinhos and Alfredo Oliva
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Lucía Antolín-Suárez: Departamento de Psicología Evolutiva y de la Educación, Universidad de Sevilla, 41018 Seville, Spain
Francisco J. Nieto-Casado: Departamento de Psicología Evolutiva y de la Educación, Universidad de Sevilla, 41018 Seville, Spain
Ana Rodríguez-Meirinhos: Department of Communication and Education, Universidad Loyola Andalucía, 41704 Dos Hermanas, Seville, Spain
Alfredo Oliva: Departamento de Psicología Evolutiva y de la Educación, Universidad de Sevilla, 41018 Seville, Spain

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 14, 1-15

Abstract: Depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation are common internalizing problems during adolescence. Numerous studies have explored the role of certain demographic, social, and economic factors in their development in referred or non-referred adolescents, but not simultaneously in both groups. In this study, we examined the association between age, gender, parents’ educational level, and socioeconomic status (SES) and depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation in a referred group ( n = 211) and a non-referred ( n = 1401) group of adolescents. We also examined the moderating role that these factors play in the relationships between both internalizing problems. The results showed: higher levels of depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation in the referred group; an increase in both problems during early-to-middle adolescence in the non-referred group; an association between low SES and suicidal ideation in both groups; an association between low father’s education level and depressive symptoms in the non-referred group; and no gender differences in either of these two internalizing problems. The moderation analyses showed that age, in referred adolescents, and SES, in non-referred adolescents, moderated the relationship between depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation. This study contributes to the identification of groups of vulnerable adolescents that could constitute the target populations of preventive programs.

Keywords: demographic factors; social factors; economic factors; internalizing problems; depressive symptoms; suicidal ideation; adolescence (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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