Unit of Psychiatry, Department of Public Health and Medicinal Administration, & Institute of Translational Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Macau, Macao SAR, China; Centre for Cognitive and Brain Sciences, University of Macau, Macao SAR, China.
Beijing Key Laboratory of Mental Disorders, National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders & National Center for Mental Disorders, Beijing Anding Hospital, Advanced Innovation Center for Human rain Protection, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
J Affect Disord. 2025 Jan 15;369:227-233. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2024.09.067. Epub 2024 Sep 14.
Behavioral and emotional problems are common and often co-occur during childhood and adolescence. The aim of this study was to assess gender differences in the network structures of behavioral and emotional problems of children and adolescents in China based on a national survey.
The Parent version of Achenbach' s Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) was used to assess behavioral and emotional problems. To account for potential confounding factors in comparisons between boys and girls, propensity score matching was utilized. Network model differences were assessed using Network Comparison Test (NCT).
Data from 60,715 children and adolescents were included for analyses. Boys exhibited more severe total behavioral and emotional problems compared to girls. While several edges showed significant differences between boys and girls, the strongest association was consistently found between "Attention problems" (CBCL6) and "Aggressive behavior"(CBCL8) in both boys and girls, regardless of age. Network centrality was higher among adolescents compared to children. The most central problems commonly found across different genders and age groups were "Aggressive behavior" (CBCL8) (centrality values were 1.142 for boys aged 6-11 years, 1.051 for boys aged 12-16 years, 1.148 for girls aged 6-11 years, and 1.028 for girls aged 12-16 years), "Anxious/depressed" (CBCL1) (centrality values of 0.892 for boys aged between 6 and 11 years, 1.031 for boys aged 12-16 years, 0.951 for girls aged 6-11 years, and 1.099 for girls aged 12-16 years) and "Social problems" (CBCL4) (centrality values of 1.080 for boys aged 6-11 years, 0.978 for boys aged 12-16 years, 1.086 for girls aged between 6 and 11 years, and 0.929 for girls aged 12-16 years).
Testing effective interventions that address aggressive behavior, anxiety/depression, and social problems may be beneficial for reducing risk of psychopathology among children and adolescents.
行为和情绪问题在儿童和青少年时期很常见，且往往同时发生。本研究旨在基于全国性调查，评估中国儿童和青少年行为和情绪问题网络结构的性别差异。
采用父母版 Achenbach 儿童行为检查表（CBCL）评估行为和情绪问题。为了在男孩和女孩之间的比较中考虑潜在的混杂因素，使用倾向评分匹配。使用网络比较测试（NCT）评估网络模型差异。
共纳入 60715 名儿童和青少年的数据进行分析。与女孩相比，男孩表现出更严重的总体行为和情绪问题。尽管一些边缘在男孩和女孩之间存在显著差异，但在男孩和女孩中，“注意力问题”（CBCL6）和“攻击行为”（CBCL8）之间始终存在最强的关联，与年龄无关。与儿童相比，青少年的网络中心性更高。不同性别和年龄组共同发现的最中心问题是“攻击行为”（CBCL8）（6-11 岁男孩的中心度值为 1.142，12-16 岁男孩的中心度值为 1.051，6-11 岁女孩的中心度值为 1.148，12-16 岁女孩的中心度值为 1.028）、“焦虑/抑郁”（CBCL1）（6-11 岁男孩的中心度值为 0.892，12-16 岁男孩的中心度值为 1.031，6-11 岁女孩的中心度值为 0.951，12-16 岁女孩的中心度值为 1.099）和“社交问题”（CBCL4）（6-11 岁男孩的中心度值为 1.080，12-16 岁男孩的中心度值为 0.978，6-11 岁女孩的中心度值为 1.086，12-16 岁女孩的中心度值为 0.929）。
针对攻击行为、焦虑/抑郁和社交问题的有效干预措施的测试可能有益于降低儿童和青少年精神病理学的风险。
