Parents are reporting worse mental health for their children than they did a decade ago, but different groups of children are struggling with mental health in markedly different ways.
That’s what our team at the University of Southern California’s Center for Applied Research in Education found using a widely used mental health screening measure. More specifically, we found that preteen boys – the subgroup with the worst scores – struggle more in areas that include externalizing behaviors like hyperactivity, inattentiveness and conduct problems. For teen girls – the subgroup with the second-worst scores – struggles were especially pronounced in more internal problems like anxiety and depression.
