Explaining gender differences in symptoms of subjective distress in young adolescents

Gender differences in symptoms of subjective distress and four hypothesized mediating mechanisms were examined in a random sample of young adolescents who were initially studied as seventh graders in the early 1970s (mostly a ged 12 and 13) and followed up in the eighth and ninth grades respectively. The results based on structural equations modeling (LISREL) provided suppo rt for the hypothesis that adolescent girls experienced greater levels of s ubjective distress than adolescent buys. The higher level of subjective dis tress in adolescent girls is partially accounted for by the greater likelih ood of girls experiencing fluctuation in self-images, being sensitive to pe er reaction and using more avoidance defense mechanisms. Parental restricti on reported at an earlier point in time does not directly affect subsequent subjective distress independent of the other mediating factors. Copyright (C) 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.