2026-09-17 精神・神経医療研究センター,東京都医学総合研究所,東京大学
.jpg "思春期におけるメンタルヘルスの男女差 孤独感とやせ願望が多くを説明 ― 若者との共同研究 ―")
図1. 思春期女子のメンタル不調における孤独感・やせ願望の役割
＜関連情報＞
- https://www.ncnp.go.jp/topics/detail.php?@uid=3ss8tnB4BypDTL2g
- https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-026-02578-2
孤独感とやせ願望が、思春期の内在化問題における性差を説明する Loneliness and desire for thinness explain sex differences in adolescent internalizing problems
Zui C. Narita,Gemma Knowles,Susan M. Sawyer,Syudo Yamasaki,Darío Moreno-Agostino,Jordan DeVylder,Junko Niimura,Naomi Nakajima,Satoshi Yamaguchi,Mariko Hosozawa,Miharu Nakanishi,Yutaka Sawai,Daiki Nagaoka,Ryo Sasaki,Rui Zhou,Naho Yamane,Jacqueline Cosse,Daniel Stanyon,Haruka Goto,Riki Tanaka,Akito Uno,Satoshi Usami,Shuntaro Ando,Mariko Hiraiwa-Hasegawa,the Bridging Divides Young Persons Advisory Group
Nature Human Behaviour Published:15 September 2026
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-026-02578-2
Abstract
Girls are at higher risk of internalizing problems than boys. This disparity has widened in recent decades, but the underlying mechanisms remain understudied. Here we analysed data from 3,171 adolescents (46.9% girls) within the Tokyo Teen Cohort, assessed at ages 12, 14 and 16 years. At age 16, girls showed higher prevalence of internalizing problems than boys: depressive symptoms (15.9% versus 8.2%) and suicidal ideation (29.8% versus 18.1%). Coproduction with young people suggested loneliness and desire for thinness as candidate pathways. Using the mediational g-formula, we estimated that the effect through these factors at age 14 relative to the total effect of female sex was 34.7% for depressive symptoms and 46.3% for suicidal ideation at age 16. These findings suggest that social intermediates may contribute to the higher prevalence of internalizing problems among girls in this cohort, highlighting potential targets for interventions and policies informed by young people.
