Personal and contextual factors related to internalizing problems during adolescence

Background Over the past decades, ample empirical evidence has been collected about the factors linked to internalizing problems during adolescence. However, there is a lack of research that use holistic approaches to study the joint analysis of a series of contextual and personal variables considered to be related to internalizing problems. Objective This cross sectional study analyzes the relationship between internalizing problems during adolescence and a constellation of contextual (parenting and peer relationships) and personal variables, some of which are linked to the control and regulation of emotions. Method The sample consisted of 2400 adolescents (1068 boys and 1332 girls) between 12 and 17 years of ages, who were selected in twenty secondary schools located in western Andalusia (Spain). They completed questionnaires in their classrooms. Results The results showed significant differences depending on the gender of the participant with girls scoring higher than boys in internalizing problems. This gender difference in the prevalence of problems increased with age. Also, significant relationships were discovered among most of the personal and contextual variables analyzed and internalizing problems, both in boys and girls.Our data showed an interesting