{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,11]],"date-time":"2026-09-11T18:07:43Z","timestamp":1789150063608,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":45,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"9","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,11]],"date-time":"2026-09-11T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1789084800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.plosmentalhealth.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLOS Ment Health"],"abstract":"<jats:p>\n                    Adolescence is a turbulent period of rapid biopsychosocial changes that help transition to adulthood. Adolescence maladjustment shows sex-specific vulnerability such that internalizing pathologies are linked with depression-anxiety in females, whereas externalizing problems linked are with substance abuse and conduct disorders in males. Developing countries with patriarchal societies produce early gender-inequity that might impact physical health, family, and social environments of adolescents impacting adulthood. The link between sex-differences in physical health, social support (school &amp; family) and adolescent problems in non-western context is unclear. Hence, adolescents from 19 schools (N\u2009=\u20095121, male\u2009=\u200948%, female\u2009=\u200939%, missing\u2009=\u200913%) filled Indian Adolescent Health Questionnaire to measure physical health, family, and social environment, Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire was used for adjustment problems (internalizing-externalizing). Males reported better physical health and nutrition whereas females had better attitude towards safety, substance use, and academics. Physical health, family, school and social environment were correlated (\n                    <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                    \u2009=\u2009.00), t-test showed sex-differences in all subdomains exce\n                    <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                    t hygiene and family environment. For adjustment problems, 22.8% of school students experienced borderline problems and 16% were categorized highly problematic, male students had higher maladjustment problems. Contrary to the West, internalizing problems showed no sex-differences, but male students\u2019 internalizing problems were due to peers. Partial correlation controlling sex and class showed that family support negatively correlated with emotion problems (r\u2009=\u2009-\u2004.05, p\u2009&lt;\u2009.05), hygiene attitude positively correlated with hyperactivity problems (r\u2009=\u2009.033, p\u2009&lt;\u2009.05). School intervention involving families might shield adolescents from mental health problems, targeting sex-specific risks such as nutrition and physical activity for females or drugs and safety for males might improve health. Using standard health measures might allow follow-ups for comparing health gender-gap across the developmental phases of individuals accounting for urban-rural divide accentuated in developing countries and diverse population.\n                  <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pmen.0000708","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,11]],"date-time":"2026-09-11T17:24:33Z","timestamp":1789147473000},"page":"e0000708","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pmen.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Association between physical and mental health in school-going adolescents: Sex-specific patterns of maladjustment in formative years of life"],"prefix":"10.1371","volume":"3","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0262-7785","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Varsha","family":"Singh","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi","place":["Hauz Khas, New Delhi, India"],"department":["Department of Humanities and Social Sciences"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Harish","family":"Chaudhury","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Vishwakarma Bhavan, Saheed Jeet Singh Marg, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi","place":["Hauz Khas, New Delhi, India"],"department":["Department of Management Studies"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mahim","family":"Sagar","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Vishwakarma Bhavan, Saheed Jeet Singh Marg, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi","place":["Hauz Khas, New Delhi, India"],"department":["Department of Management Studies"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"340","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,11]]},"reference":[{"issue":"3","key":"pmen.0000708.ref001","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"345","DOI":"10.1111\/jcpp.12381","article-title":"Annual Research Review: A 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