Gender and socioeconomic inequalities in adolescent mental well-being in Barcelona: a repeated cross-sectional study

Aim: This study analysed gender and socioeconomic (SE) inequalities in adolescent mental well-being in Barcelona, Spain, using data from two cross-sectional waves (2016 and 2021), examining the potential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and considering pre-existing disparities. The research aimed to...

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Autores: Olivella Cirici, Marc, Vilagut Saiz, Gemma, 1975-, Sánchez-Ledesma, Esther, Serral Cano, Gemma, 1973-, Cortés-Albaladejo, Mònica, Montemayor Cejas, Pol, Pasarín i Rua, M. Isabel, Alonso Caballero, Jordi, Pérez Albarracín, Glòria
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2025
País:España
Institución:Universitat Pompeu Fabra
Repositorio:Repositorio Digital de la UPF
OAI Identifier:oai:repositori.upf.edu:10230/72626
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10230/72626
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10389-025-02573-3
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Adolescent health
Mental well-being
Inequalities
COVID-19
Gender
Socioeconomic status
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spelling Gender and socioeconomic inequalities in adolescent mental well-being in Barcelona: a repeated cross-sectional studyOlivella Cirici, MarcVilagut Saiz, Gemma, 1975-Sánchez-Ledesma, EstherSerral Cano, Gemma, 1973-Cortés-Albaladejo, MònicaMontemayor Cejas, PolPasarín i Rua, M. Isabel Alonso Caballero, JordiPérez Albarracín, GlòriaAdolescent healthMental well-beingInequalitiesCOVID-19GenderSocioeconomic statusAim: This study analysed gender and socioeconomic (SE) inequalities in adolescent mental well-being in Barcelona, Spain, using data from two cross-sectional waves (2016 and 2021), examining the potential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and considering pre-existing disparities. The research aimed to understand how these factors influenced mental well-being at two time points, with a particular focus on intersecting vulnerabilities. Subject and methods: A repeated cross-sectional analysis was performed using data from the FRESC survey (students aged 13–16 years: 2016, N = 2274; 2021, N = 2179). Mental well-being was measured using the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale (WEMWBS). Multivariate linear regressions accounted for individual- and school-level SE characteristics, including clustering at the school level, and effect sizes (Cohen’s d) were used to assess changes over time. Analyses included stratification by sex and exploration of collinearity among SE indicators. Results: Mental well-being scores were significantly lower in 2021 compared to 2016, with sharper reductions observed in girls (effect size = –0.43, 95% CI –0.52 to –0.35) than in boys (–0.28, 95% CI –0.36 to –0.19). Students from low SE backgrounds and state schools experienced the steepest declines, particularly girls (adjusted β = –4.71, p < 0.001). By contrast, immigrant students showed smaller differences between years, although they reported lower levels of well-being in both waves. Conclusion: The study revealed persistent gender and SE inequalities in adolescent mental well-being, with notable declines in 2021 coinciding with the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. These findings emphasise the need for intersectional, gender- and equity-sensitive strategies, particularly those addressing youth facing multiple and intersecting social disadvantages.Springer2026202620252026info:eu-repo/semantics/articleinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersionapplication/pdfapplication/pdfhttps://hdl.handle.net/10230/72626http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10389-025-02573-3reponame:Repositorio Digital de la UPFinstname:Universitat Pompeu FabraInglésJournal of Public Health (Germany). 2025© The Author(s) 2025, corrected publication 2025. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessoai:repositori.upf.edu:10230/726262026-06-12T07:21:37Z
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv Gender and socioeconomic inequalities in adolescent mental well-being in Barcelona: a repeated cross-sectional study
title Gender and socioeconomic inequalities in adolescent mental well-being in Barcelona: a repeated cross-sectional study
spellingShingle Gender and socioeconomic inequalities in adolescent mental well-being in Barcelona: a repeated cross-sectional study
Olivella Cirici, Marc
Adolescent health
Mental well-being
Inequalities
COVID-19
Gender
Socioeconomic status
title_short Gender and socioeconomic inequalities in adolescent mental well-being in Barcelona: a repeated cross-sectional study
title_full Gender and socioeconomic inequalities in adolescent mental well-being in Barcelona: a repeated cross-sectional study
title_fullStr Gender and socioeconomic inequalities in adolescent mental well-being in Barcelona: a repeated cross-sectional study
title_full_unstemmed Gender and socioeconomic inequalities in adolescent mental well-being in Barcelona: a repeated cross-sectional study
title_sort Gender and socioeconomic inequalities in adolescent mental well-being in Barcelona: a repeated cross-sectional study
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Olivella Cirici, Marc
Vilagut Saiz, Gemma, 1975-
Sánchez-Ledesma, Esther
Serral Cano, Gemma, 1973-
Cortés-Albaladejo, Mònica
Montemayor Cejas, Pol
Pasarín i Rua, M. Isabel
Alonso Caballero, Jordi
Pérez Albarracín, Glòria
author Olivella Cirici, Marc
author_facet Olivella Cirici, Marc
Vilagut Saiz, Gemma, 1975-
Sánchez-Ledesma, Esther
Serral Cano, Gemma, 1973-
Cortés-Albaladejo, Mònica
Montemayor Cejas, Pol
Pasarín i Rua, M. Isabel
Alonso Caballero, Jordi
Pérez Albarracín, Glòria
author_role author
author2 Vilagut Saiz, Gemma, 1975-
Sánchez-Ledesma, Esther
Serral Cano, Gemma, 1973-
Cortés-Albaladejo, Mònica
Montemayor Cejas, Pol
Pasarín i Rua, M. Isabel
Alonso Caballero, Jordi
Pérez Albarracín, Glòria
author2_role author
author
author
author
author
author
author
author
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv Adolescent health
Mental well-being
Inequalities
COVID-19
Gender
Socioeconomic status
topic Adolescent health
Mental well-being
Inequalities
COVID-19
Gender
Socioeconomic status
description Aim: This study analysed gender and socioeconomic (SE) inequalities in adolescent mental well-being in Barcelona, Spain, using data from two cross-sectional waves (2016 and 2021), examining the potential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and considering pre-existing disparities. The research aimed to understand how these factors influenced mental well-being at two time points, with a particular focus on intersecting vulnerabilities. Subject and methods: A repeated cross-sectional analysis was performed using data from the FRESC survey (students aged 13–16 years: 2016, N = 2274; 2021, N = 2179). Mental well-being was measured using the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale (WEMWBS). Multivariate linear regressions accounted for individual- and school-level SE characteristics, including clustering at the school level, and effect sizes (Cohen’s d) were used to assess changes over time. Analyses included stratification by sex and exploration of collinearity among SE indicators. Results: Mental well-being scores were significantly lower in 2021 compared to 2016, with sharper reductions observed in girls (effect size = –0.43, 95% CI –0.52 to –0.35) than in boys (–0.28, 95% CI –0.36 to –0.19). Students from low SE backgrounds and state schools experienced the steepest declines, particularly girls (adjusted β = –4.71, p < 0.001). By contrast, immigrant students showed smaller differences between years, although they reported lower levels of well-being in both waves. Conclusion: The study revealed persistent gender and SE inequalities in adolescent mental well-being, with notable declines in 2021 coinciding with the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. These findings emphasise the need for intersectional, gender- and equity-sensitive strategies, particularly those addressing youth facing multiple and intersecting social disadvantages.
publishDate 2025
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2025
2026
2026
2026
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
format article
status_str publishedVersion
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv https://hdl.handle.net/10230/72626
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10389-025-02573-3
url https://hdl.handle.net/10230/72626
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10389-025-02573-3
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv Inglés
language_invalid_str_mv Inglés
dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv Journal of Public Health (Germany). 2025
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
rights_invalid_str_mv http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
dc.format.none.fl_str_mv application/pdf
application/pdf
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv Springer
publisher.none.fl_str_mv Springer
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv reponame:Repositorio Digital de la UPF
instname:Universitat Pompeu Fabra
instname_str Universitat Pompeu Fabra
reponame_str Repositorio Digital de la UPF
collection Repositorio Digital de la UPF
repository.name.fl_str_mv
repository.mail.fl_str_mv
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