Gender Inequality and Sex Differences in Physical Fighting, Physical Activity, and Injury Among Adolescents Across 36 Countries

Abstract

Purpose: Sex differences in adolescent health are widely documented, but social explanations for these sex differences are scarce. This study examines whether societal gender inequality (i.e., men's and women's unequal share in political participation, decision-making power, economic participation and command over resources) relates to sex differences in adolescent physical fighting, physical activity, and injuries.Methods: National-level data on gender inequality (i.e. the United Nations Development Program's Gender Inequality Index) were linked to health data from 71,255 15-year olds from 36 countries in the 2009/10 Health Behavior in School-aged Children (HBSC) study. Using multilevel logistic regression analyses, we tested the association between gender inequality and sex differences in health while controlling for country wealth (GDP per capita).Results: In all countries, boys reported more physical fighting, physical activity, and injuries than girls, but the magnitude of these sex differences varied greatly between countries. Societal gender inequality positively related to sex differences in all three outcomes. In more gender unequal countries, boys reported higher levels of fighting and physical activity, compared to boys in more gender equal countries. In girls, scores were consistently low for these outcomes, however injury was more common in countries with less gender inequality.Conclusions: Societal gender inequality appears to relate to sex differences in some adolescent health behaviors and may contribute to the establishment of sex differences in morbidity and mortality. To reduce inequalities in the health of future generations, public health policy should target social and cultural factors that shape perceived gender norms in young people.

Impact of Physical Activity Practice and Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet in Relation to Multiple Intelligences among University Students

“…Regarding the intensity of PA, it was found that men present higher values than women in relation to HPA. Similar data are found in several studies carried out on university students [60][61][62]. Likewise, men obtained higher results than women in relation to SPA.…”

Comparison of Intentional and Unintentional Injuries Among Chinese Children and Adolescents

“…22 The transition to adulthood is a period of increased risk of injury. 23 Boys reported more physical activity injuries than girls, 24 as well as more intentional injury. 8 Unlike unintentional injuries, girls with self-injury=suicide report rates and frequency of occurrence higher than boys, 25 but a meta-analysis in China found no gender difference in the prevalence of non-suicidal self-injury in urban areas among secondary school students.…”

Medically Attended Injuries among Slovak Adolescents: Relationships with Socio-Economic Factors, Physical Fighting, and Physical Activity

“…One of the explanatory factors of gender differences in medically attended injuries is societal gender inequality, which was recently positively associated with sex differences in adolescent injuries, physical fighting, and physical activity by de Looze et al [ 28 ]. According to them, in all studied countries, boys reported more physical fighting, physical activity, and injuries than girls, but the magnitude of these sex differences varied greatly between countries.…”

“…There can be various reasons why adolescents engage in fighting, such as self-defense, to gain or maintain respect, or anger, which can be addressed using various prevention strategies, including interventions that teach anger management and conflict resolution, that promote adolescent self-efficacy in using nonviolent strategies, and that address parental attitudes about fighting [ 34 ]. The effectiveness of such strategies and the search for other risk factors of this risk behavior should guide the future research in this largely neglected area of global health research [ 28 , 30 , 35 , 36 ].…”