title: Sex differences in self-reported anxiety in rural adolescents.
abstract: An anxiety disorder affects 13 out of every 100 children. The purpose of this paper is to determine if there are differences in self-reported anxiety between male and female rural adolescents. In total, 193 students aged 14-17 years in three western Pennsylvania rural high schools, USA, were surveyed. The majority of participants were Caucasian (86.5%, n = 167), female (53.4%, n = 103), and aged 15.57 years (SD = 0.93). The females' mean self-reported anxiety score was higher than the males' score (P < 0.0001). The females' mean score was 25.09 (SD = 13.83; a score > or =25 may indicate the need for further evaluation for the presence of a potential anxiety disorder), while the males' mean score was 16.88 (SD = 10.81). Of interest, all the five factor (specific types of anxiety) scores were significantly different between males and females at P < 0.05. Evidence-based implications for the mental health nurse's practice will be discussed. Anxiety screening is promoted to identify adolescents who may need mental health treatment and referrals, especially rural female adolescents.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health and Community Systems, University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15261, USA. krp12@pitt.edu
authors.forename: Kathryn
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Puskar
authors.forename: Lisa Marie
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Bernardo
authors.forename: Dianxu
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ren
authors.forename: Kirsti Hetager
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Stark
authors.forename: Suzanne
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lester
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000451:nursing* / Q000523:psychology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000451:nursing; D010414:Pennsylvania; D010555:Personality Inventory / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011594:Psychometrics; D012017:Referral and Consultation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012424:Rural Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012737:Sex Factors