Risk and Protective Factors of Internalizing and Externalizing Symptoms Among Mongolian Adolescents

Although internalizing and externalizing symptoms are common among Mongolian adolescents, the risk and protective factors of these symptoms are less investigated in this population. This study explored depression, anxiety, eating-related difficulty, self-harming, bullying, smoking, and alcohol drinking among Mongolian adolescents in relation to the individual, family, and peer-school factors. 1667 adolescents participated through an online platform, and the cross-sectional data analysis was performed on SPSS .25. As hypothesized, parental abuse, peer pressure, and bullying victimization positively predicted all internalizing and externalizing symptoms or were the shared risk factors. Parental emotional neglect positively predicted only self-harming. In contrast, protective factors varied regarding each symptom. Females exhibited more internalizing symptoms, and males exhibited more externalizing symptoms, except for alcohol drinking. Significant age and locational differences were found that older adolescents and those from Ulaanbaatar city were at higher risk to exhibit internalizing and externalizing symptoms. The implication of these results and the future directions are discussed.