Comparison of psychosomatic symptoms in male and female high school students (second level) in Rudsar County

Introduction: High school students, after entering adolescence and experiencing puberty, go through a highly sensitive and formative stage. At this point, the physical and psychological differences between male and female adolescents become more evident. Therefore, paying attention to the psychological effects resulting from these gender differences can help pave the way for promoting their mental health and overall well‑being. The aim of the present study was to compare psychosomatic symptoms among male and female students in the second stage of high school in Rudsar County.
Methods: This study was a descriptive‑analytical research with a causal‑comparative design. The statistical population consisted of all second‑grade high school students in Rudsar County during the 2024–2025 academic year, totaling 1,958 individuals. The sample included 400 students (200 female and 200 male), selected through a two‑stage cluster random sampling method. Participants completed the Psychosomatic Symptoms Questionnaire (PSQ‑39) developed by Lacourt et al. (2013). All statistical analyses were performed using SPSS‑26 software. In the descriptive statistics section, data were analyzed using mean scores and standard deviations. In the inferential statistics section, data were analyzed using univariate and multivariate analysis of variance, and Levene’s test was used to examine the homogeneity of variances.
Results: The results of the multivariate analysis of variance indicated that the two groups differed significantly in the psychosomatic variable (F = 109.59, P = 0.00).