Gender differences for the relationships between posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, and anxiety in postearthquake adolescents: A panel graphical vector autoregression model.

OBJECTIVE: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and anxiety often co-occur in adolescents after experiencing an earthquake, and the relationship between them is influenced by both time and gender. METHOD: Three follow-up surveys were conducted with 474 adolescents (48.9% boys) after the Ya'an earthquake. Standardized scales were used to examine the relationships between PTSD, depression, and anxiety. Graphical vector autoregression for panel data was employed for data analysis. RESULTS: PTSD, depression, and anxiety mutually interact, with gender and time playing significant roles. The association between PTSD and depression was stronger for girls in the contemporaneous network, and the effect of depression on PTSD was also stronger among girls in the temporal network. However, the relationship between PTSD and anxiety was more pronounced in boys, both in the temporal network and the contemporaneous network. Conversely, girls displayed a stronger connection between depression and anxiety in the temporal network, while it was stronger for boys in the contemporaneous network. CONCLUSION: These findings highlight the intricacy of mental health problems in postdisaster situations and underscore the importance of implementing gender- and time-specific approaches in psychiatric interventions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).