Three sides of a triangle: gender disadvantage, resilience and psychological distress in a sample of adolescent girls from India

Gender disadvantage is a known risk factor for common mental disorders, especially in low- and middle-income countries. Gender disadvantage and its associations with perceived psychological distress and resilience was examined in a sample of adolescent girls from a low-income urban city in India. A sample of 452 young women (M = 17.64; SD = 1.15) were administered the CAGED for gender disadvantage, the K-10 for psychological distress and CD-RISC to assess resilience. The three gender disadvantage items endorsed the most were: financial difficulties being a hindrance to opportunities (297/452; 65.7%); being criticized and ridiculed for gender-related issues (267/452; 59%); and emotional distress related to gender disadvantage (322/452; 71.3%). Of the sample, 66% (298/452) endorsed at least five gender disadvantage items. The least endorsed item in the checklist was an experience of sexual abuse 36 (7.9%). Findings from one-way ANOVA indicated higher scores on the CAGED domains and the total score were positively associated with severity of psychological distress and negatively with resilience (p < 0.01). Women with moderate-to-severe psychological distress were found to have significantly lower resilience scores compared to those with no distress or mild distress. Findings have important implications for gender-based mental health literacy and empowerment programmes for vulnerable groups.