Symptoms of internalizing disorders such as depression and anxiety increase in adolescence, especially in females. However, gender differences in depression and anxiety symptoms emerge only after puberty onset. Levels of alexithymia, characterized by difficulties identifying and describing one’s emotions, are elevated in depression and anxiety, and fluctuate across adolescence in a gender-specific manner. This study investigated changes in alexithymia across adolescence, and explored the potential role of alexithymia in the development of depression and anxiety, separately for females and males. Accordingly, 140 adolescents aged 11 to 21 years (77 female) completed self-report measures of alexithymia, depression and anxiety, and pubertal development. For females alone, pubertal maturation was associated with alexithymic traits (specifically difficulties identifying and describing feelings), as well as symptoms of depression and anxiety. After accounting for alexithymia, the relationship between puberty and depression and anxiety was absent or reduced in females. Thus, alexithymic traits may have differential consequences for males and females, and possibly contribute towards increased depression and anxiety symptoms in females during adolescence. We propose that developmental changes in alexithymia should be considered when studying the onset and development of internalizing psychological disorders during adolescence.

抑郁和焦虑等内化障碍的症状在青春期会增加，尤其是女性。然而，抑郁和焦虑症状的性别差异只有在青春期开始后才会出现。述情障碍的特点是难以识别和描述自己的情绪，在抑郁和焦虑的情况下会升高，并且在青春期以性别特异性的方式波动。这项研究调查了青春期述情障碍的变化，并分别探讨了女性和男性述情障碍在抑郁和焦虑发展中的潜在作用。因此，140 名 11 至 21 岁的青少年（77 名女性）完成了述情障碍、抑郁和焦虑以及青春期发育的自我报告测量。仅就女性而言，青春期成熟与述情障碍特征（特别是难以识别和描述感受）以及抑郁和焦虑症状有关。考虑到述情障碍后，女性青春期与抑郁和焦虑之间的关系不存在或减少。因此，述情障碍特征可能对男性和女性产生不同的影响，并可能导致女性青春期抑郁和焦虑症状的增加。我们建议，在研究青春期内化心理障碍的发生和发展时，应考虑述情障碍的发展变化。