Psychological Distress in Argentinian Adolescent Student

Data gathered in a descriptive-comparative study on 1320 Argentine adolescent students are reponed. Samples include subjects living in three geographical regions: Buenos Aires, Tucuman and Patagonia. For psychological assessment the Symptom Checklist (SCL — 90 — R) in its Spanish version and a sociodemographic survey were used. We present data analyzed by sex, age and region, pointing out main differences found. Significant statistical differences by region, gender and age were found for some of the psychopathological dimensions analyzed, These data allow to hipothelize that differences in social norms and cultural patterns could explain differences in the way adolescents construct and express their emotions, mainly those called negative affects or psychological distress.