Internalizing and externalizing psychological problems in young adults from Quito, Ecuador

Psychological problems involve a wide spectrum of internalizing and externalizing behaviors that affect the population. Internalizing problems refer to emotional alterations, while externalizing problems refer to behavioral issues. Based on this, the objective of the present study was to explore the type of internalizing and externalizing psychological problems observed in male and female university students enrolled in two higher education institutions in Quito, Ecuador. In total, 553 university students participated in this study, including 42% men and 58% women aged 18-25 years (M = 20.79; SD = 2.07). The results obtained using the Spanish version of the Adult Self Report (ASR) showed that women reported a significantly higher number of internalizing problems than men and that externalizing problems occurred in both sexes, albeit with behaviours associated with gender stereotypes. Notwithstanding the lack of gender differences in self-reported substance use, alcohol and tobacco use was higher among men. These results highlight the need to implement context-specific promotion, prevention, and intervention programmes for young adults.