Viewing irritability in adolescence through a gender lens

ObjectiveThe most common psychiatric disorders in adolescents are anxiety and mood disorders. Often, anxiety itself is a prelude to depression and irritability is an antecedent to both. Thus, irritability likely heralds the onset of mental illness in adolescents, especially those disorders with a bias in gender prevalence. Consequently, it is necessary to examine irritability to obtain a comprehensive understanding of this phenomenon. Further, factoring gender into these examinations may provide insights into its nature and the role it putatively plays in the development of anxiety, depression and suicide in adolescence. Presently, efforts for early intervention look to identifying established disorders early in their course; however, by detecting symptoms that are precursors it may be possible to shift the focus of health practice and policy.ConclusionsViewing irritability through a lens of gender during adolescence may yield key insights that inform our understanding of how disorders and outcomes that have a bias in gender prevalence emerge. By considering the divergent experiences of puberty, and factoring these into our mechanistic understanding of irritability, pathways for future systematic examinations become clearer.