Internalizing Characteristics in Adolescents with Non-Cardiac Chest Pain: A Cross-Sectional Study from Turkey

Adolescents with NCCP exhibit significant internalizing symptoms, particularly anxiety and depression. Female gender and prior psychosocial stressors were associated with elevated symptom scores. Maternal age may have a buffering effect on adolescent stress levels. These findings underscore the importance of integrating psychological screening into the evaluation of chest pain in adolescents to enable early identification and intervention.