Girls' clothing tied to mental health

LONDON, April 16 (UPI) -- The type of clothing worn by young girls could influence their likelihood of suffering mental problems later, British researchers say.

Researchers reached the conclusion in a study of British and Bangladeshi adolescents published in Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health,

Bangladeshi pupils who wore traditional clothing were significantly less likely to have mental health problems than those whose style of dress was a mix of traditional and British/North American tastes, but only for girls.

White British pupils who chose to wear a mix of clothes from their own and other cultures enjoyed relatively good mental health, the study showed.

The findings were based on almost 1,000 Bangladeshi and Caucasian British students, ages 11 to 14, who attended East London schools with diverse populations. The youths were questioned on social life, culture and health in 2001. They were surveyed on mental health two years later.