Adolescent Sexual Activity: Links Between Relational Context and Depressive Symptoms

• NCJ Number: 223683
• Journal: Journal of Youth and Adolescence Volume: 37 Issue: 8 Dated: September 2008 Pages: 917-927
• Author(s): Kathryn C. Monahan; Joanna M. Lee
• Date Published: September 2008
• Length: 11 pages
• Grant Number(s): P01-HD31921
• Sponsoring Agency: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study extended the work of Grello et al. (2006) by examining differences in trajectories of depressive symptoms based on the context of sexual activity (romantic, nonromantic, or both) as youth moved from adolescence into early adulthood.

Abstract

As expected, when compared to virgins, sexually active adolescents often reported greater depressive symptoms, with some variations by gender and context. Older males who only engaged in romantic sex or only nonromantic sex reported greater depressive symptoms than virgins at times 1 and 2; however, males of all ages who had both romantic and nonromantic sex partners did not differ from virgins in depressive symptoms. It is possible that this difference was driven by the number of sexual partners (highest among males who had sex in both contexts). Although this issue was not controlled in the analyses, it is an issue that should be explored in the future. Importantly, the analyses showed that when compared to virgins, any difference in depressive symptoms by relational context at Wave 2 were already present prior to youths' engagement in sexual activity, which was consistent with the finding of Grello et al. Girls generally reported higher average levels of depressive symptoms than boys, regardless of age, time point, or relational context. Five years after initiating sex, most differences in depressive symptoms disappeared regardless of gender, age, or relational context of sexual activity. The study involved 6,602 adolescents (44 percent male and 60 percent White) who participated in a nationally representative study (Add Health). Sexually active youth in romantic and casual relationships were first compared to virgins and then to each other by relational context. Longitudinal, multilevel models examined differences in the course of depressive symptoms based on sexual activity separately by gender and age group (ages 12-14 and 15-18). 5 tables and 44 references