Depressed Teens Have Riskier Sex

A new study published in the Journal of Psychology, Health & Medicine found that depression is linked to risky sexual practices among teen girls. Over a period of 12-months, Dr. Puja Seth and colleagues at Emory University examined the relationship between symptoms of depression and sexual behaviors in African-American girls. They found that girls who exhibited symptoms of depression were less likely to ask a partner to use a condom, were much more afraid to talk about condoms with a partner, had more sexual partners and were more likely to have intercourse while high on drugs or alcohol.

Other research has supported these findings. A study from the Journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Careexamined depression and condom use attitudes and beliefs among African-American teen girls. This study also found that depressed teens were less likely to use condoms and that their attitudes and beliefs about condom use were the same as non-depressed teens. This means that the girls suffering from depression would forego the use of condoms even though they knew that condom use helped protect them from some of the risks of sexual intercourse.