Association between First Sexual Intercourse and Sexual Violence Victimization, Symptoms of Depression, and Suicidal Behaviors among Adolescents in the United States

Findings from 2017 and 2019 National Youth Risk Behavior Survey

Bibliographic Data

ID15465113
AuthorsP Baiden (0000-0003-3877-2594, The University of Texas at Arlington, corresponding author), Lisa S Panisch (0000-0001-9463-129X, University of Rochester Medicine), Yi Jin Kim (0000-0002-4338-5145, The University of Texas at Arlington), Catherine A Labrenz (0000-0001-7494-5486, The University of Texas at Arlington), Yeonwoo Kim (0000-0002-3334-2627, The University of Texas at Arlington), Henry Onyeaka (0000-0002-1987-0941, Harvard University), Henry K Onyeaka (Massachusetts General Hospital)
Year2021
Volume18
Issue15
Pages7922-7922
Publication date2021-07-27
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1661-7827 • E-ISSN: 1660-4601
PublisherMultidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (PUBLISHER • CH)
DOI10.3390/ijerph18157922
PMID34360215
OpenAlexW3186529404
LanguageEN
Citations received8
References cited58

The objective of this study was to investigate the association between first sexual intercourse and sexual violence victimization, symptoms of depression, and suicidal ideation among sexually active adolescents in the United States. Data for this study came from the U.S. 2017 and 2019 iterations of the National Youth Risk Behavior Survey. An analytic sample of 6252 adolescents aged 14-18 years old (49.5% female) who reported ever having sexual intercourse was analyzed using Poisson regression. The outcome variables investigated in this study were sexual violence victimization, symptoms of depression, suicidal ideation, a suicide plan, and suicide attempts, and the main explanatory variables were age at first sexual intercourse and forced sexual intercourse. We also analyzed differences by gender and race. Of the 6252 adolescents who reported ever having sexual intercourse, 7.1% had their first sexual intercourse before age 13, and 14.8% experienced forced sexual intercourse. About 16% of adolescents experienced sexual violence during the past year, 42.6% reported symptoms of depression, 23.9% experienced suicidal ideation, 19.3% made a suicide plan, and 11.1% attempted suicide during the past year. In the regression analysis, early sexual intercourse was significantly and positively associated with suicidal ideation (relative risk (RR) = 1.15, 95% Confidence Interval (CI) = 1.02-1.30), suicide plan ( RR = 1.18, 95% CI = 1.00-1.38), and suicide attempts ( RR = 1.36, 95% CI = 1.15-1.61). Controlling for the effects of covariates, history of forced sexual intercourse was positively associated with the five outcomes examined with the relative risk ranging between 1.59 and 6.01. Findings of this study suggest that history of early or forced sexual intercourse is associated with poor mental health outcomes among adolescents and underscores the importance of developing interventions that offer psychological support in reducing the adverse impact of early sexual intercourse and forced sexual intercourse on adolescent health

Depression (economics · Medical emergency · Poison control · Poisson regression · Population · Psychiatry · Sexual intercourse · Sexual violence · Suicidal ideation · Suicide attempt · Suicide prevention · Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health · Child Abuse and Trauma · Clinical Psychology · Demography · Medicine · Psychology · Urological Disorders and Treatments

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