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Depressive Symptoms and Sexual Experiences Among Early Adolescent Girls: Interpersonal Avoidance as Moderator

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Abstract

Building on the growing body of research that supports the relationship between depressive symptoms and sexual activities in adolescence, we examined how individual differences in interpersonal avoidance and anxiety might moderate this association. Data were collected from 71 early adolescent girls (M age 13.45 years; SD = 0.68; 89% Caucasian) concurrently and 1 year later. Results indicated that greater depressive symptoms predicted a greater frequency of sexual intercourse both concurrently and 1-year later, particularly among more interpersonally avoidant girls. However, greater depressive symptoms predicted a greater frequency of non-intercourse activities 1-year later among less avoidant girls. Implications for understanding how individual differences in interpersonal style may serve as risk or protective factors in dysphoric girls’ sexual experiences are discussed.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by a grant from National Institutes of Mental Health (R01 MH063904) awarded to Joanne Davila and by funds from SUNY-Stony Brook. We gratefully acknowledge Melissa Ramsay Miller, Catherine Stroud, Lisa Starr, and Athena Yoneda, the staff of the Relationship Development Center, and the families who generously participated in this research. Additionally, we thank Dan Klein for comments on an earlier draft of this manuscript and Dan Foti and Roman Kotov for statistical consultation.

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  1. Department of Psychology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, 11794-2500, USA

    Rachel Hershenberg & Joanne Davila

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  1. Rachel Hershenberg
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  2. Joanne Davila
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Correspondence to Rachel Hershenberg.

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Hershenberg, R., Davila, J. Depressive Symptoms and Sexual Experiences Among Early Adolescent Girls: Interpersonal Avoidance as Moderator. J Youth Adolescence 39, 967–976 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-009-9446-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-009-9446-4

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