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Gender-Specific Relationships Between Depressive Symptoms, Marijuana Use, Parental Communication and Risky Sexual Behavior in Adolescence

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Abstract

A large body of research has identified correlates of risky sexual behavior, with depressive symptoms and marijuana use among the most consistent psychosocial predictors of sexual risk. However, substantially less research has examined the relationship between these risk variables and adolescent risky sexual behavior over time as well as the interaction of these individual-level predictors with family-level variables such as parenting factors. Additionally, most studies have been restricted to one index of risky sexual behavior, have not taken into account the complex role of gender, and have not controlled for several of the factors that independently confer risk for risky sexual behavior. Therefore, the current study investigated the association between depressive symptoms and parameters of parenting on marijuana use, number of sexual partners and condom usage measured 9 months later for both boys and girls. Participants were 9th and 10th grade adolescents (N = 1,145; 57.7 % female). We found that depressive symptoms may be a gender-specific risk factor for certain indices of risky sexual behavior. For boys only, marijuana use at Time 2 accounted for the variance in the relationship between depressive symptoms at Time 1 and number of partners at Time 2. Additionally, strictness of family rules at Time 1 was associated with the number of partners with whom girls engaged in sex at Time 2, but only among those with lower levels of depressive symptoms at Time 1. Results from the current investigation speak to the utility of examining the complex, gender-specific pathways to sexual risk in adolescents. Findings suggest that treatment of mental health and substance use problems may have important implications in rates of risky sexual behavior and, conceivably, controlling the high rates of serious individual and public health repercussions.

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Acknowledgments

RS conceived of the study, conducted the statistical analyses and drafted the manuscript; RM is the principal investigator for the parent project from which this study was derived, helped to conceive of the study, was involved in the interpretation of the data and participated in drafting the manuscript; LW helped to draft the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript. This publication was made possible by Grant number P01 CA098262 (PI: RM) from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and Grant number F31DA032244-02 (PI: RS) from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of NIDA, NCI or the National Institutes of Health.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Chicago, 1747 W Roosevelt Street, Chicago, IL, 60608, USA

    Randi Melissa Schuster & Robin Mermelstein

  2. Institute for Health Research and Policy, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA

    Randi Melissa Schuster & Robin Mermelstein

  3. Department of Medical Social Sciences, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA

    Laurie Wakschlag

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  1. Randi Melissa Schuster
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  2. Robin Mermelstein
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  3. Laurie Wakschlag
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Correspondence to Randi Melissa Schuster.

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Schuster, R.M., Mermelstein, R. & Wakschlag, L. Gender-Specific Relationships Between Depressive Symptoms, Marijuana Use, Parental Communication and Risky Sexual Behavior in Adolescence. J Youth Adolescence 42, 1194–1209 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-012-9809-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-012-9809-0

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