Premature sexual activity linked to depression

Briefing.

From Lifesite, via CFNews: Research which appeared recently in the Journal of Health Economics has found that young girls who are sexually active often experience feelings of guilt, low self-esteem, regret and shame, and are far more likely to suffer from depression than those who remain chaste.

The study, by Joseph J. Sabia and Daniel I. Rees, of 14,000 adolescents aged between 14 and 17, used data from the U.S. government funded National Longitudinal Survey of Adolescent Health.

The study found that sexually active teen girls have more than double the rate of depression of those who are not sexually active - 19 percent compared to 9.2 percent.

The conclusion the study reached was that 'sexually active female adolescents are at increased risk of exhibiting the symptoms of depression relative to their counterparts who are not sexually active.'

Dr. Trevor Stammers, a lecturer on sexual ethics and chairman of the Christian Medical Fellowship in the UK, said the new study confirmed that most girls 'retrospectively showed regret about early intercourse.'

'It also shows as closely as we have been able to show so far that there is a genuine link between increased risk of depression and adolescent females engaging in sex,' Dr. Stammers said in a Daily Mail report. 'My experience is that, for girls, depression, regret and shame are very common.' [LifeSiteNews]