Does sexual activity trigger depression?

Teenage girls who are sexually active are more likely to be depressed and to feel like failures than those who still are virgins, an Ohio State University study suggests. Boys who are sexually active are slightly less likely to be depressed than other boys, although the difference is not large. Sexually active boys also are slightly less likely to feel like failures.

The results suggest that sexually active teenagers are following traditional sex roles, say Lori Kowaleski-Jones and Frank Mott, co-authors of the study. "It seems that young girls who are not secure about themselves are seeking security and self-esteem through sexual relations," notes Mott, a senior researcher at the university's Center for Human Resource Research. "Meanwhile, teenage boys who are sexually active seem to either be looking for sexual conquests, or are oblivious to the implications of their behaviors."

Depressed teenage girls, in addition to being more likely to have sex, were less likely...