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Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Janice Shaw Crouse :: Townhall.com Columnist
Teen Sex Leads to Depression and Drug Use
by Janice Shaw Crouse
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College counselors tell us that depression on college campuses has doubled over the past decade and instances of suicide have tripled. We cannot afford to continue perpetuating the myth that “sex is no big deal.” It is a big deal; it always has been and always will be. Even if contraception and the prevention of disease transmission were 100 percent effective, which they most certainly are not, the psychological impact of meaningless, casual sexual intimacy – particularly upon young females – can never be eliminated. No amount of argument to the contrary will change that basic biological reality.

We ought to be telling adolescents the truth. We ought to make them aware of the possible consequences and the risks that they are taking when they choose to engage in certain high-risk behaviors. Scientific truths revealed in studies like the one from UNC-CH ought to prevail over the self-serving messages of the National Organization for Women and Planned Parenthood, organizations that perpetuate dangerous myths and whose financial survival depends upon girls and young women buying into those cultural myths.

Fortunately, the abstinence message seems to finally be getting through to teens: the latest data shows that teen sexual activity is down, teen out-of-wedlock births are down and teen abortions are down. Abstinence programs are getting more sophisticated, more effective and more widely available in the nation’s schools. Despite the smoke screen of some supposedly scientific evaluations by liberal researchers that purport to show no appreciable effect from abstinence programs, the hard data on the amazing declines in teen sexual activity and in the teen birthrate indicate that we are seeing positive results from pointing young women to the truth. So much for the phony claim that teens cannot control their sexual urges and that even if they could such repression would be detrimental to their emotional health!

It has been a long time coming, but the accumulating documentation regarding the destructive effects of sexual promiscuity has ultimately exposed the shamelessness, rationalizations and lies of the sexual libertines and radical feminists.

I believe my grandmother would be pleased to see scientific documentation confirming her common sense.

References

1.Denise H. Hallfors, Ph.D., Martha W. Waller, Ph.D., Daniel Bauer, Ph.D., Carol A. Ford, M.D., Carolyn T. Halpren, Ph.D., Which Comes First in Adolescence –– Sex and Drugs or Depression?, American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 2005:29(3), 163-170.

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About The Author
Janice Shaw Crouse is a former speechwriter for George H. W. Bush and now political commentator for the Concerned Women for America Legislative Action Committee.
 
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Reply # 1
Date: Nov 17, 2007 - 6:08 PM EST
What about the results?
Studies have shown that while early adolescent sex is not predictive of depressive symptoms, it is likey to cause them. That is not to necessarily say that every single teenager that has sex will therefore be depressed, but it is important for parents to note that there is an increased likelihood of depression, based on this and dozens of other studies.
This study has shown that, among abstinent teens, depression did not increase the likelihood of engaging in experiemental behavior patterns, and it greatly lowered the likelihood of engaging in high-risk behavior patterns by the second wave. So if your kid is abstinent, depression is not likely to effect his or her chances of becoming sexually careless. The same study also noted that even modest involvement in sexual experimentation elevated depression risk. These are based on statistics between two waves of 13,500 teens, and the numbers cannot be denied.
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Reply # 2
Date: Feb 11, 2007 - 1:10 AM EST
Which behavior came first?
In response to the entry by Janice Crouse, it must be noted that the data for The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill study, which claims that “sex and drug behavior predicted an increased likelihood of depression, but depression did not predict behavior,” came from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. Longitudinal studies are correlational research studies, which indicate that no causal relationships can be detected because it is not a controlled experiment; it is merely observation. Therefore, there is not “solid evidence” claiming those who engage in risky behaviors like sex and drugs will become depressed. In contradiction to Crouse, the message is certainly not clear. Are teens who engage in risky behavior at risk for depression, as Crouse claims? Possibly. But isn’t it also possible that depressed teens are at risk for engaging in risky behavior? The relationship between the two is in fact, quite fuzzy. In addition, it is not sensible to state that it is a myth that teens are going to ‘do it anyway,’ referring to sex, because some teens most certainly will. Even if only a few teens ‘do it anyway,’ isn’t it vital that these teens know about safe-sex practices? It is true that contraceptive methods and the prevention of disease transmission is not entirely effective, however it is still important that teens be educated on theses issues in case they decide to buy into this so-called ‘myth.’ I agree that “we ought to be telling adolescents the truth…and make them aware of the possible consequences and risks that they are taking,” but part of this truth involves providing them with “condoms and teach[ing] them safe-sex practices,” which Crouse undermines. Adolescents will only be denied the truth if they are not given all resources and information regarding sex, the consequences that come of it, and safe-sex practices. Providing abstinence-only programs not only misguides adolescents to believe that abstinence is the only option, but by limiting sex education and “protection,” teens or even adults who do become sexually active may be uninformed and thus perpetuate the spread of disease and cause harm to others.
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