In the News
Beyond Today Magazine
Vertical Thought: April - June 2007
Course Content
Studies have found conclusive evidence that teenagers who engage in risky sexual and drug behavior will have an increased likelihood of depression.
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill researchers reviewing data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health have found conclusive evidence that teenagers who engage in risky sexual and drug behavior will have an increased likelihood of depression. But depression itself does not cause teenagers to indulge in those behaviors.
According to this research, statistics from 2003 help to explain why teen depression has increased: 47 percent of high school students reported that during the past month they had had intercourse, 45 percent had been drinking alcohol and 22 percent had used marijuana (Janice Shaw Crouse, "Teen Sex Leads to Depression and Drug Use," www.cwfa.org, Jan. 30, 2007). On the positive side, these statistics have dropped recently.
These studies counteract the myth that casual sex has no impact on emotional health. God gave a clear commandment against adultery in the Bible. As the evidence shows, abstaining from sexual activity until marriage results in more stable mental and emotional health. For more information request or download The Ten Commandments.
Amanda Stiver graduated from the Robert D. Clark Honors College of the University of Oregon.
