The Ultimate Guide to Raising Teens and Tweens by Douglas Haddad

Author:Douglas Haddad [Haddad, Douglas]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Published: 2016-04-08T04:00:00+00:00

Sexual Activity and Emotional Health

Sexual activity among teens is connected to substantial problems with emotional health. Studies suggest that there is a relationship between teen sexual activity and depression.8 However, which one is the cause and which one is the effect, is unclear. Substantial data do not demonstrate, for certain, that early sexual activity leads to depression or that depression leads to early sexual activity, for that matter. However, the significantly lower levels of happiness and higher levels of depression among sexually active teens lead to an increase in emotional stress and reduction in happiness and overall well-being.9

So why do teenagers choose to be sexually active in the first place? They respond to their family and school life in a variety of ways. Various social forces play a role in a child engaging in sexually active behaviors, such as a family’s socioeconomic background, which may contribute to emotional stress and instability. Premature sexual activity can be triggered by a low-income background, little or no parental supervision at home, difficulty in school with grades, and poor relationships with peers. Other factors such as race, gender, and age have been compared, and they were not shown to have a significant effect on this link between teen sexual activity and depression/suicide.

How do adolescents really feel when they take that step to have sex for the first time? Studies have shown that while guys experience a boost in self-esteem after losing their virginity, women experience feelings of depression.10 Some girls have expressed that depression started to kick in and they didn’t want to go to school, eat, or do much of anything. Others expressed that they never felt anything this bad in their entire life.

Many young girls experience the emotional pain for months afterward, and the internal battle with themselves and their boyfriends, now that they have crossed the line. Many have expressed guilt because they didn’t want to go through with the act but did anyway. They hated themselves, the person they lost their virginity to, the people at school, the movies, and television shows that glamorize sex as being wonderful and intimate. They wished that they had more information given to them from sex education about how it really was and the emotions that come with having sex.

For many teens, having sex fulfills the need for an emotional connection with someone, anyone. It is a perceived solution for acquiring happiness in their lives for where they feel it is lacking. A study from the University of Southern California indicates that teenagers who engage in sexting are more likely to engage in real-life sex. Data from a survey given to Los Angeles high school students suggest that sexting is not a substitute for sexual intercourse but perhaps a precursor leading to it.11

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