Abstract
The current study examines longitudinal associations between light and heavy sexual experiences and psychiatric symptoms in African American adolescent girls receiving mental health care. Research supports bidirectional associations between adolescent romantic and sexual behaviors and depression and other mental health problems, but this finding has not been examined among African American youth or in clinical samples. African American girls in psychiatric treatment suffer disparities in HIV/AIDS vulnerability, and understanding the context of girls' risk-taking (and how psychological symptoms contribute) may aid prevention efforts. Two-hundred-sixty-five African American girls seeking psychiatric care were assessed for mental health symptoms and light and heavy sexual behaviors. Participants completed a 6-month follow-up. Baseline light sexual activity predicted increased internalizing and externalizing symptoms and substance use at follow-up. Internalizing and externalizing symptoms predicted increased heavy sexual behaviors over time, including HIV-risk behaviors. Results support the association between romantic involvement and depression. Psychological symptoms may play a key role in the emergence of risky sexual behaviors among African American adolescent girls in psychiatric care and should be considered in prevention program development.
Highlights
265 African-American girls seeking psychiatric care were assessed for mental health symptoms and light and heavy sexual behaviors
Psychological symptoms may play a key role in the emergence of risky sexual behaviors among African-American girls in psychiatric care, and should be considered in prevention program development
African Americans suffer significant health disparities, accounting for 55% of all HIV infections reported among youth (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2008)
Summary
265 African-American girls seeking psychiatric care were assessed for mental health symptoms and light and heavy sexual behaviors. Two hundred and sixty-five African-American adolescent girls participated with their female caregivers as part of a larger study. Girls were recruited from eight mental health clinics in underserved neighborhoods of Chicago, Illinois. Clinic personnel obtained permission from families to send contact information to study staff, who contacted families to invite them to participate. Eighty-two percent of invited participants enrolled in the study. Exclusion criteria included mental retardation, severe cognitive impairment, or Illinois Department of Child and Family Services wardship. Eighty percent scored in the first three levels of the Hollingshead index (a composite that includes information on parental income, education level, marital status, and occupation; Hollingshead, 1975), indicating low to middle incomes
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