Researchers of a new study have found that teenagers and college going students who indulge in casual sex are more likely to have higher levels of anxiety and depression.
Studies and articles about college students' "hook-up" culture have taken center stage in popular media over recent times. Hence, researchers from California State University, Sacramento, conducted a study to understand the psychological consequences of such sexual hook-ups.
"Casual Sex" is defined as having sexual intercourse with someone a person has known for less than a week. Researchers found that teenagers who indulged in casual sex had higher levels of anxiety and depression. The study named "Risky Business: Is There an Association between Casual Sex and Mental Health among Emerging Adults" looked at 3,900 heterosexual college students from across the United States. Surveys were sent to them asking them if they had indulged in casual sex recently and about their mental well-being. Eleven percent of all students who completed the online survey admitted to having indulged in casual sex during the month prior to the survey.
After analyzing the responses from all students, Dr. Melina M. Bersamin of California State University, Sacramento, said that it was impractical to conclude that casual sex had no impact on a young adult's psychological state of mind. She stated that results from the study confirmed that casual sex and "hook-ups" had a negative association with psychological well being and led to psychological stress.
The study also looked into the role of gender in determining mental distress linked to casual sex. Previous studies have found that men respond more positively to casual sex than women, probably because of the "double standards" characteristics of males that allow them to indulge in sexual intercourse with more number of individuals. However, in this study, gender played no role in influencing the outcome.
