PROVIDENCE, R.I., Sept. 7 (UPI) -- A U.S. study suggests African-American teenagers with symptoms of depression are more than four times likely to engage in risky sexual behavior.
The study by the Bradley Hasbro Children's Research Center and Brown University School of Medicine is one of the first to look at black teens of both genders and from more than one geographic location. It concludes that depressive symptoms -- feeling lonely, feeling blue, feelings of worthlessness etc. -- can indicate future sexual risks such as not wearing a condom.
"This means that clinicians should assess symptoms of depression in African-American patients as an indicator of future sexual risk, and HIV intervention programs should be designed as to address depression, especially in this population," said lead author, Dr. Larry Brown, a child psychiatrist.
The study involved 415 African-American adolescents and young adults 15-21 years of age from Atlanta, Ga., and Providence, R.I., who had had unprotected sex within 90 days of the study.
The findings appear in the current online edition of the Journal of Adolescent Health.
