282110
Co-morbid or causal?: The interactions between adolescent risk taking and depressive symptoms
Tuesday, November 5, 2013
: 11:00 a.m. - 11:15 a.m.
Andra Wilkinson,
Department of Maternal and Child health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Gillings School of Global Public Health, Chapel Hill, NC
Amy Herring, ScD,
Biostatistics, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, Gillings School of Global Public Health, Chapel Hill, NC
Carolyn T. Halpern, PhD,
Department of Maternal and Child Health, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
Adolescent risk taking (sexual risk and substance use) and depression are significant experiences in the life course as they can contribute to sexually transmitted infections and substance abuse/addiction in young adulthood. There are mixed findings on the causal associations between adolescent risk taking and depression. Previous analyses of the large, diverse, and nationally representative sample in the National Longitudinal Survey of Adolescent Health (Add Health) have found associations that vary by gender and race/ethnicity during the period from adolescence (12-19 years old) to emerging adulthood (18-26 years old). This project will build on earlier work by examining time lagged associations between risk-taking and depression as Add Health sample members move into young adulthood (24-32 years old). Specifically, the aim is to determine whether there is stronger support for risk taking or depression as the causal factor. Using data from Waves I and IV of Add Health, this project will use mixed regression models to analyze the time lagged associations between risk taking (sexual risk and substance use) and depressive symptoms(as measured by the CES-D). Models will be stratified by sex and race/ethnicity. The results of this analysis will inform public health prevention and screening efforts by enhancing our understanding of directional associations between risk taking and depression, and how these may vary by sex and race/ethnicity.
Learning Areas:
Public health or related research
Social and behavioral sciences
Learning Objectives:
Describe the associations between risk taking and depression between adolescence and young adulthood
Differentiate differences in association between adolescent males and females of different racial/ethnic identities
Keyword(s): Adolescent Health, Sexual Risk Behavior
Presenting author's disclosure statement:Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am in the Doctoral program in Maternal and Child Health and so am receiving training in the science of sexual and reproductive health. Also, as a predoctoral trainee at the Carolina Population Center, I am developing a population and life course perspective in addition to skills in Add Health data analysis. Drs. Herring and Halpern are senior faculty in the School of Public Health and are experienced in this area.
Any relevant financial relationships? No
I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines,
and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed
in my presentation.
