Examining the relationship between risky sexual behavior and suicidal thoughts among unmarried adolescents in India
Abstract Addressing the problem of suicidal thoughts in adolescents requires understanding the associated risk factors. Multiple studies have shown that risky sexual behavior affected the adolescents’ psychological health that leads to their suicidal thoughts, behaviors and attempts. This study aime...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2023-05-01
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| Series: | Scientific Reports |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-34975-2 |
| _version_ | 1797827567759130624 |
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| author | Chanda Maurya T. Muhammad Shriya Thakkar |
| author_facet | Chanda Maurya T. Muhammad Shriya Thakkar |
| author_sort | Chanda Maurya |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Addressing the problem of suicidal thoughts in adolescents requires understanding the associated risk factors. Multiple studies have shown that risky sexual behavior affected the adolescents’ psychological health that leads to their suicidal thoughts, behaviors and attempts. This study aimed to identify the association between various risky sexual behaviours and suicidal thoughts among unmarried adolescents in India. We used data collected from 4221 unmarried adolescent boys and 5987 unmarried adolescent girls aged 10–19 years, from the two rounds of the Understanding the Lives of Adolescents and Young Adults (UDAYA) survey. Descriptive analysis was done to observe changes in the selected variables from wave-1 to wave-2. Random effect regression analysis was used to estimate the association of suicidal thoughts among unmarried adolescents with their risky sexual behaviours. The percentage of adolescent boys having suicidal thoughts increased from 1.35% in wave 1 to 2.19% in wave 2. Among adolescent girls, the percentage increased from 2.92% in wave 1 to 5.05% in wave 2. A proportion of 3.26% adolescent boys had more than one sexual partner during wave 1 whereas in wave 2, it rose to 8.71%, while in case of adolescent girls, the estimates only increased from 0.26% at wave 1 to 0.78% at wave 2. Nearly 4.55% boys and 1.37% girls had early sexual debut. Almost five percentage boys were sexually active at wave 1 whereas in wave 2, it rose to 13.56%, while among adolescent girls, the estimates decreased from 1.54% at wave 1 to 1.51% at wave 2. Contraceptive use increased over time among both adolescent boy and girls. Also, a large proportion of adolescent boys reported watching pornography (27.08% at waive 1 and 49.39% at wave 2) compared to adolescent girls (4.46% at wave 1 and 13.10% at wave 2). Adolescents who had more than one sexual partner [Coef: 0.04; p < 0.001], exposed to early sexual debut [Coef; 0.019; p < 0.01], sexually active [Coef: 0.058; p < 0.001] and reported watching pornography [Coef: 0.017; p < 0.001] were more likely to have suicidal thoughts. Adolescent boys and girls with risky sexual behaviors are likely to be at a higher risk of suicidal ideation, and thus, they should be treated with special care and attention by local healthcare practitioners. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-09T12:50:24Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-524b55ec23b84765ad1270c9c248fd44 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-09T12:50:24Z |
| publishDate | 2023-05-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj.art-524b55ec23b84765ad1270c9c248fd442023-05-14T11:14:24ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222023-05-0113111210.1038/s41598-023-34975-2Examining the relationship between risky sexual behavior and suicidal thoughts among unmarried adolescents in IndiaChanda Maurya0T. Muhammad1Shriya Thakkar2Department of Survey Research and Data Analytics, International Institute for Population SciencesDepartment of Family and Generations, International Institute for Population SciencesDepartment of Sociology, Louisiana State UniversityAbstract Addressing the problem of suicidal thoughts in adolescents requires understanding the associated risk factors. Multiple studies have shown that risky sexual behavior affected the adolescents’ psychological health that leads to their suicidal thoughts, behaviors and attempts. This study aimed to identify the association between various risky sexual behaviours and suicidal thoughts among unmarried adolescents in India. We used data collected from 4221 unmarried adolescent boys and 5987 unmarried adolescent girls aged 10–19 years, from the two rounds of the Understanding the Lives of Adolescents and Young Adults (UDAYA) survey. Descriptive analysis was done to observe changes in the selected variables from wave-1 to wave-2. Random effect regression analysis was used to estimate the association of suicidal thoughts among unmarried adolescents with their risky sexual behaviours. The percentage of adolescent boys having suicidal thoughts increased from 1.35% in wave 1 to 2.19% in wave 2. Among adolescent girls, the percentage increased from 2.92% in wave 1 to 5.05% in wave 2. A proportion of 3.26% adolescent boys had more than one sexual partner during wave 1 whereas in wave 2, it rose to 8.71%, while in case of adolescent girls, the estimates only increased from 0.26% at wave 1 to 0.78% at wave 2. Nearly 4.55% boys and 1.37% girls had early sexual debut. Almost five percentage boys were sexually active at wave 1 whereas in wave 2, it rose to 13.56%, while among adolescent girls, the estimates decreased from 1.54% at wave 1 to 1.51% at wave 2. Contraceptive use increased over time among both adolescent boy and girls. Also, a large proportion of adolescent boys reported watching pornography (27.08% at waive 1 and 49.39% at wave 2) compared to adolescent girls (4.46% at wave 1 and 13.10% at wave 2). Adolescents who had more than one sexual partner [Coef: 0.04; p < 0.001], exposed to early sexual debut [Coef; 0.019; p < 0.01], sexually active [Coef: 0.058; p < 0.001] and reported watching pornography [Coef: 0.017; p < 0.001] were more likely to have suicidal thoughts. Adolescent boys and girls with risky sexual behaviors are likely to be at a higher risk of suicidal ideation, and thus, they should be treated with special care and attention by local healthcare practitioners.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-34975-2 |
| spellingShingle | Chanda Maurya T. Muhammad Shriya Thakkar Examining the relationship between risky sexual behavior and suicidal thoughts among unmarried adolescents in India Scientific Reports |
| title | Examining the relationship between risky sexual behavior and suicidal thoughts among unmarried adolescents in India |
| title_full | Examining the relationship between risky sexual behavior and suicidal thoughts among unmarried adolescents in India |
| title_fullStr | Examining the relationship between risky sexual behavior and suicidal thoughts among unmarried adolescents in India |
| title_full_unstemmed | Examining the relationship between risky sexual behavior and suicidal thoughts among unmarried adolescents in India |
| title_short | Examining the relationship between risky sexual behavior and suicidal thoughts among unmarried adolescents in India |
| title_sort | examining the relationship between risky sexual behavior and suicidal thoughts among unmarried adolescents in india |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-34975-2 |
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