The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

4294.0: Tuesday, November 18, 2003 - 5:09 PM

Abstract #54350

Associations between online sexual solicitation and depressive symptomotology

Michele L Ybarra, MPH, Center for Adolescent Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 2007 Mounument St., Baltimore, MD 21205, 410 614 3953, mybarra@jhsph.edu and Phil Leaf, Hopkins Center for the Prevention of Youth Violence, Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, 624 North Broadway, Baltimore, MD 21205.

The Youth Internet Safety Survey is a nationally representative, cross-sectional, telephone survey of regular Internet users between the ages of 10 and 17 (N=1,501). It was conducted between the fall of 1999 and spring of 2000. Using logistic regression, the odds of reporting an unwanted sexual solicitation online are estimated based upon the report of depressive symptomotology; a parsimonious model of significant characteristics is identified separately for males and females. Youth who report DSM IV-like major depressive symptomotology are more than 3.5 times as likely to also report an unwanted sexual solicitation compared to youth who report mild/no symptoms of depression. Further, youth who indicate minor depressive-like depressive symptomotology are 55% more likely to also report an unwanted sexual solicitation versus youth with mild/no depressive symptomotology. Compared to otherwise similar males, those that report DSM IV-like major depressive symptomotology are 3.7 times as likely to also report an unwanted sexual solicitation compared to males that report no symptoms of depression, after adjusting for other significant characteristics, including Internet use and psychosocial characteristics. Among females, after adjusting for other important factors, the association between the report of depressive symptomotology and the report of sexual solicitation varies by the report of emotional closeness with one’s caregiver. Females that indicate minor depressive-like symptoms and a poor emotional bond are 3.6 times as likely to also report an unwanted online solicitation compared to females with mild/no symptoms and a strong emotional bond with their caregiver; a similar trend is observed for females who report major depressive-like symptomotology and a poor caregiver emotional bond.

Learning Objectives:

Keywords: Youth, World Wide Web

Related Web page: www.unh.edu/ccrc/

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.

Handout (.ppt format, 168.5 kb)

"I'm Not 'Mental'"––Mental Health Needs of Teenaged Youth

The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA