Is sexual violence associated with symptoms of depression and suicide attempts? YRBS, 2009

This study sought to quantify the associations between sexual violence, symptoms of depression, and suicide attempts through the use of 2009 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) data. The YRBS is a cross-sectional, nationally representative survey of United States high school students, grades 9-12. It was hypothesized that sexual violence would be significantly associated with symptoms of depression and suicide attempts. Through multivariate logistic regression, it was determined that students who had ever experienced forced sex were 2.58 (2.36-2.82) times as likely to be depressed, in the past 12 months, and 2.95 (2.53-3.44) times as likely to have attempted suicide. Female victims were 2.69 (2.38-3.04) times as likely to be depressed; male victims were 2.44 (2.13-2.80) times as likely to have attempted suicide. Sexual violence is also significantly associated with both symptoms of depression and suicide attempts when stratified by gender, grade, and race/ethnicity. These cross-sectional results indicate that sexual violence is highly associated with variables of depression and suicide, but longitudinal studies will be necessary to establish temporality and determine causality.