Research Article

Love Hurts (in More Ways Than One): Specificity of Psychological Symptoms as Predictors and Consequences of Romantic Activity Among Early Adolescent Girls†

  1. Lisa R. Starr1,*,
  2. Joanne Davila2,
  3. Catherine B. Stroud3,
  4. Po Ching Clara Li4,
  5. Athena Yoneda5,
  6. Rachel Hershenberg6,
  7. Melissa Ramsay Miller7

Article first published online: 3 FEB 2012

DOI: 10.1002/jclp.20862

Issue

Journal of Clinical Psychology

Journal of Clinical Psychology

Volume 68, Issue 4, pages 373–381, April 2012

Additional Information

How to Cite

Starr, L. R., Davila, J., Stroud, C. B., Clara Li, P. C., Yoneda, A., Hershenberg, R. and Ramsay Miller, M. (2012), Love Hurts (in More Ways Than One): Specificity of Psychological Symptoms as Predictors and Consequences of Romantic Activity Among Early Adolescent Girls. J. Clin. Psychol., 68: 373–381. doi: 10.1002/jclp.20862

Author Information

  1. 1

    University of California, Los Angeles

  2. 2

    State University of New York at Stony Brook

  3. 3

    Williams College

  4. 4

    Yeshiva University

  5. 5

    National Center for PTSD, Pacific Islands Division, Department of Veterans Affairs

  6. 6

    State University of New York at Stony Brook

  7. 7

    Counseling Services, Mount Holyoke College

*Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to: Lisa Starr, Department of Psychology, UCLA, 1285 Franz Hall, Box 951563, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1563; e-mail: lstarr@ucla.edu

  1. †

    The project described was supported by grants F31MH082545 (awarded to Lisa Starr) and R01 MH063904 (awarded to Joanne Davila) from the National Institute of Mental Health and by funds from Stony Brook University.

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 27 MAR 2012
  2. Article first published online: 3 FEB 2012

Funded by

  • National Institute of Mental Health. Grant Numbers: F31MH082545, R01 MH063904
  • Stony Brook University

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Keywords:

  • adolescence;
  • romantic involvement;
  • sexual activity;
  • depression; specificity

Objective

Research has linked adolescent romantic and sexual activities to depressive symptoms. The current study examines whether such activities are uniquely linked to depressive symptoms versus symptoms of other disorders (including anxiety, externalizing, and eating disorders), and whether co-occurring symptoms more precisely account for the association between depressive symptoms and romantic involvement.

Method

Early adolescent girls (N = 83; mean age = 13.45) participated in baseline and 1-year follow up data collection.

Results

Romantic (i.e., dating and sexual) activities were longitudinally related to numerous types of symptoms. The association between depressive symptoms and romantic variables remained when considering co-occurring symptoms. Girls with more comorbid disorders reported more romantic activities.

Conclusions

Results suggest that the maladaptive consequences and precipitants of adolescent romantic activities extend beyond depression, but also imply that this association is not secondary to comorbid symptoms. Future work should clarify causal pathways.

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