"I am so desperate for you..." The ideal and actual romances of American Adolescents with Emotional Depressive Symptoms.

This paper examines differences between depressed and non-depressed adolescents in their perceptions of ideal romances and actual romantic relationships, using the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) Waves I (1995) and II (1996) in-home survey data. We identified 608 depressed adolescents at Wave I who were followed up at Wave II. We examined their ideal romances, attitudes towards premarital sex and pregnancy, parental relations at Wave I, and dating behaviors at Wave II. Comparisons are made systematically between the depressed and non-depressed groups, and separately for the boys and girls. Results showed that depressed boys fantasize immediate 'sexual' activities (touch, sex) in their ideal romances, whereas depressed girls imagine immediate 'romantic' events (tell love, kiss). Nonetheless, both groups included more sexual activities (touch, sex) in their romances than their non-depressed counterparts. Their subsequent romantic relationships also indicate more sexual activities (touch, genitals, intercourse), which occurred relatively early in the relationships. Depressed adolescents are more likely to have met partners outside school and church, and for boys, even outside friendship circles. More verbal and physical abuses, less condom and contraceptive uses are reported in their relationships. A higher percentage of depressed adolescents have contracted sexually transmitted diseases. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]