Arch Sex Behav

DOI 10.1007/s10508-016-0914-0

ORIGINAL PAPER

Psychological Well-Being as a Predictor of Casual Sex Relationships

and Experiences among Adolescents: A Short-Term Prospective
Study
Sophie Dubé1 • Francine Lavoie1 • Martin Blais2 • Martine Hébert2

Received: 29 June 2016 / Revised: 29 November 2016 / Accepted: 30 November 2016

 Springer Science+Business Media New York 2017

Abstract Psychological characteristics may predispose youths Introduction

to engage in casual sex relationships and experiences (CSREs).
Using a prospective longitudinal design and in a subsample of Casual sex relationships and experiences (CSREs), sexual con-
2601 high school students in the province of Québec, we explored tacts that occur outside of a dating or romantic relationship, have
possible shifts in engaging in one-night stands (ONSs) and friends been studied often among emerging adults (Rodrigue et al., 2015)
with benefits (FWB) relationships over a 6-month period among but less among adolescents. However, many teenagers have expe-
sexually active adolescents. We also examined the relationships rienced at least one CSRE (see Grello, Welsh, Harper, & Dickson,
among well-being predictors (psychological distress, self-esteem, 2003; Manning, Giordano, & Longmore, 2006; Manning, Long-
suicidal ideation, and alcohol and drug consumption) and these more,&Giordano,2005).Acomprehensivetheoreticalframework
shifts while exploring possible gender differences. Multinomial to guide research on CSREs during adolescence is not available, par-
regressions in Mplus were used to explore whether initial psy- tiallyduetothe complexity ofadolescent sexuality.WhileCSREs
chological well-being was related to entrance type, the transition frequently are regarded as a cause or a result of compromised well-
fromhavingnoCSREstohavingone,ordiscontinuationorcontin- being in adolescents and young adults (Vrangalova, 2015a),
uation type. Frequent alcohol consumption (i.e., once or twice a empirical results are actually mixed for both populations. This
week or more) for boys and frequent consumption of both alcohol current study examined one direction of influence of this asso-
and drugs for girls were associated with continuation of CSREs. ciation, psychological well-being as a predictor of engagement
Suicidal ideation was associated with entrance into FWB relation- in CSREs, using a prospective longitudinal design in a subsam-
ships as well as continuation of FWB relationships and ONSs for ple from a representative sample of adolescents. It also sought to
girls. Psychological distress was a predictor of discontinuation of fill gaps in the existing literature. First, it investigated correlates
ONSs for boys. These results suggested that interventions should of CSREs relating to psychological well-being other than depres-
consider the specific and common needs of both genders in regard sion and depressive symptoms, which have been examined to the
to ONSs and FWB relationships. greatest extent in studies about adolescents’ CSREs. It focused on
five aspects of psychological well-being (i.e., psychological dis-
Keywords Adolescents
Casual sex
tress, suicidal ideation, self-esteem, frequent alcohol consumption,
Psychological well-being
Substance use and frequent drug consumption).
Second, we distinguished two forms of CSREs: one-night
stands (ONSs) and friends with benefits (FWB) relationships
because they are reportedly the most common forms of CSREs
& Sophie Dubé (Claxton, DeLuca, & Van Dulmen, 2015). Most research on psy-
[email protected] chological well-being factors associated with CSREs has failed to
1 distinguish among forms of CSREs. However, the link between
École de psychologie, Université Laval, 2325 rue des
Bibliothèques, Pavillon Félix-Antoine-Savard, Québec, QC psychological well-being and CSREs may actually depend on the
G1V 0A6, Canada differences in relational contexts (Furman & Collibee, 2014). ONS
2
Département de sexologie, Université du Québec à Montréal, is defined as an unplanned sexual encounter between two people
Montréal, Canada who are strangers or brief acquaintances and who do not plan to

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become a couple (Paul, McManus, & Hayes, 2000). FWB rela- gent results on depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation may be
tionship is defined as sexual contacts that usually occur multiple duetodifferencesindesignsandparticipants’characteristics.How-
times between two friends who are not involved in a romantic ever, while these longitudinal studies focused mostly on long-term
relationship (Guerrero & Mongeau, 2008). associations, the present study examined short-term links, which
Finally, this current study examined shifts in engagement in may be more likely to exist, and took into account the type of
CSREsovertime. It employedaframework basedonalife course partners (Deutsch & Slutske, 2015).
perspective that postulates that each life trajectory is punctuated Lower self-esteem has been linked to choices of risky partners
by various transitions that may occur in different sequences (Car- or sexual practices (Ethier et al., 2006), which could be explained
penter, 2015). No study has explored whether psychological well- by self-affirmation difficulties. Self-esteem has been investigated
being predicts changes in engagement in CSREs (Furman & Col- in association with CSREs only among young adults (Fielder &
libee, 2014; Roberson, Olmstead, & Fincham, 2015). To date, the Carey, 2010; Fielder, Walsh, Carey, & Carey, 2013; Schmitt,
few prospective studies involving adolescents and emerging adults 2005).Higherself-esteemhasbeenreportedasapredictoroffewer
have examined psychological well-being predictors of CSRE CSREs involving oral sex among young women (Fielder et al.,
entrance or the shift from no CSRE engagement to one (e.g., Deutsch 2013). Nevertheless, other studies have found no predictive role
& Slutske, 2015; Sandberg-Thoma & Kamp Dush, 2014). Thus, of self-esteem on CSREs among women or men (Fielder & Carey,
the present study investigated not only entrance type but also dis- 2010; Vrangalova, 2015a). Conclusions based on convergent find-
continuation and continuation type over a 6-month period. By study- ings are impossible to draw regarding whether higher or lower self-
ingvariousshiftsinengagement overashort period,wemayidentify esteem islinkedtoagreaterlikelihoodofengaginginCSREs among
patterns of associations with psychological well-being, which young adults and among adolescents, as there are no available
might not be possible when examining whether people have sim- prospective studies.
ply engaged in CSREs or not (Furman & Collibee, 2014). Such a Alcohol-relatedsexwithanonromanticpartnerhasbeenalready
study would also help to differentiate more effectively between documented (e.g., Bersamin, Paschall, Saltz, & Zamboanga, 2012;
youths whose CSREs are expressions of developmentally appro- Cooper, 2002). However, alcohol or drug use may be a behavioral
priate experiences, such as explorations of sexual behaviors, and expression of a lower psychological well-being (Hallfors et al.,
those whose CSREs are expressions of impaired psychological 2004; Schulte & Hser, 2014). Moreover, alcohol consumption is
well-being, such as depression or externalizing symptoms (e.g., oneofthestrongestpredictorsofCSREsamongyoungadults(Clax-
excessive substance use) (Grello et al., 2003; Shulman, Walsh, ton et al., 2015). In a cohort of adolescents, it was associated with
Weisman, & Schelyer, 2009). more CSREs in emerging adulthood (Johnson, 2013; Johnson &
Chen,2015).However,fewstudieshaveconsidereddrugconsump-
Psychological Well-Being and Casual Sex tion in association with these sexual relationships. One cross-sec-
Relationships and Experiences tional study reported that 15- to 25-year-old men and women who
had usedmarijuana orcocaineat least once during thelast yearwere
The current study examined depressive symptoms, suicidal idea- more likely than nonusers to have had sexual contact with a casual
tion, self-esteem, frequent alcohol consumption and frequent drug partner during the same year (van Gelder, Reefhuis, Herron, Wil-
consumption as potential predictors of CSREs among adolescents. liams, & Roeleveld, 2011). A longitudinal survey showed that ado-
Depressive symptoms have been associated with CSREs among lescents of both genders who often used or were addicted to alcohol
adolescents(Grelloetal.,2003;Mendle,Ferrero,Moore,&Harden, and drugs, especially cannabis and amphetamines, had more sexual
2013; Monahan & Lee, 2008). In one longitudinal study, Sandberg- partners, including casual acquaintances, over the following 6 years
Thoma and Kamp Dush (2014) reported that these symptoms (Tapert, Aarons, Sedlar, & Brown, 2001). In sum, findings on the
increased the likelihood that 12- to 17-year-olds would engage predictive role of depressive symptoms, suicidal ideation, and self-
in CSREs in emerging adulthood. However, in another longi- esteem are inconclusive and remains to be clarified. Despite the
tudinal study, Deutsch and Slutske (2015), who used a geneti- findings supporting thepredictive role of alcohol and drug consump-
cally informed design to examine twins, indicated that there was tion, the current study contributed to the literature by examining the
no causal link between adolescent depressive symptoms and CSREs short-term influence ofthesefactors on two specificformsofCSREs
in emerging adulthood. In the short term, they found a modest asso- among adolescents.
ciation between depressive symptoms and more casual sex partners
1 year later among boys (Deutsch & Slutske, 2015).
Suicidal ideation is another important indicator of lower psy- Gender Differences
chological well-being that reportedly increases the likelihood of
CSREs, especially for girls (Sandberg-Thoma & Kamp Dush, Gender may play a significant role in the association between
2014). However, in terms of depressive symptoms, Deutsch and psychological well-being and CSREs. According todata collected
Slutske (2015) showed that there was no causal link between ado- in the United States, more boys than girls are involved in CSREs
lescent suicidal ideation and CSREs in emerging adulthood. Diver- (Manninget al.,2005,2006).Genderdifferencesintheassociation

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between depressive symptoms and CSREs (Bersamin et al., 2014; weighted subsample were similar (girls: 58.3%, 95% CI [51.9,
Grello, Welsh, & Harper, 2006; Owen, Rhoades, Stanley, & Fin- 64.4], boys: 41.7%, 95% CI [35.6, 48.1], p = .78). On average,
cham, 2010) as well as divergent conclusions regarding the extent participants were 15.62 years old (SE = .11) at T1. Sociodemo-
to which self-esteem is linked to CSREs among young adults graphic characteristics of the participants in the subsample are
(Fielder & Carey, 2010; Fielder et al., 2013; Vrangalova, 2015a) presented in Table 1.
and the absence of prospective studies on this association among
adolescents emphasize the relevance of investigating the influ-
ence of gender on sexual behaviors. Our study also explored the Procedure
influence of frequent alcohol and drug consumption as well as
suicidal ideation because gender has not been examined so far The study used the Quebec Youths’ Romantic Relationships Sur-
(Johnson, 2013; Johnson & Chen, 2015; Sandberg-Thoma & vey (QYRRS), which included 8194 adolescents (56.3% of whom
Kamp Dush, 2014; Tapert et al., 2001). were girls) aged 14–20 years at T1 and 6472 adolescents (57.3% of
whomweregirls)atT2.Allyouthswereintheirthird,fourthorfifth
Current Study years of high school. The data were collected following one-stage
stratified cluster sampling of 34 Quebec high schools. The schools
The objectives of this study were to: (1) provide prevalence data were randomly selected from Quebec’s Ministry of Education,
on three temporal shifts in engagement, entrance into CSREs, LeisureandSportsdatabaseofpublicandprivateschools.Thefinal
continuation of CSREs, and discontinuation of CSREs, in ado- sample comprised 329 classes from 34 schools. To correct the
lescence from a subsample of sexually active adolescents from a biasesassociatedwiththenonproportionalityoftheschoolssample
representative sample; (2) examine the prospective links between compared to the target population, participants were given a sam-
psychological well-being predictors (psychological distress, self- ple weight defined as the inverse of the probability of selecting the
esteem, suicidal ideation, frequent consumption of alcohol, and given gradein the respondent’s stratum in the sample multiplied by
frequent consumption of drugs) and the three temporal shifts in the probability of selecting the same grade in the same stratum in
engagement in CSREs while considering two forms of CSREs; the population. The weighted sample included 6540 youths at T1
and (3) investigate the moderating role of gender on these associ- and 4447 youths at T2. It was found to be representative of Quebec
ations. French- and English-speaking students aged 14–18 years from the
The hypotheses were: (1) Psychological distress will increase public education system only.
the likelihood of engagement in FWB relationships/ONSs for both The class response rate and overall student response rate were
boys and girls. (2) Suicidal ideation will increase the likelihood of determined as the ratio between the number of students who
engagement in FWB relationships/ONSs for girls. (3) Frequent agreed to participate (students from whom consent was obtained)
consumption of both alcohol and drugs will increase the likelihood and the number of approached students, calculated per class and
ofengagementinFWBrelationships/ONSsforbothgirlsandboys. for the entire sample, respectively. The response rate was 100% of
Becausenoavailableresearchhasbeenconductedonthetopic,this all students who were present in most of the classes (320/329
study explored the predictive role of self-esteem on CSREs in classes). For the remaining classes, the response rate ranged from
adolescence. In addition, gender was examined as a moderator. 90 to 98%. The survey was finalized, with an overall response rate
of 99% of students who agreed to participate. The retention rate
between T1 and T2 was 71%. That is, 71% ofthe students who com-
Method pletedT1alsocompletedT2.Theself-reportedquestionnaireswere
distributedinparticipatingclassrooms.Adrawingfor$10giftcards
Participants was used asanincentive in theschools.Thisresearch was approved
by the research ethics board of the Université du Québec à Mon-
Ofthe6540participantsin theweightedsampleatTime1(T1), the tréal, which agreed that the research could be conducted with ado-
analyses were based on adolescents who were sexually active, lescentsaged14 yearsandolderwithoutparentalconsent,aslongas
which was assessed at T1 or Time 2 (T2) using the following ques- consent was obtained from the adolescents themselves.
tion:‘‘How old were you when you engaged in consensual sexual
relations with penetration (oral, vaginal or anal) for the 1st time?’’
A consensual sexual relation meant one that they wanted. Among Measures
thoseparticipants,wefocusedonadolescentswhocompletedques-
tions about CSREs at both T1 and T2 (N = 2601). That is, because Casual Sex Relationships and Experiences
we examined shifts in engagement between T1 and T2, only par-
ticipants who reported having or not having had a CSRE at T1 and The four items that measured CSREs at T1 were inspired by
T2 were included. The proportions of boys and girls in the studied Manningetal.(2006).Theymeasuredtheparticipants’consensual

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Table 1 Sociodemographic characteristics of the subsample (weighted Table 1 continued

N = 2601)
Sample characteristics % 95% CI
Sample characteristics % 95% CI
Completed university degree 25.9 [21.4, 31.1]
Gender Other 0.3 [0.1, 0.6]
Girls 58.3 [51.9, 64.4] a
Sexually attracted only by persons of the other sex
Boys 41.7 [35.6, 48.1] b
Attracted only by same-sex partners
Age groups c
Attracted by both, or not exclusively attracted by either sex
14 years old 13.4 [8.0, 21.7] d
Not sure or not knowing yet, or by no one
15 years old 31.2 [24.3, 38.9] e
A collegial degree is usually undertaken around 18 years old and not in
16 years old 37.7 [31.8, 44.0]
a university setting
17 years old 15.2 [10.9, 20.9]
18–20 years old 2.5 [1.3, 4.8]
Spoken language sexual contacts during the last 12 months for T1 and during the last
French 92.1 [88.2, 94.8] 6 months for T2. The definition of ONS was‘‘a sexual contact with
English 3.6 [2.9, 4.3] an acquaintance or with a stranger’’and that of FWB relationship
Other 4.3 [2.1, 8.5] was‘‘a sexual contact with your best friend or a friend’’. The types
Sexual orientation of sexual contact (sexual touching, oral, vaginal, and/or anal pen-
Heterosexuala 83.5 [81.7, 85.1] etration) and the frequencies of each (only once, more than once)
Gay/Lesbianb 1.9 [1.5, 2.5] were asked at both time points. The terms FWB, ONS, and casual
Bisexualc 12.6 [11.1, 14.3] sex were not used. Participants could report having more than one
Questioningd 1.9 [1.5, 2.4] type of casual partner and having more than one type of sexual
Family structure contact. The ONSs and FWB relationships were distinguished
Two parents under the same household 55.9 [52.9, 58.9] here by the type of casual partner and not by the frequency of sex-
Shared custody 14.2 [12.5, 16.1] ual contacts. Sexual contacts with nonromantic partners were dis-
Living with their mother 20.1 [17.8, 22.6] tinguished from sexual contacts with romantic partners.
Living with their father 6.3 [5.3, 7.6] Twonominaloutcomevariableswithfourcategoriesofengage-
Other family structure 3.5 [2.6, 4.7] ment were created by the researchers (one for ONSs and the other
Nationality forFWB relationships)usingbothtimepoints.Thereferencegroup
Born in Canada from Canadian parents 80.4 [70.9, 87.3] comprised adolescents who were sexually active, i.e., who already
Born in Canada from parents of another nationality 11.8 [8.1, 16.9] had sexual contacts but who did not have an FWB relationship (for
Born in another country 7.8 [4.4, 13.6] the FWB dependent variable) or an ONS (for the ONS dependent
Parents’ ethnic or cultural group
variable) at T1 or at T2; this reference group was coded 0. Partic-
Québécois or Canadian 84.2 [74.2, 90.8]
ipants who did not engage in an FWB relationship (for the FWB
dependentvariable)orinanONS(fortheONSdependentvariable)
Latino-American or African-American 5.0 [2.5, 9.7]
at T1 but who did at T2 were coded as the‘‘entrance’’group (1),
European 3.6 [2.8, 4.7]
those who had engaged at T1 but not at T2 were the ‘‘discon-
North African (Maghreb)/middle Eastern 2.2 [1.0, 5.0]
tinuation’’group (2), and those who had engaged at both T1 and
Asian 1.4 [0.9, 2.2]
T2 were the‘‘continuation’’group (3).
Other 3.6 [1.8, 7.0]
Parents’ education
Mother
Elementary degree 4.7 [3.8, 5.7] Psychological Distress
Completed high school degree 28.7 [25.6, 32.1]
Completed collegial or professional degreee 37.7 [35.1, 40.5] Psychological distress was measured at T1 using the 10-item Psy-
Completed university degree 28.7 [24.5, 33.2] chological Distress Scale, which has good internal consistency (a =
Other 0.2 [0.1, 0.7] .93) (Kessler et al., 2002). The alpha coefficient for our sample was
Father similar (a = .88). Participants responded on a five-point scale, rang-
Elementary degree 8.1 [6.7, 9.7]
ing from 1 (None of the time) to 5 (All of the time). The average score
Completed high school degree 33.8 [30.3, 37.5]
was used, with a higher score indicating higher distress. A logarith-
mictransformationwasperformedontheaveragescoresbecausethe
Completed collegial or professional degreee 31.9 [29.5, 34.3]
distribution was not normal.

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Self-Esteem symptoms according to age (Grello et al., 2003; Manning

et al., 2005; Monahan & Lee, 2008). We also controlled for
The five items that measured self-esteem at T1 were inspired by socioeconomic status as assessed by mother’s and father’s
the Marsh and O’Neill (1984) Self-Description Questionnaire III education level because they were correlated in our study with
(SDQ-III), which has good internal consistency (a = .89; for our temporal shifts in engagement in CSREs (DV). Parent’s level
sample: a = .88). The five-point scale of response (from 1 = false of education was dichotomous, coded 0 = high school level or
to 5 = true) had no period of reference. A higher average score less or 1 = collegial or professional level or more.
indicated higher self-esteem. For the same reason as for psycho-
logical distress, a logarithmic transformation was performed on
the average scores. Analytic Plan

To achieve objective 1, which was to provide prevalence data

Suicidal Ideation on three temporal shifts in engagement in ONSs and FWB
relationships among sexually active adolescents, descriptive
Lifetime suicidal ideation was measured at T1 by one item from analyses were conducted. To achieve objective 2, we con-
the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth 2006– ducted multinomial regressions to examine the associations
2007 (NLSCY) (Statistics Canada and Human Resources and between psychological well-being predictors and the tem-
Skills Development Canada, 2008), which was ‘‘Have you ever poral shifts in engagement in the two forms of CSREs. We
seriously though of committing suicide?’’The response scale was predicted the probability of engaging in ONSs and FWB rela-
dichotomous (0 = No, 1 = Yes). tionships separately. We compared adolescents who had been
involved in a CSRE and the reference group described above
Frequent Consumption of Both Alcohol and Drugs (i.e., sexually active adolescents who had not experienced a CSRE)
according to shifts in engagement in CSREs over time. This com-
Three items at T1 assessed substance use. They were inspired by parison may help todistinguish specific predictorsofCSREs and
the DEP-ADO and were used in national surveys including the predictors related to sex in general or sex in romantic contexts
Quebec SurveyonSmoking,Alcohol,Drugs andGambling in High (Fielder & Carey, 2010). The control variables were entered at
School Students (QHSHSS) (Institut de la Statistique du Québec, the same step as the psychological well-being predictors in each
2008). They measured the frequency of alcohol, cannabis, and regression model.
other drug use during the last 12 months. The response scale was 0 To investigate the potential moderating effect of gender, as
(not at all), 1 (occasionally), 2 (about once a month), 3 (on week- described in objective 3, multigroup analysis was performed.
ends or once or twice a week), 4 (3 times a week or more, but not The multigroup model, including multinomial regressions,
every day), 5 (every day). A dichotomous variable for alcohol was tested using Mplus 7.00 software (Muthén & Muthén, 1998–
consumption was created, as was another for drug consumption 2012). The percentage of missing data for both the FWB and the
including cannabis and other drugs. Low consumption was coded ONS models, calculated using all model variables and counted
0 (choices 0, 1, and 2), and frequent consumption was coded 1 among our studied subsample of sexually active youths who com-
(choices 3, 4 and 5), which is a dichotomization method that has pleted the CSRE items, was 5.4%. Among the five predictors at T1
beenusedinanumberofnationalsurveys(InstitutdelaStatistique (psychological distress, self-esteem, suicidal ideation, frequent
du Québec, 2008). Frequent, i.e., weekly, consumption is regar- alcohol consumption and frequent drug consumption) and the
ded as risky for developing into a substance dependence disorder two nominal outcome variables (FWB and ONS), 0.8% (for
(Grant et al., 2006). suicidal ideation and FWB) to 5.2% (for self-esteem) of the data
were missing. Nogenderdata were missing.\5% of the data were
missing in our studied subsample; therefore, biases and loss of
Gender power were both likely to be inconsequential (Graham, 2009).
Furthermore,analysisofthemissingdatadidnotindicatethepres-
Gender was coded as dichotomous (0 = girls and 1 = boys) and ence of a specific nonresponse pattern. Cases with missing data on
used as a moderator. a dependent variable at T1 and/or T2 were excluded. We did not
impute any data on the dependent variables. Missing data on inde-
pendent variables were handled using full information maximum
Control Variables likelihood (FIML), which took the approach of maximum like-
lihood to estimate the model parameters when considering all
We controlled for the youths’ ages at T1, which was contin- available raw data (Wothke, 2000). All analyses took into account
uous, because some studies reported differences in the rates of the characteristics of the sampling design (Muthén & Muthén,
engagement in CSREs and the levels of lower well-being 1998–2012).

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Results between the psychological well-being variables and the temporal

shifts in engagement in both forms of CSREs.
Descriptive Statistics Regarding engagement in FWB relationships, the control vari-
able of age was significantly associated with entrance and discon-
Among the 2601 youths in the weighted subsample who were sex- tinuationtypesforgirlsandboys.Moreover,thecontrolvariableof
ually active, 26.2% reported having a CSRE at T1 and 34.0% did father’s education was significantly associated with entrance and
so at T2 without any distinction between FWB and ONS relation- discontinuation types for boys only and with continuation type for
ships. Among those who reported having a CSRE, more reported girls and boys (Table 3). Among girls, lifetime suicidal ideation
having an FWB relationship at T1 and T2 (22.2 and 28.6%, was the only predictor of entering into such a relationship over the
respectively)thananONS(9.9and16.2%,respectively)(Table 2). 6-month period. Frequent consumption of both alcohol and drugs
Moreboys (32.3% FWB and20.5% ONS)thangirls(26.1% FWB was a significant predictor of discontinuation. Frequent consump-
and 13.4% ONS) reported having an FWB relationship and an tion ofboth alcohol anddrugsaswell assuicidal ideationwas asso-
ONS at T2 (p\.05 and p\.01, respectively). ciatedwithanincreasedlikelihoodofcontinuinganFWBrelation-
With regard to shifts in engagement, similar proportions were ship during the 6-month period. For boys, no psychological well-
found for the three shifts. Specifically, one-third of the sexually being variables were associated with entrance and discontinuation
active adolescents had entered into an FWB relationship [FWB types. Frequent alcohol consumption significantly predicted con-
entrance group; i.e., they did not have an FWB relationship during tinued engagement in an FWB relationship.
the12 monthsthat precededthesurvey (T1)but hadonesixmonths Regarding engagement in ONSs, the control variable of age
later (T2)]. In addition, one-third of the sexually active adolescents was significantly associated with entrance type for girls and boys,
had discontinued their engagement (FWB discontinuation group; whereas father’s education was significantly associated with
i.e., they engaged in at least one FWB relationship at T1 but did not entrance type for girls only (Table 4). Among girls, frequent alco-
repeat the experience 6 months later). Finally, one-third of sexually hol consumption was associated with an increased likelihood of
active adolescents had continued their engagement (FWB contin- discontinuation of ONSs, whereas frequent drug use was associ-
uation group; i.e., they engaged in at least one FWB relationship at ated with an increased likelihood of continuing such a CSRE. As
T1andengagedinanewoneatT2orhadcontinuedtheonethathad was the case in the FWB model, suicidal ideation was a significant
begun 12 months before T1). No gender differences were found in predictor of continuation of ONSs over the 6-month period. No
the three shifts in engagement in FWB. psychological well-being variables were associated with entrance
More sexually active youths had entered into an ONS relation- type for either girls or boys. Among boys, psychological distress
shipovera6-monthperiod(7.8%)thandiscontinued(4.5%)orcon- was strongly associated with an increased likelihood of discontin-
tinued (2.9%) their engagement in these CSREs. More girls than uing engagement in ONSs. That is, boys with psychological dis-
boys had discontinued their engagement in an ONS after T1 (p\ tress were more likely not to engage in another ONS during the
.01), whereas more boys than girls had repeated such a CSRE at T2 6 months following their last engagement. Similar to the FWB
(p\.05). model, boys who frequently used alcohol were more likely to
continue their engagement in ONSs 6 months after T1.

Multigroup Models
Discussion
To determine whether the psychological well-being variables
could predict the likelihood that adolescents would engage in Our study aimed to examine psychological well-being predictors
CSREs,weusedmultinomialregressions.Theseregressionmodels of FWB relationships and ONSs. It provided prevalence data on
were tested separately for each form of CSREs (ONS, FWB). The three temporal shifts in engagement in CSREs in adolescence from
comparisongroupincludedthesexuallyactiveadolescentswhodid a subsample of sexually active adolescents from a representative
not have CSREs. To test the moderating effect of gender, we sample of high school students. The study also investigated the
adopted a multigroup strategy using Mplus. We compared the prospective links among psychological well-being predictors and
configural prediction model in which the parameters were freely shifts in engagement over a 6-month period while distinguishing
estimated with a model in which the parameters were fixed to be between predictors of FWB relationships and ONSs. It also ana-
equal for boys and girls (Byrne, 2012). The maximum likelihood lyzed the moderating role of gender on these associations.
estimation method using robust standard errors (MLR estimate) The results showed that 3 out of 10 sexually active youths had
was employed. engaged in a CSRE over an 18-month (12 months prior to T1 and
The log-likelihood tests of the difference between the config- 6 months prior to T2) period. The study by Manning et al. (2005),
ural model and the FWB and ONS constrained models were sig- which included a representative sample of 12- to 18-year-olds and
nificant (Dv2[12] = 12.64, p = .01; Dv2[12] = 23.46, p = .02, an 18-month temporal window, found a similar percentage of
respectively), indicating that gender moderated the relationship 37.7%. Moreover, as with the cross-sectional study of Manning

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Table 2 Percentage of sexually active adolescents who engaged in CSREs by gender (weighted N = 2601)
Total Girls Boys v2(1)
% [95% CI] % [95% CI] % [95% CI]

Forms of CSREs at both time points

FWB T1 22.2 [19.5, 25.2] 20.4 [17.7, 23.5] 24.6 [20.3, 29.5] 10.29
ONS T1 9.9 [8.7, 11.4] 9.2 [8.0, 10.5] 11.0 [8.7, 13.7] 3.42
FWB T2 28.6 [25.0, 32.5] 26.1 [22.7, 29.9] 32.3 [26.6, 38.5] 11.23*
ONS T2 16.2 [13.9, 18.9] 13.4 [11.0, 16.1] 20.5 [16.3, 25.4] 22.57**
Shifts in engagement in CSREs
FWB transition 9.0 [7.3, 11.0] 8.7 [6.9, 10.9] 9.4 [7.3, 12.0] 0.51
FWB discontinuation 9.1 [7.3, 11.2] 9.8 [7.8, 12.3] 8.1 [6.3, 10.4] 2.85
FWB continuation 9.1 [7.0, 11.8] 8.3 [6.3, 10.9] 10.1 [7.5, 13.6] 3.16
ONS transition 7.8 [6.0, 10.0] 6.9 [5.1, 9.3] 9.0 [6.6, 12.1] 5.03
ONS discontinuation 4.5 [3.6, 5.6] 5.3 [4.2, 6.7] 3.4 [2.5, 4.7] 6.74**
ONS continuation 2.9 [2.0, 4.1] 2.3 [1.6, 3.2] 3.7 [2.5, 5.7] 6.28*
Chi-squared tests were calculated within each form of CSREs and shifts in engagement in CSREs to indicate gender difference
* p\.05; ** p\.01

et al. (2006), who distinguished among forms of CSREs, our find- hypothesis.Lifetimesuicidal ideation was associatedwithentrance
ings confirmed that sexually active adolescents engaged more in into FWB relationships as well as continued engagement in both
FWB relationships than ONSs. Higher engagement in FWB rela- ONSs and FWB relationships only for girls. A stronger association
tionships thaninONSswas shownacrossthe threeshiftsin engage- between suicidal ideation and CSREs for girls than for boys has
mentforbothboysandgirls.Itcouldbethatfamiliaritywithafriend been documented by Sandberg-Thoma and Kamp Dush (2014),
or a best friend reassures adolescents of the respect for their limits but they measured suicidal ideation during the previous 12 months.
and competencies. In terms of gender, more girls than boys discon- Our study added to the existing literature by making the distinction
tinuedtheirengagementinONSs,whereasmoreboysthangirlscon- betweentwoformsofCSREsandconsideringshiftsinengagement
tinuedtheirengagementinONSsoverthe18 months.Thesefindings over 6 months. Moreover, it emphasized the distinction between
could support the idea that girls derive less satisfaction from these theconstructsofsuicidal ideationandpsychological distress.Inthis
sexualexperiencesthanboys(e.g.,Armstrong,England,&Forgarty, sense, our preliminary analysis supported the practice of analyzing
2012). suicidal ideation and psychological distress separately, given that
The first major finding of this study was that psychological dis- they were not highly correlated. Girls who have had suicidal ideation
tress was strongly associated with discontinuation of ONSs only in their lifetime could have been more socially isolated from their
during the 6-month period for boys only. This result contradicted peers (Bearman & Moody, 2004) and might engage in CSREs to
our first hypothesis, which was that psychological distress would build connections with others (Fielder, Walsh, Carey, & Carey,
be associated with a higher likelihood of engaging in CSREs for 2014; Owen et al., 2011). Girls may maintain ONSs to cope with
bothgenders.Adolescentboyswhoreportlowerwell-beingappear their history of suicidal ideation. ONSs may temporarily boost
to have an engagement that is punctual or restrained to a short their mood as well as help them to feel more desirable and to enjoy
period of time, considering the timeframe of our research. An sexual pleasurewhilenot demanding theinvestment in aromantic
explanation of this link between psychological distress and dis- relationship. They may also engage in and maintain FWB rela-
continuation of ONSs is offered by Barber and Cooper (2014), tionships believing that having sexual contacts with a friend or a
who stated that these boys may engage in an ONS after aroman- best friend involves more trust, security and intimacy. However,
tic breakup to cope with distress or to make their ex jealous (‘‘re- their interpretation could be false or naı̈ve, as it has been shown
venge sex’’). Indeed, they may engage once in an ONS to relieve that FWB relationships, at least in young adults, are more focused
their psychological distress as a coping mechanism, as speculated on sexual contacts and less on sharing nonsexual activities and
by Owen, Fincham, and Moore (2011). Because of their lower intimacy than relationships with friends and thus may not be sat-
psychological well-being, boys may also lose interest in having isfying (Furman & Collibee, 2014).
CSREs (Fielder et al., 2013) or lack the relational skills, energy, or The third major finding is that girls who engaged in CSREs
self-confidence to engage in a new ONS. reported frequent use of both alcohol and different drugs, whereas
The second major finding is that lifetime suicidal ideation was boys who engaged in CSREs frequently used alcohol only. These
associated with CSREs only for girls, which supported our second results supported our third hypothesis, which was that frequent use

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 Arch Sex Behav

Table 3 Multinomial regression predicting short-term shifts in engagement in FWB relationships by well-being variables according to gender
Girls Boys
B SE OR 95% CI B SE OR 95% CI

Entrance versus no FwB

Age -0.32 0.11 0.72* [0.58, 0.91] -0.36 0.12 0.70** [0.55, 0.88]
Father’s education 0.31 0.18 1.37 [0.95, 1.96] 0.61 0.14 1.84*** [1.40, 2.42]
Mother’s education 0.12 0.22 1.12 [0.73, 1.73] -0.20 0.20 0.82 [0.55, 1.21]
Psychological distress 0.04 0.79 1.04 [0.22, 4.89] 0.43 0.74 1.54 [0.36, 6.61]
Self-esteem -0.61 0.57 0.55 [0.18, 1.67] 0.61 0.54 1.84 [0.64, 5.25]
Suicidal ideation 0.29 0.13 1.34* [1.03, 1.74] 0.003 0.28 1.00 [0.59, 1.72]
Alcohol 0.15 0.30 1.16 [0.64, 2.09] -0.24 0.18 0.79 [0.56, 1.11]
Drugs 0.12 0.21 1.13 [0.75, 1.71] -0.35 0.27 0.71 [0.41, 1.20]
Discontinuation versus no FWB
Age -0.26 0.12 0.77* [0.62, 0.97] -0.29 0.11 0.75** [0.60, 0.93]
Father’s education 0.34 0.21 1.41 [0.94, 2.10] 0.41 0.14 1.50** [1.13, 1.99]
Mother’s education 0.36 0.20 1.44 [0.97, 2.12] 0.30 0.20 1.35 [0.92, 1.99]
Psychological distress 1.13 0.67 3.11 [0.84, 11.43] 1.04 0.14 2.82 [0.83, 9.65]
Self-esteem 0.36 0.62 1.43 [0.43, 4.78] 0.94 0.73 2.56 [0.61, 10.74]
Suicidal ideation 0.15 0.19 1.16 [0.79, 1.69] -0.04 0.20 0.96 [0.65, 1.44]
Alcohol 0.41 0.18 1.51* [1.06, 2.14] -0.001 0.23 1.00 [0.64, 1.56]
Drugs 0.50 0.25 1.65* [1.01, 2.68] 0.01 0.21 1.01 [0.67, 1.53]
Continuation versus no FWB
Age -0.12 0.17 0.89 [0.64, 1.23] -0.24 0.15 0.79 [0.59, 1.05]
Father’s education 0.57 0.23 1.77* [1.14, 2.76] 0.41 0.21 1.51* [1.01, 2.27]
Mother’s education -0.10 0.25 0.90 [0.55, 1.48] 0.002 0.22 1.00 [0.65, 1.55]
Psychological distress 0.78 0.59 2.18 [0.69, 6.91] 0.13 0.55 1.14 [0.39, 3.34]
Self-esteem -0.65 0.44 0.52 [0.22, 1.24] 0.70 0.52 2.01 [0.72, 5.63]
Suicidal ideation 0.51 0.20 1.66* [1.13, 2.45] -0.07 0.18 0.93 [0.66, 1.33]
Alcohol 0.71 0.26 2.03* [1.23, 3.35] 0.43 0.18 1.53* [1.08, 2.17]
Drugs 0.56 0.26 1.76* [1.05, 2.94] -0.31 0.22 0.73 [0.47, 1.14]
Mother’s and father’s education: 0 = high school degree or less, 1 = collegial or professional degree or more. Psychological distress: logarithmic
transformation on the average scores for psychological distress. Self-esteem: logarithmic transformation on the average scores for self-esteem.
Suicidal ideation, alcohol, and drugs are dichotomous (0 = low consumption, 1 = frequent consumption). No FWB is the reference group with youths
who already had sexual contact but not with an FWB partner
* p\.05; ** p\.01; *** p\.001

of alcohol or drugs, defined as consumption of at least once per realize afterward that their decision was inconsistent with their
week, was associated with a higher likelihood of engaging in values or that their partner did not want the same thing that they
CSREs for both genders. We also found that associations with did (Oswalt, Cameron, & Koob, 2005).
shifts in engagement differed according to gender. Girls who continued their engagement in FWB relationships
GirlswhodiscontinuedtheirengagementinFWBrelationships also reported previous frequent consumption of both alcohol and
reported previous frequent consumption of both alcohol and drugs. drugs. Girls who continued their engagement in ONSs regularly
For those girls, these substances may facilitate sexual contacts consumed drugs only. Girls who continued their engagement in
between friends, although the focus on the sexual component may FWB relationships or in ONSs may try to relieve their negative
ruin their friendships (Owen, Fincham, & Manthos, 2013). Girls affect by frequently using alcohol and drugs as well as continuing
who discontinued their engagement in ONSs reported frequent to engage in sexual contacts with different nonromantic partners.
alcohol consumption. They may have engaged in an alcohol- They may also rely on substances to facilitate CSREs (Owen et al.,
induced ONS, then decided not to engageinanotheronebecauseof 2011). Because of the‘‘double standard’’, girls may think that it is
shame and self-blame (Paul & Hayes, 2002). Regarding discon- more acceptable to be sexually promiscuous while intoxicated,
tinuation of both FWB relationships and ONSs, if alcohol or drugs placing the responsibility for their sexual decisions on consump-
influenced their decision to engage in such CSREs, girls may tion, thereby reducing the risk of negative appraisals from peers

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Arch Sex Behav

Table 4 Multinomial regression predicting short-term shifts in engagement in ONSs by well-being variables according to gender
Girls Boys
B SE OR 95% CI B SE OR 95% CI

Entrance versus no ONS

Age -0.26 0.13 0.77* [0.60, 1.00] -0.51 0.13 0.60*** [0.47, 0.77]
Father’s education 0.43 0.22 1.54* [1.01, 2.35] 0.23 0.32 1.25 [0.67, 2.35]
Mother’s education -0.15 0.37 0.86 [0.42, 1.77] -0.26 0.30 0.77 [0.43, 1.39]
Psychological distress 1.18 0.62 3.25 [0.97, 10.97] -0.56 0.74 0.57 [0.13, 2.43]
Self-esteem 0.84 0.67 2.31 [0.62, 8.66] 0.15 0.69 1.16 [0.30, 4.49]
Suicidal ideation 0.43 0.22 1.54 [1.00, 2.37] 0.001 0.21 1.001 [0.69, 1.50]
Alcohol 0.35 0.27 1.42 [0.83, 2.42] 0.13 0.21 1.14 [0.76, 1.73]
Drugs 0.09 0.34 1.09 [0.56, 2.14] 0.10 0.33 1.11 [0.58, 2.10]
Discontinuation versus no ONS
Age -0.19 0.13 0.83 [0.65, 1.07] \0.001 0.18 1.00 [0.70, 1.42]
Father’s education 0.41 0.30 1.51 [0.84, 2.70] 0.03 0.38 1.04 [0.49, 2.19]
Mother’s education 0.16 0.28 1.18 [0.67, 2.05] 0.19 0.36 1.21 [0.60, 2.46]
Psychological distress 0.67 0.88 1.95 [0.35, 10.93] 2.65 0.75 14.11*** [3.25, 61.32]
Self-esteem -0.59 0.71 0.55 [0.14, 2.24] 0.47 0.82 1.60 [0.32, 7.98]
Suicidal ideation 0.28 0.26 1.33 [0.80, 2.19] -0.52 0.27 0.59 [0.38, 1.02]
Alcohol 0.57 0.27 1.77* [1.04, 3.00] 0.18 0.30 1.20 [0.67, 2.15]
Drugs 0.51 0.28 1.66 [0.96, 2.87] 0.21 0.48 1.24 [0.49, 3.14]
Continuation versus no ONS
Age 0.007 0.22 1.01 [0.65, 1.46] -0.07 0.19 0.93 [0.64, 1.35]
Father’s education 0.29 0.30 1.34 [0.75, 2.41] 0.09 0.40 1.09 [0.50, 2.38]
Mother’s education 0.55 0.37 1.73 [0.84, 3.57] -0.46 0.27 0.64 [0.37, 1.08]
Psychological distress 1.70 1.07 5.47 [0.68, 44.30] -0.36 0.98 0.70 [0.10, 4.78]
Self-esteem 1.53 1.16 4.63 [0.48, 44.80] 0.64 0.63 1.89 [0.55, 6.50]
Suicidal ideation 0.85 0.41 2.33* [1.05, 5.21] 0.07 0.31 1.07 [0.58, 1.97]
Alcohol 0.20 0.43 1.23 [0.53, 2.86] 0.80 0.25 2.23** [1.37, 3.63]
Drugs 0.97 0.35 2.64** [1.33, 5.23] 0.14 0.38 1.15 [0.54, 2.44]
Mother’s and father’s education: 0 = high school degree or less, 1 = collegial or professional degree or more. Psychological distress: logarithmic
transformation on the average scores for psychological distress. Self-esteem: logarithmic transformation on the average scores for self-esteem.
Suicidal ideation, alcohol, and drugs are dichotomous (0 = low consumption, 1 = frequent consumption). No ONS is the reference group with youths
who already had sexual contact but not with an ONS partner
* p\.05; ** p\.01; *** p\.001

(Beres & Farvid, 2010). In particular, girls who are involved in adolescents (Hallfors et al., 2004; Schulte & Hser, 2014), weekly
frequent druguseandwhocontinuetoengageinONSsmayhavea alcohol consumption among boys may be an externalized symp-
tendency toward impulsiveness or a deficit in self-regulation (Win- tom of lower psychological well-being. Because conduct disorder
ters, Botzet, Fahnhorst, Baumel, & Lee, 2009), which may lead for boys and substance abuse increase by middle adolescence
them to frequently use substances and engage in sexual contacts (Costello, Mustillo, Erkanli, Keeler, & Angold, 2003), assessing
with multiple unknown partners (Claxton et al., 2015). different behavioral problems, such as violence against others,
For boys, only weekly alcohol use was associated with contin- delinquency, truancy, or impulsivity and/or risk taking, would
ued engagement in FWB relationships and ONSs. Social motiva- help to determine whether involvement in multiple CSREs, espe-
tions, such as improving their reputations or increasing their pop- cially ONSs, and frequent alcohol consumption are part of a con-
ularity (Claxton & van Dulmen, 2013), as well as a desire for fun stellationofpsychosocial andbehavioral problems(Claxtonetal.,
and excitement may contribute to their frequent alcohol use and 2015; Grello et al., 2003; Fortunato,Young,Boyd, & Fons,2010).
greater involvement in CSREs (Uecker, Pearce, & Andercheck, Finally, regarding the exploration of self-esteem in association
2015).Alcoholusemayhelpthemtofeelmoresocialandmaypro- withshiftsinengagement,wefoundnolinkforboysorgirls.Among
vide them with enough courage to approach girls. Given that alco- young adults, a similar result of no association between self-esteem
hol usehas been found to be related to depression and suicidalityin and engagement in CSREs was found over a few months (Fielder &

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 Arch Sex Behav

Carey, 2010; Vrangalova, 2015a). The relationship between This research has many strengths, including a representative
self-esteem and sexual behaviors among adolescents, including sample of adolescents aged 14–18 years from the public educa-
the initiation of sexual intercourse as well as CSREs, appears to tion system in the province of Quebec. Most studies on CSREs
be complex. The inconclusive results may be explained by the are cross-sectional, whereas ours used a prospective design with
fact that self-esteem may be too prone to fluctuation by socially two time points, which helps to better understand the direction of
established standards and social interactions (Goodson, Buhi, & influence. Additionally, like Manning et al. (2006), our study is
Dunsmore, 2006), which change a great deal, especially in ado- one of the few to have investigated CSREs in an adolescent pop-
lescence. ulation and distinguished between two forms of CSREs: FWB
relationships and ONSs. The inclusion of a variety of psycho-
Limitations and Future Research logical variables is another strength, as psychological well-being
has often been measured solely by depressive symptoms in asso-
There were some limitations to this research. Although a time- ciation with CSREs among adolescents.
frame of 6 months is sufficient for reflecting possible changes in Our results offer several implications for practice. It appears
CSREs during adolescence, future research should involve longer judicious for youth workers to think about the role of teens’ mental
periods of time and more measurement waves to confirm our find- health on the occurrence of these relationships. As adolescence is a
ingsregardingtheinfluenceofpsychologicalwell-being.Tobetter period marked by several changes in psychological well-being
understandtheshiftsinengagement,thenumberofcasual sexcon- (Costello et al., 2003), CSREs may be a coping strategy for teens
tacts or partners that youths have during the assessment period with lower psychological well-being, even though they may some-
should be taken into account to examine the intensity of engage- times further decrease well-being. As in dating relationships, some
ment. Further, qualitative research should investigate in which adolescents may face break-ups or rejection, such as in the dis-
personal or relational contexts CSREs occur to understand the link continuation of CSREs, which could worsen their state of mind. In
between lower psychological well-being and engagement in CSREs such cases, youth workers should offer support. They should also
more fully. Clarification of the type of partners in ONSs would be a encourage adolescents to clarify their expectations about CSREs
useful addition,as relations witha stranger,someoneencountered on and under what conditions they could become a positive experi-
the Internet, or an acquaintance as well as relations involving retri- ence. Vrangalova (2015b) showed that having motivations that
bution for sex all present different challenges.Futureresearchshould arenot considered tobeegosyntonic, suchassocial orinternalized
consider assessing suicidal ideation during the same window as social pressure, was linked to worse psychological outcomes of
CSRE measurement and adding nationality and ethnic identification genital CSREs. Some gender issues should be considered. Girls
as variables. who are experiencing suicidal thoughts and alcohol and drug
Generally, examining subsequent psychological well-being problems should be invited to discuss their choices of intimate
after engaging in CSREs, while controlling for prior well-be- relationships and means of finding emotional solace or social
ing, would help to better clarify the causal direction of the rela- contact (Bearman & Moody, 2004). However, for many ado-
tionship. It would also help to show if these sexual relationships lescents, CSREs can present opportunities for positive explo-
are detrimental for teens’ development or if they are either symp- rations of sexuality that are not motivated by personal prob-
toms of psychosocial difficulties that are already present in ado- lems and do not have negative consequences. However, such
lescents (e.g., Costello et al., 2003) or a coping strategy. Future relations should be described as not necessarily normative. In
research should also distinguish between sexual behaviors by com- addition, clarification of expectations is recommended to all
paring penetrative and nonpenetrative sex among adolescents adolescents.
(Sandberg-Thoma & Kamp Dush, 2014; Vrangalova, 2015a).
Understanding of why and how suicidal ideation is a predictor Acknowledgements This research was supported by a grant from Cana-
dian Institutes of Health Research (#103944; Principal Investigator: Martine
of CSREs for girls, whereas psychological distress is not, could Hébert) and by a Doctoral Research Scholarship from Fonds de Recherche du
be promoted by examining other factors related to suicidal ideation, Québec-Société et Culture (FRQSC) awarded to the first author.
suchaspsychache,whichisdefinedaspsychologicalpain,andhope-
lessness, both of which are more important than depression in the Compliance with Ethical Standards
explanation of suicidal ideation (Troister & Holden, 2010) as well as
Conflict of interest The authors declare that they have no conflict of
social isolation (Bearman & Moody, 2004). Future research could interest.
also investigate the influence of a history of sexual abuse in the asso-
ciationbetweensuicidalideationandengagement inCSREs,assuch Ethical Approval All procedures performed in studies involving human
a history has been linked to greater likelihood of suicidal ideation participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional
and/ornationalresearchcommittee and withthe1964Helsinki Declarationand
(Bearman & Moody, 2004) and engagement in CSREs (Testa,
its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.
Hoffman, & Livingston, 2010). A measure of sexual self-esteem
could be more appropriate than a general measure of self-esteem Informed Consent Informed consent was obtained from all individual
in a study on CSREs (Fielder & Carey, 2010). participants included in the study.

123
Arch Sex Behav

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