A study from California State University (USA) published in the Journal of Sexual Research reveals the link between one-night stands and depression or anxiety.
Relationships without a future
Some casual relationships, that is to say relationships with a partner met for less than a week, are according to researchers the indicator of low self-esteem. To confirm this postulate, the scientists analyzed data on the sexual behavior of 3,907 heterosexual students aged 18 to 35.
Students were asked anonymously to report the number of casual sexual encounters during the past 30 days. They also had to respond to psychological questionnaires assessing self-esteem, taste for life, psychological well-being, anxiety and depression.
Men “consume” more casual relationships
18.6% of men and 7.4% of women reported at least one occasional sexual encounter during the month preceding the study.
After a cross-analysis of the questionnaires, the researchers noticed that these casual sexual relations are often linked to a rather disturbed state of mental health or to high anxiety, for both men and women.
While casual sex seems to be associated with less balanced mental health, researchers haven’t said that this link is always true.
