title: Sexual functioning and experiences in young people affected by mental health disorders.
abstract: The majority of mental disorders have their onset in late adolescence and early adulthood and this coincides with important stages of sexual development. Although sexual dysfunction is highly prevalent among people with mental health disorders, little is known about this topic among youth. This study aimed to evaluate the sexual functioning and subjective experience of sex in young people aged between 15 and 26 years attending a youth mental health service. One hundred and three participants were assessed with the Sexual Health Questionnaire, Sexual Functioning Questionnaire, Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale, Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms and the Medication Adherence Rating Scale. There were 43 males, 52 females, and 8 transgender and gender diverse participants with a range of mental health disorders. Eighty (77.7%) had experienced consensual sexual intercourse. Ninety-nine (95.8%) endorsed at least one item of sexual dysfunction and clinical sexual dysfunction was present in 37 (38.9%) cases. Sexual dysfunction was associated with greater severity of general psychopathology, negative symptoms, antipsychotic use, lower antipsychotic medication adherence, and negative subjective experiences around sex. Addressing this sexual dysfunction in young people could lead to both an improvement in subjective experiences of sexual relationships and potentially improvement in adherence to treatment.
authors.affiliation: Orygen, the National Centre of Excellence in Youth Mental Health, Melbourne, Australia; Centre for Youth Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia.
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: McMillan
authors.affiliation: Orygen, the National Centre of Excellence in Youth Mental Health, Melbourne, Australia; Centre for Youth Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia.
authors.forename: Asiel
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Adan Sanchez
authors.affiliation: Orygen, the National Centre of Excellence in Youth Mental Health, Melbourne, Australia; Centre for Youth Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia; Orygen Youth Health, Parkville, Melbourne, Australia.
authors.forename: Amit
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bhaduri
authors.affiliation: Orygen Youth Health, Parkville, Melbourne, Australia.
authors.forename: Nancy
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Pehlivan
authors.affiliation: Orygen Youth Health, Parkville, Melbourne, Australia.
authors.forename: Katherine
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Monson
authors.affiliation: Orygen, the National Centre of Excellence in Youth Mental Health, Melbourne, Australia; Centre for Youth Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia.
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Badcock
authors.affiliation: Orygen, the National Centre of Excellence in Youth Mental Health, Melbourne, Australia; Centre for Youth Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia.
authors.forename: Katherine
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Thompson
authors.affiliation: Orygen, the National Centre of Excellence in Youth Mental Health, Melbourne, Australia; Centre for Youth Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia.
authors.forename: Eoin
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Killackey
authors.affiliation: Orygen, the National Centre of Excellence in Youth Mental Health, Melbourne, Australia; Centre for Youth Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia; Orygen Youth Health, Parkville, Melbourne, Australia.
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chanen
authors.affiliation: Orygen, the National Centre of Excellence in Youth Mental Health, Melbourne, Australia; Centre for Youth Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia; Orygen Youth Health, Parkville, Melbourne, Australia.
authors.forename: Brian
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: O'Donoghue
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D014150:Antipsychotic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D010054:Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000523:psychology*; D015995:Prevalence; D020018:Sexual Dysfunctions, Psychological / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D000072339:Sexual and Gender Minorities / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
chemical_list: D014150:Antipsychotic Agents
keywords: Anxiety; Bipolar; Borderline personality disorder; Depression; Psychosis; Sexual dysfunction; Youth