Casual sexual relationships and experiences (CSREs) are still considered to be detrimental to the psychological well-being of youth even though findings remain inconclusive. Most studies have focused on emerging adulthood. Using a prospective design based on a representative sample of high school students in the province of Québec, we measured sexually active adolescents' (N = 2,304) psychological well-being six months after engaging in these relationships while controlling for prior well-being. We analyzed two forms of CSREs, friends with benefits (FWB) and onenight stand (ONS) relationships, as well as levels of sexual intimacy. The results show that CSREs had a small impact (small effect sizes) on subsequent psychological well-being, especially among girls; FWB relationships involving penetrative contact increased girls' psychological distress and both their alcohol and drug consumption. ONSs including sexual touching increased girls' psychological distress and their drug use. None of the CSREs influenced boys' psychological well-being. The findings underscored the importance of using caution when arguing that CSREs are detrimental or harmless to the psychological well-being of adolescents. The results also highlight the importance of taking into account gender and forms of CSREs in prevention and health interventions.Keywords casual sex; psychological well-being; adolescents; substance use; sexual behaviorThe association of casual sexual relationships and experiences (CSREs), defined as sexual contact occurring outside of a romantic or dating relationship, with psychological well-being Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Sophie Dubé, École de psychologie, Université Laval, 2325 rue des Bibliothèques, Pavillon Félix-Antoine-Savard, Quebec (Quebec), Canada, G1V 0A6, phone number : 418-656-2131 CIHR Author Manuscript CIHR Author Manuscript CIHR Author Manuscripthas garnered great interest in recent years (e.g., Fielder & Carey, 2010;Fielder, Walsh, Carey, & Carey, 2013;Grello, Welsh, & Harper, 2006;Owen, Fincham, & Moore, 2011;Owen & Fincham, 2011a;2011b). Despite some evidence supporting concerns about negative outcomes associated with CSREs, findings remain inconsistent. Psychological outcomes have mainly been investigated among college students and rarely among adolescents. However, investigating the impact of CSREs in adolescence is important to clarify whether these relationships are part of normative sexual exploration (Furman & Shaffer, 2003) or are expressions of sexuality related to psychological problems, such as internalizing (e.g., depression) and externalizing problems (e.g., high substance use) (Grello, Welsh, Harper, & Dickson, 2003;Shulman, Walsh, Weisman, & Schelyer, 2009). Because adolescents are generally less sexually experienced than young adults, their sexual choices may have different outcomes than among young adults. Those sexual experiences, especially the earlier ones, play a defining role in sexual trajectories over the lifespan (Russell, van Camp...

Psychological characteristics may predispose youths to engage in casual sex relationships and experiences (CSREs). Using a prospective longitudinal design and in a subsample of 2,601 high school students in the province of Québec, we explored possible shifts in engaging in one-night stands (ONSs) and friends with benefits (FWB) relationships over a six-month period among sexually active adolescents. We also examined the relationships among well-being predictors (psychological distress, self-esteem, suicidal ideation, and alcohol and drug consumption) and these shifts while exploring possible gender differences. Multinomial regressions in Mplus were used to explore whether initial psychological well-being was related to entrance type, the transition from having no CSREs to having one, or discontinuation or continuation type. Frequent alcohol consumption (i.e., once or twice a week or more) for boys and frequent consumption of both alcohol and drugs for girls were associated with continuation of CSREs. Suicidal ideation was associated with entrance into FWB relationships as well as continuation of FWB relationships and ONSs for girls. Psychological distress was a predictor of discontinuation of ONSs for boys. These results suggested that interventions should consider the specific and common needs of both genders in regard to ONSs and FWB relationships.

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