Sociosexual Domains As Mediators Of The Relationship Between Trait Depression And Sexual Risk: A Serial Mediation Analysis In A Sample Of Iranian American Adults

Background: The existing literature on the relationship between depression and sexual risk behaviors (SRB) is mixed, which has led researchers to examine additional mechanisms that may underly the association between depression and sexual risk-taking behaviors. Findings have suggested that psychological factors such as personality dimensions, as well as one’s sociocultural attitudes and desires towards sexuality may mediate the relationship between depression and SRBs. However, the extant literature has primarily focused on symptoms of state depressive disorders, including major depressive disorder, among relatively racially/ethnically homogenous samples. Few studies have explored the role of trait depression on SRBs among diverse populations. Purpose: The purpose of the proposed study was to examine a serial mediation model involving the relationship between trait depression and sexual risk behaviors in a sample of Iranian American adults. Specifically, this study explored how sociosexual orientation, or one’s willingness to engage in sex outside of a committed relationship, may underly the relationship between trait depression and sexual risk behaviors. Methods: OLS path analyses were used to test a serial mediation model which elucidated both the direct and indirect effects of trait depression and sexual risk behaviors in a sample of 143 Iranian American adults. Results: Trait depression was found to have a significant, indirect effect on SRB through sociosexual attitude and desire scores, with an indirect effect estimate = -.02, SE = 0.01, 95% CI [-0.05, -0.005]. Conclusions: Higher levels of trait depressive symptomatology were associated with more unrestricted sociosexual attitudes and desires which, in turn, led to greater levels of SRB.