SSRI use is not associated with the intensity of romantic love, obsessive thinking about a loved one, commitment, or sexual frequency in a sample of young adults experiencing romantic love
Files
(Published version)
Date
2025
Authors
Bode, A.
Kowal, M.
Cannas Aghedu, F.
Kavanagh, P.S.
Editors
Advisors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Type:
Journal article
Citation
Journal of Affective Disorders, 2025; 375:472-477
Statement of Responsibility
Conference Name
Abstract
For >15 years, researchers have speculated that selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) use is associated with negative romantic love outcomes. No one has empirically investigated this, however. Drawing on 810 participants from the Romantic Love Survey 2022, we used binary logistic regression to identify differences between young adults experiencing romantic love who were and were not taking SSRIs. Predictor variables were biological sex, mental health problems, intensity of romantic love, obsessive thinking about a loved one, commitment, and frequency of sex. Only biological sex and mental health problems were associated with SSRI use. None of our romantic love variables were associated with SSRI use. This is the first evidence to demonstrate that SSRI use is not associated with some features of romantic love in a sample of young adults experiencing romantic love. The findings have implications for clinical practice and can be used to allay some concerns among individuals considering commencing SSRIs for common mental health problems.
School/Discipline
Dissertation Note
Provenance
Description
Data source: Supplementary data, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2025.01.103
Access Status
Rights
Copyright 2025 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)