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TV's found wanton Surprise, surprise: A new study of teen TV viewing shows "Sex and the City" leads to more sex in the city.
In a study released today, Rand Health,
the largest independent health-policy research org, found adolescents
who watch large amounts of TV containing sexual content are twice as
likely to start having sex in the following year as their peers who
watch very little sexually charged TV programming.
The findings may sound like simple common sense, something parents
groups and conservative orgs have been saying for decades. But in
hearings on Capitol Hill, Hollywood reps continue to argue that their
opponents have no real proof of a direct relationship between viewing
sexual or violent content and teen behavior.
The study is just one more weapon in entertainment media critics'
arsenal.
Specifically, the study also found that teens who watch large amounts of
TV with sexual content are more likely to start having sexual activities
such as "making out" and oral sex, exhibiting behavior of teens nine to
17 months older who watched only average amounts of TV with sexual
content.
"This is the strongest evidence yet that the sexual content of television programs encourages adolescents to initiate sexual intercourse and other sexual activities," Rebecca Collins, a Rand psychologist who headed the study, said in a statement. "The impact of television viewing is so large that even a moderate shift in the sexual content of adolescent TV watching could have a substantial effect on their sexual behavior."
The researchers assert that the TV
content doesn't need to be explicit to make an impact on teens'
behavior. Study found that TV show that included only talk about sex had
just as much impact on adolescent behavior as shows that depicted sexual
behavior.
On a positive note, study found that African-American youths who watched
more depictions of sexual risks or safety measures were less likely to
begin engaging in sexual intercourse in the subsequent year.
Researchers involved argue the study is the most definitive of its kind.
Fueled by funding from the National Institute of Child Health & Human
Development, Rand researchers surveyed 1,792 adolescents ages 12-17 from
across the nation, asking them about their television viewing habits and
sexual behavior. The participants were interviewed in a similar way a
year later.
Researchers found the 10% of adolescents who watched the most television
with sexual content were twice as likely to initiate sexual intercourse
over the next year as the 10% of adolescents who watched the least
amount of TV with sexual content.
Teens were less likely to start having sex if parents monitored their
activities, if parents had more education, if they lived with both
parents, if their parents did not approve of them having sexual
relations, if they were religious and if they were in good mental
health, the study found.
Susan Crabtree
6 September 2004
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