EFFECT OF TV WITH SEXUAL CONTENT ON TEENS

Teens Who Watch a Lot of TV with Sexual  Content Have Sex Sooner

Teens who watch large amounts of television containing s*xual content are twice as likely to begin engaging in s*xual intercourse in the following year as their peers who watch little such TV, according to a RAND Corporation study issued today.

In addition, the study found that youths who watch large amounts of TV with s*xual content are more likely to initiate s*xual activities other than intercourse, such as “making out” and oral s*x – two different activities of varying s*xual context.
These adolescents behaved sexually like youths who were 9 to 17 months older, but watched only average amounts of TV with s*xual content, according to the study published in the September electronic edition of the journal Pediatrics.

“This is the strongest evidence yet that the s*xual content of television programs encourages  adolescents to initiate s*xual intercourse and other s*xual activities,” said Rebecca Collins, a RAND psychologist who headed the study. “The impact of television viewing is so large that even a moderate shift in the s*xual content of adolescent TV watching could have a substantial effect on their s*xual behavior.” “Television habits predicted whether adolescents went to ‘second or third base,’ as well as whether

they had s*x for the first time,” Collins said. “The 12-year-olds who watched a lot of

television with s*xual content behaved like the 14- or 15-years-olds who watched the least amount of s*xual television.

The advancement in s*xual behavior we saw among kids who watched a lot of s*xual television was striking.”

Researchers from RAND Health found that television shows that included only talk about s*x had just as much impact on adolescent behavior as shows that depicted s*xual behavior.

“We found little difference whether a TV show presents people talking about whether they have s*x or portrays them having s*x,” Collins said.
“Both affect adolescents’ perceptions of what is normal s*xual behavior and propels their own s*xual behavior.”

On a positive note, the study found that one group – African American youth – that

watched more depictions of s*xual risks or safety measures was less likely to begin engaging in s*xual intercourse in the subsequent year.

Studies show that about two-thirds of television entertainment programs contain s*xual content, ranging from jokes and innuendo to intercourse and other behaviors. Two earlier studies have suggested a link between adolescents’ viewing of television and their s*xual behavior, but those earlier efforts all had significant shortcomings, according to researchers.

With funding from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, RAND researchers surveyed 1,792 adolescents aged 12 to 17 from across the nation, asking them about their television viewing habits and s*xual behavior. The participants were followed up with a similar survey a year later.

Information about television habits was combined with the results of a scientific analysis of television s*xual content to determine the frequency and type of s*xual content the adolescents were exposed to during their TV viewing.

Researchers found that adolescents who watched the most television with s*xual content were twice as likely to initiate s*xual intercourse over the next year as adolescents who watched the least amount of TV with s*xual content.

The RAND study identified other factors that increased the likelihood that adolescents would initiate s*xual intercourse, including: being older, having older friends, getting lower grades, engaging in rule-breaking such as skipping class, and sensation-seeking.

Adolescents were less likely to initiate s*xual intercourse if their parents monitored their activities, if their parents had more education, if they lived with both parents, if their parents did not approve of them having s*xual relations, if they were religious, and if they were in good mental health.

Adolescents with these characteristics also were less likely to see s*x on television, but television viewing was related to s*xual behavior even after these differences were taken into account.

The RAND researchers recommend that parents watch television with their children and talk about any s*xual content that appears – even the jokes.

“Talking about television can give parents a chance to express their own views about s*x, and viewing shows with their kids will also help parents identify any programs they want to designate as off-limits,” Collins said.

Studies show many adolescents become sexually active during their teen-age years, with 46 percent of U.S. high school students reporting they have had s*xual intercourse. But most sexually active teens also say they wish they had waited longer to have s*x, suggesting that s*x is occurring before young people are prepared for its consequences, according to researchers.

source: Verywell