Posted on 09/07/2004 5:44:38 AM PDT by Pharmboy
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Teenagers who watch a lot of television with sexual content are twice as likely to engage in intercourse than those who watch few such programs, according to a study published on Tuesday.
The study covered 1,792 adolescents aged 12 to 17 who were quizzed on viewing habits and sexual activity and then surveyed again a year later. Both regular and cable television were included.
"This is the strongest evidence yet that the sexual content of television programs encourages adolescents to initiate sexual intercourse and other sexual activities," said Rebecca Collins, a psychologist at the RAND Corp. who headed the study.
"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," she added.
The study found that youths who watched large amounts of programming with sexual content were also more likely to initiate sexual activities short of intercourse, such as oral sex.
It found that shows where sex was talked about but not depicted had just as much impact as the more explicit shows. "Both affect adolescents' perceptions of what is normal sexual behavior and propels their own sexual behavior," Collins said.
She said the 12-year-olds who watched a lot of sexual content behaved like the 14- or 15-years-olds who watched the least amount. "The advancement in sexual behavior we saw among kids who watched a lot of sexual television was striking."
Her comments were released in a statement in conjunction with publication of the study in the September issue of "Pediatrics," the journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
The survey did not break down the amount of sexual exposure in terms of hours per week or percentages of material viewed, Collins said in an interview.
It did find that the 10 percent of those who watched the most television with sexual content were twice as likely to have initiated sexual intercourse when checked a year later than adolescents who were among the 10 percent who watched the least amount of sexual content.
"The best way for parents who are trying to figure out what is a lot versus little is to realize that the average (U.S.) child watches about three hours of television a day, and that the heaviest rates of sexual content are in prime time which is probably what those hours are made of," she said.
The report said earlier studies found that about two-thirds of TV entertainment programs contain sexual content, ranging from jokes and innuendo to intercourse and other behaviors.
The study was funded by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.
my kids are in Catholic school and they haven't done any commandeering of the sex ed yet here. you can't keep your kids in a bubble, and unfortunately, sex is rampant in the popular culture. the way to counter it, is to talk about it, and say TV and radio etc. would have you believe that sex is a joke, that it is something to laugh off, that everyone does it, but NO, it ISN"T that way. Far too few parents talk to their kids about sex and morality.
They don't say if this included news shows with talk of oral sex between interns and Presidents.
Today's content is waaaaaay beyond the double-entendre, wink and a nod kind of stuff in the 1970s. Not making excuses for the content then, but today its unashamed and in your face.
My parents didn't get the double-entendres on my ZZ Top records. Listen to 30 seconds of the b*tches, 'hos, etc. on a current rap CD and see if its the same.
Although in our home the kids didn't get to watch these shows -- and my daugher never was much for TV, there are many families where the parents don't care or aren't around or impressionable kids get exposure at their friends' homes. These kids should not be viewed as "throwaway kids."
Darn, Now you are gonna make me think! Question use to be "Ginger or MaryAnn?"...
The answer today would be, both. ;-)
"It is better to watch and comment than let them watch alone, also. Unless you're ready to stop electricity to the house"
Still better yet is to not watch and still comment on that which is pop culture.
You don't have to give up electricity.....just cable/satellite. It's really not that hard, and you may find, as I did, that your kids actually do things like read for pleasure. You save money, too.
If one declines to participate in pop culture, it ceases to have much effect on your kids. Mine aren't raised in a total vacuum, but the example of refusing to let pop culture/sexually explicit content into your home is one that has great influence on my kids.
Try it for a week by just unplugging the cable. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.
Why guess what?
ADVERTISING WORKS!!!
Like the kids . . .
Bump for good tv. (when you weren't embarassed to view a show with the family)
This is a side effect not a cause. Kids who are interested in sex look for it on tv.
I don't think anyone wants to hear that.
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