Teenagers who watch a lot of television featuring flirting, necking, discussion of sex and sex scenes are more likely to be involved with a pregnancy, according to a new study.

The study, published in the November edition of the journal Pediatrics, found that teens who viewed the most sexual content on TV were about twice as likely to get pregnant, or cause a pregnancy, compared to those who saw the least.

Lead author, Anita Chandra, a behavioural scientist at non-profit non-partisan research organization, RAND Corporation said:

Adolescents receive a considerable amount of information about sex through television and that programming typically does not highlight the risks and responsibilities of sex,

Our findings suggest that television may play a significant role in the high rates of teenage pregnancy in the United States.

Researchers from RAND Health claim that exposure to sex on television may influence teen pregnancy by creating the perception that there is little risk to engaging in sex without using contraceptives and accelerating the initiation of sexual intercourse.

There is rising concern about teen pregnancy rates, which after decades of decline may have started creeping up again, fuelling an intense debate about what factors are to blame. And, although TV viewing is unlikely to entirely explain the increase in teen pregnancies, Chandra and others said, the study provides the first direct evidence that it could be playing a significant role.

Chandra and her colleagues surveyed more than 2,000 adolescents three times by telephone from 2001 to 2004; in order to gather information about a variety of behavioural and demographic factors, including television viewing habits. Then, based on a detailed analysis of the sexual content of 23 shows popular among teens in the 2000-2001 TV season, the researchers calculated how often the teens saw characters kissing, touching, having sex, and discussing past or future sexual activity.

Among the shows the teens watched were “Sex and the City,” “Friends” and “That ’70s Show.” Chandra wouldn’t identify the others, but stressed that they included dramas, comedies, reality shows and even animated programmes on broadcast and cable networks.

Amongst the 718 youths who reported being sexually active during the study, the likelihood of getting pregnant or getting someone else pregnant increased steadily with the amount of sexual content they watched on TV, the researchers found. About 25 percent of those who watched the most were involved in a pregnancy, compared with about 12 percent of those who watched the least. The researchers also took into account other factors such as intelligence, having only one parent, wanting to have a baby and engaging in other risky behaviours.

There were more pregnancies among the oldest teens interviewed, but the rate of pregnancy remained consistent across all age groups among those who watched the racy programs. Fifty eight girls reported getting pregnant and thirty three boys reported being responsible for getting a girl pregnant during the study period. The increased risk emerged regardless of whether teens watched only one or two shows that were explicit or surfed many shows that had occasional sexual content, Chandra noted.

Chandra Continued:

It could be a child wasn’t watching that much TV per week but was watching shows that got a pretty high rating on sexual content, or it could be a kid who was watching a lot of hours but on average was getting just moderate amounts of sexual content from each show.

The researchers recommended that parents spend more time monitoring what their children watch and discussing what they see, including pointing out the possible negative consequences of early sexual activity. Programmers should also include more-realistic portrayals of the risks of sex, such as sexually transmitted diseases and pregnancy.

However, according to Elizabeth Schroeder, Executive Director of Answer, a teen sex education program based at Rutgers University, the study doesn’t adequately address other issues, such as self-esteem, family values and income – saying:

The media does have an impact, but we don’t know the full extent of it because there are so many other factors

Other experts questioned whether the study had established a causal relationship, and Laura Lindberg of the Guttmacher Institute commented:

It may be the kids who have an interest in sex watch shows with sexual content. I’m concerned this makes it seem like if we just shut off the TV we’d dramatically reduce the teen pregnancy rate.

Chandra acknowledged that other factors might play a role but said the findings were compelling because the researchers were able to track the teens over time and found such a striking relationship, saying:

The magnitude of the association we did see was very strong

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Posted by Jonathan in Biology, Sociology

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