Teen pregnancy 'linked to sexual content on TV'
Teenagers who watch a lot of television programmes with a high sexual content are twice as likely to become involved in a pregnancy, research by the Rand Corporation has claimed.
The study of 2,000 US teenagers, published in the journal Pediatrics, looked at the viewing habits of adolescents aged 12-17. The researchers looked at the amount of time spent watching 23 broadcast and cable television shows that had high levels of depictions of sex as well as dialogue about or discussion of sex.
Teenagers who were exposed to high levels of sexual content were twice as likely to be involved in a pregnancy in the next three years.
Researchers suggested that parents openly discussing the contents of the programmes with their children might mitigate some of the influence of the sexual content.
"The amount of sexual content on television has doubled in recent years and there is little representation of safer sex practices in those portrayals," said lead study author Anita Chandra.
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Readers' comments (3)
Mike Swift | 5-Nov-2008 1:53 pm
We should also look at the attiture towards teenage pregnancy in the soaps such as Neighbours, Home & Away, East Enders etc. The pregancy is viewed as a good thing, everyone rallies round to help, the young father is supportive & somewhere reasonable & convenient for mum & baby to live is offered before the birth . The pregnant girl is shown to be the centre of attention. Once the baby is born it effectively disappears until puberty and the young mum gets on with her life - no problems with money, loneliness, baby sitting, post natal depression, sleepless nights, absent dads. Yes, I know soaps aren't real but for a 17 year old desperate to get away from step-dad & the family flat, it must look awfully tempting.
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Anonymous | 5-Nov-2008 3:58 pm
It seems blindingly obvious to me that teenagers who are sexually active and therefore interested in sex are more likely to watch TV with sexual content than non sexually active teenagers. It is also blindingly obvious that sexually active teenagers are more likely to get pregnant that non sexually active ones. This research sounds a waste of the paper is written on.
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Anonymous | 7-Nov-2008 2:18 pm
I am so delighted to see this research. Many of us who believe that Violence is a public health issue feel that the same psychological principles apply in youth crime. It was interesting to see a rise in youth knife death incidents following on from a couple of high profile TV series on the subject of gangs, knives, guns and so on. In order to attract an audience the programmes were jazzy with interesting visuals for young people - awful- I watched them all. And the gangsta rap music, videos, films....We are awash with them.....awful - I have watched them all.
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