NEWS:SEXY TELEVISION LINKED TO TEEN PREGNANCIES
According to new research,there is a link between “sexy” television shows and teen pregnancies:Parents who think there’s too much sex on TV have good reason to be concerned, groundbreaking new research suggests. Teens who watch television shows that have a lot of sexual content are more likely to become pregnant — or to get someone pregnant — by the time they turn 20, according to a study in the journal Pediatrics.
“Even shows that had a little bit of sexual talk” — but didn’t show sex acts — “. . . were still powerful in terms of the relationship to teen pregnancy,” said Anita Chandra, a behavioral scientist for the Rand Corp. who was the study’s lead author.
The research was based on a 2001 survey of 2,000 12- to 17-year-olds who were asked how often they watched any of 23 popular TV shows, ranging from cartoons and comedies to adult-themed shows such as “Sex and the City.”
Follow-up interviews were done years later to see how many of them got pregnant in their teen years or were responsible for a pregnancy.
Teens who watched shows where sex was regularly shown or discussed had two to three times the risk of pregnancy than young people exposed to lower levels of sexual content, the study said.
One possible reason, according to Chandra: TV shows tend to focus on the positive aspects of sex, not possible consequences.
“That may make teens more likely to initiate sex earlier, before they’re really ready to make responsible choices and find ways to protect themselves,” she said.
Limiting children’s exposure to shows with sexual content would be ideal, Chandra said.
But a more realistic option would be for parents to watch these shows with their kids and talk to them about sex, she said.
I don’t see the correlation.
It depends on the child’s company. I watched all of the mainstream shows as a teen…and yes, all those shows had sex…but my group of friends were not having sex and neither was I. So, it all depends on your company and their influences.
I don’t believe the accuracy of this study. There has to be some sort of spurious variable intervening that make the results such as they are. For example, we also have to question what kind of household permitts children to watch such shows as sex in the city at that age. Or what kind of parents raise children who have these sorts of interests??? Don’t believe everything media tells. Sounds like “terror alert” to me.
It is factored in as one of the reasons for teen pregnancy.
a realistic option would be to inform young people as early as possible about the consequence of engaging in unprotected sex and having sex too early. the sooner the better!!!
I think is such bull. Why is everything or everyone blamed for teenage actions EXCEPT for the teen. The teenager should be held accountable for what he/she does. They think they are grown and like my mama used to say “you made your bed..now lie in it”!!