Watching Sex on Television Predicts Adolescent Initiation of Sexual Behavior

According to this 10-page paper in the September 2004 journal issue of "Pediatrics", watching sex on television predicts and may
hasten adolescent sexual initiation.

From the Abstract

Background. Early sexual initiation is an
important social and health issue. A recent survey suggested
that most sexually experienced teens wish they
had waited longer to have intercourse; other data indicate
that unplanned pregnancies and sexually transmitted
diseases are more common among those who begin sexual
activity earlier. The American Academy of Pediatrics
has suggested that portrayals of sex on entertainment
television (TV) may contribute to precocious adolescent
sex. Approximately two-thirds of TV programs contain
sexual content. However, empirical data examining the
relationships between exposure to sex on TV and adolescent
sexual behaviors are rare and inadequate for addressing
the issue of causal effects.

Design and Participants. We conducted a national
longitudinal survey of 1792 adolescents, 12 to 17 years of
age. In baseline and 1-year follow-up interviews, participants
reported their TV viewing habits and sexual experience
and responded to measures of more than a
dozen factors known to be associated with adolescent
sexual initiation. TV viewing data were combined with
the results of a scientific analysis of TV sexual content to
derive measures of exposure to sexual content, depictions
of sexual risks or safety, and depictions of sexual behavior
(versus talk about sex but no behavior).

Outcome Measures. Initiation of intercourse and advancement
in noncoital sexual activity level, during a
1-year period.

Results. Multivariate regression analysis indicated
that adolescents who viewed more sexual content at baseline
were more likely to initiate intercourse and progress
to more advanced noncoital sexual activities during the
subsequent year, controlling for respondent characteristics
that might otherwise explain these relationships. The
size of the adjusted intercourse effect was such that
youths in the 90th percentile of TV sex viewing had a
predicted probability of intercourse initiation that was
approximately double that of youths in the 10th percentile,
for all ages studied. Exposure to TV that included
only talk about sex was associated with the same risks as
exposure to TV that depicted sexual behavior. African
American youths who watched more depictions of sexual
risks or safety were less likely to initiate intercourse in
the subsequent year.

Conclusions. Watching sex on TV predicts and may
hasten adolescent sexual initiation. Reducing the amount
of sexual content in entertainment programming, reducing adolescent exposure to this content, or increasing
references to and depictions of possible negative consequences
of sexual activity could appreciably delay the
initiation of coital and noncoital activities. Alternatively,
parents may be able to reduce the effects of sexual content
by watching TV with their teenaged children and
discussing their own beliefs about sex and the behaviors
portrayed. Pediatricians should encourage these family
discussions.