Young white teens who take in a lot of sexual content from movies, television, magazines and music are twice as likely to have sex at an earlier age than those who don't, according to a study done in North Carolina. The "media effect" was much weaker for black teens, who were more influenced by parents and friends.
Researchers in the Department of Sociology at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, interviewed about a thousand middle school students ages 12 to 14 years and asked how often they were exposed to sexual content in the four media. Two years later, the white teens who had the most exposure to such media were 2.2 times more likely to be sexually active than those who did not.
The research team also concluded that parental attitudes among both white and black 16-year-olds could deter them from having sex, but the biggest risk factor was if the teens believed their friends were sexually active. This study appeared in the April 2006 issue of Pediatrics.
Posted By: Aspen Education Group