Linking Exposure to Outcomes: Early Adolescents' Consumption of Sexual Content in Six Media

Pardun, Carol J.; L’Engle, Kelly; Brown, John Russell

doi:10.1207/s15327825mcs0802_1

Cited by 220 publications

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“…In 1 study, 40% of lyric lines contained sexual material, and only 6% contained healthy sexual messages. 14 An analysis of the 279 most popular songs in 2005 revealed that 37% contained sexual references and that degrading sexual references were common. 15 • Virtually every R-rated teen movie since the 1980s has contained at least 1 nude scene and, often, several instances of sexual intercourse (eg, the American Pie movie series).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…2 American media make sex seem like a harmless sport in which everyone engages, and results of considerable research have indicated that the media can have a major effect on young people's attitudes and behaviors. [12][13][14][15][16][17][18] In fact, the media may function as a "superpeer" in convincing adolescents that sexual activity is a normative behavior for young teenagers. 2,36,37 In a survey of 2100 11-to 17-year-old girls, only the 11-year-olds reported that they did not feel pressure from the media to begin having sex.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Sexuality, Contraception, and the Media

Strasburger¹

2010

Pediatrics

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From a health viewpoint, early sexual activity among US adolescents is a potential problem because of the risk of pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections. New evidence points to the media adolescents use frequently (television, music, movies, magazines, and the Internet) as important factors in the initiation of sexual intercourse. There is a major disconnect between what mainstream media portray-casual sex and sexuality with no consequences-and what children and teenagers need-straightforward information about human sexuality and the need for contraception when having sex. Television, film, music, and the Internet are all becoming increasingly sexually explicit, yet information on abstinence, sexual responsibility, and birth control remains rare. It is unwise to promote "abstinence-only" sex education when it has been shown to be ineffective and when the media have become such an important source of information about "nonabstinence." Recommendations are presented to help pediatricians address this important issue. Pediatrics 2010;126:576-582 INTRODUCTIONEarly sexual activity among teenagers can be problematic. According to the 2009 Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 46% of all high school seniors have had sexual intercourse, and 14% have had 4 partners or more. 1 Although pregnancy rates have generally been decreasing since 1991, the United States still has the highest teen pregnancy rate in the Western world, 2 and for the first time in 15 years, the birth rate increased 3% from 2005 to 2006. 3 Early intercourse also increases the risk of contracting a sexually transmitted infection (STI), including HIV, and adolescents have one of the highest STI rates of any age group. 4 Although 15-to 24-year-olds account for only one-quarter of the sexually active population in the United States, they contract nearly half of all new STIs every year. 4 A recent study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revealed that 1 in 4 teenagers has had an STI. 5 Ten percent of young women who had first had sex in their teenage years reported that their first time was involuntary, and the younger they were, the more likely that was the case. 6 WHAT CHILDREN AND TEENAGERS LEARN FROM THE MEDIAAmerican children and teenagers spend more than 7 hours/day with a variety of different media. 7 Those media are filled with sexual messages and images, many of which are unrealistic. 2 On television (TV), which remains the predominant medium in terms of time spent for all young people, more than 75% of prime-time programs contain sexual THE COUNCIL ON COMMUNICATIONS AND MEDIA

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sexuality, Contraception, and the Media

Strasburger¹

2010

Pediatrics

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“…Content analyses of offline and online media formats have demonstrated that media generally present an exaggerated and appearance-focused sexual reality, in which bodies are glamorized and sexual activity is common and easily available. [14][15][16] According to social comparison theory, such unrealistic presentations of sex and sexual attractiveness lead adolescents to make upward comparisons, resulting in dissatisfaction with their own bodies or sexual experiences. 17,18 Moreover, objectification theory stresses that exposure to media with a strong focus on sexual attractiveness triggers a process of self-objectification, a perception of one' s own body that strongly emphasizes observable appearance and that is actively manifested by high levels of body surveillance.…”

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confidence: 99%

Sex-Related Online Behaviors and Adolescents’ Body and Sexual Self-Perceptions

et al. 2014

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WHAT'S KNOWN ON THIS SUBJECT: Research suggests that appearance-focused messages and exaggerated depictions of sexual activity in the media negatively influence adolescents' body and sexual self-perceptions. As adolescents increasingly use the Internet to explore their sexuality, health risks related to online behaviors should be identified. WHAT THIS STUDY ADDS:This 4-wave study examined the prevalence and development of 2 receptive and 2 interactive sex-related online behaviors and their relations with adolescents' body and sexual selfperceptions. It further investigated which parental strategies regarding Internet use may reduce risky sex-related online behaviors. METHODS: Four-wave longitudinal data among 1132 seventh-to 10th-grade Dutch adolescents (mean age at wave 1: 13.95 years; 52.7% boys) were collected. Developmental trajectories of sex-related online behaviors were estimated by using latent growth curve modeling. Self-perception outcomes at wave 4 and parental strategies predicting online behaviors were investigated by adding regression paths to growth models. RESULTS:Boys occasionally and increasingly used SEIM. Patterns for girls' SEIM use and boys' and girls' sexual information seeking and cybersex were consistently low. SNS use, however, was a common, daily activity for both. Higher initial levels and/or faster increases in sex-related online behaviors generally predicted less physical self-esteem (girls' SNS use only), more body surveillance, and less satisfaction with sexual experience. Private Internet access and less parental rule setting regarding Internet use predicted greater engagement in sex-related online behaviors. CONCLUSIONS:Although most sex-related online behaviors are not widespread among youth, adolescents who engage in such behaviors are at increased risk for developing negative body and sexual selfperceptions. Particular attention should be paid to adolescents' SNS use because this behavior is most popular and may, through its interactive characteristics, elicit more critical self-evaluations. Prevention efforts should focus on parents' role in reducing risky sex-related online behaviors.

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“…Earlier researchers typically studied sexual content in a single genre (e.g., soap operas, comedies, dramas, or music videos) or a single medium (e.g., television or magazines; for reviews, see Escobar-Chaves et al, 2005;Ward, 2003). To capture adolescents' media experience more adequately, researchers have recently included multiple genres (Aubrey, Harrison, Kramer, & Yellin, 2003;Ward, 2002;Ward & Friedman, 2006) and multiple media (e.g., Brown et al, 2006;Pardun, L'Engle, & Brown, 2005).…”

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confidence: 99%

Adolescents’ Exposure to a Sexualized Media Environment and Their Notions of Women as Sex Objects

2007

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This study was designed to investigate whether adolescents' exposure to a sexualized media environment is associated with stronger beliefs that women are sex objects. More specifically, we studied whether the association between notions of women as sex objects and exposure to sexual content of varied explicitness (i.e., sexually nonexplicit, semi-explicit, or explicit) and in different formats (i.e., visual and audio-visual) can be better described as cumulative or as hierarchical. Further, we investigated whether this association was contingent on gender. Based on data from an on-line survey of 745 Dutch adolescents aged 13 to 18, we found that the relationship between exposure to a sexualized media environment and notions of women as sex objects followed a hierarchical pattern: Starting with adolescents' exposure to sexually semiexplicit content, the statistical significance of the relationship with notions of women as sex objects moved from semi-explicit to explicit sexual content and from visual to audio-visual formats. Exposure to sexually explicit material in on-line movies was the only exposure measure significantly related to beliefs that women are sex objects in the final regression model, in which exposure to other forms of sexual content was controlled. The relationship between exposure to a sexualized media environment and notions of women as sex objects did not differ for girls and boys.

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Linking Exposure to Outcomes: Early Adolescents' Consumption of Sexual Content in Six Media

Cited by 220 publications

References 14 publications

Sexuality, Contraception, and the Media

Sexuality, Contraception, and the Media

Sex-Related Online Behaviors and Adolescents’ Body and Sexual Self-Perceptions

Adolescents’ Exposure to a Sexualized Media Environment and Their Notions of Women as Sex Objects

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