Yesterday researchers at the Rand Institute organisation in Chicago had the results of their three-year study on the TV viewing habits of teenagers published in the November issue of Pediatrics. It is the first study to establish a link between teenage exposure to TV programmes featuring sexual promiscuity and highly sexualised content, with high rates of teenage pregnancy in the United States. It involved 2003 12- to 17-year-old US girls and boys questioned about their TV viewing habits in 2001. Teens were re-interviewed twice, the last time in 2004, and asked about pregnancy. Among girls, 58 became pregnant during the follow-up, and among boys, 33 said they had got a girl pregnant. It also showed a link between the exposure of children to violent video games and the adoption by these viewers of aggressive behaviour.

Today the NZ Herald reproduces an Associated Press story on these findings:

Sex in the City – and among teens

4:00AM Tuesday November 04, 2008

Television shows such as Sex and the City have been linked to increased pregnancy in teenagers.

CHICAGO – Ground-breaking research suggests that pregnancy rates are much higher among teens who watch a lot of TV with sexual dialogue and behaviour compared with those who have tamer viewing tastes.

The study is the first to link those viewing habits with teen pregnancy, said lead author Anita Chandra, a Rand behavioural scientist. Teens who watched the raciest shows were twice as likely to become pregnant over the next three years as those who watched few such programmes.

Shows that highlight only the positive aspects of sexual behaviour without the risks can lead teens to have unprotected sex “before they’re ready to make responsible and informed decisions”, Dr Chandra said.

The study was released yesterday in the November issue of Pediatrics. It involved 2003 12- to 17-year-old US girls and boys questioned about their TV viewing habits in 2001. Teens were re-interviewed twice, the last time in 2004, and asked about pregnancy. Among girls, 58 became pregnant during the follow-up, and among boys, 33 said they had got a girl pregnant.

For more see:

http://msn.nzherald.co.nz/section/1501119/story.cfm?c_id=1501119&objectid=10540914&ref=rss