A groundbreaking study has confirmed what many parents and family advocates have been saying for years: Highly sexual content on television is a bad influence on teenagers.
A RAND Corp. study published in the journal Pediatrics showed that teens exposed to high levels of sexual content on TV were twice as likely to be involved in a pregnancy in the following three years as teens with limited exposure.
The study, based on interviews with more than 2,000 teens, called it “a compelling link."
“All television programs are not equal, and if steering teens away from the bad ones can help prevent a teenage pregnancy or sexually transmitted infection, a little parental involvement can go a long way,” said Carrie Gordon Earll, senior director of issue analysis at Focus on the Family Action.
“Parents may underestimate their impact, but studies find that parents are leading influencers of teens when it comes to decisions about sex. Parents need to leverage that clout with some productive TV oversight."
— Stephen Adams
