More than half of all television shows contain sexual content, and rarely do these shows make reference to sexual responsibility issues such as pregnancy or STDs. There is widespread concern about the effects of such portrayals on adolescents: at its heart is the worry that watching television may cause adolescents to engage in intercourse or other sexual activities earlier than they would otherwise. Yet little scientific research has been done to determine whether this is true. The proposed study will investigate the associations between viewing sexual content on television and sexual attitudes and behaviors in a national sample of 2000 adolescents between the ages of 12 and 17. The study extends previous work by examining this question longitudinally while controlling for other predictors of sexual activity, thereby laying the groundwork for making causal inferences. The core of the study is a national survey, with two waves of data collection one year apart. Data concerning television viewing, sexual attitudes and activities and background factors will be collected. These data will be combined with the findings from a separately funded state-of-the-art content analysis covering the television season intervening between these two surveys. This unique opportunity will allow us to develop highly sensitive measures of exposure to diverse forms of content, including content portraying risks and responsibilities that may be educational. Thus, we will be able to provide a state-of-the-art answer to the questions concerning both the potential positive and negative effects of television sexual content on adolescent viewers.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (NICHD)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
3R01HD038090-02S1
Application #
6554870
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZRG1 (05))
Program Officer
Newcomer, Susan
Project Start
2000-05-10
Project End
2003-04-30
Budget Start
2001-05-01
Budget End
2002-04-30
Support Year
2
Fiscal Year
2002
Total Cost
$59,584
Indirect Cost
Name
Rand Corporation
Department
Type
DUNS #
City
Santa Monica
State
CA
Country
United States
Zip Code
90401
Collins, Rebecca L; Martino, Steven C; Elliott, Marc N et al. (2011) Relationships Between Adolescent Sexual Outcomes and Exposure to Sex in Media: Robustness to Propensity-Based Analysis. Dev Psychol 47:585-591
Martino, Steven C; Collins, Rebecca L; Elliott, Marc N et al. (2009) It's better on TV: does television set teenagers up for regret following sexual initiation? Perspect Sex Reprod Health 41:92-100
Collins, Rebecca L (2008) Media multitasking: Issues posed in measuring the effects of television sexual content exposure. Commun Methods Meas 2:65-79
Martino, Steven C; Elliott, Marc N; Collins, Rebecca L et al. (2008) Virginity pledges among the willing: delays in first intercourse and consistency of condom use. J Adolesc Health 43:341-8
Martino, Steven C; Collins, Rebecca L; Elliott, Marc N et al. (2006) Exposure to degrading versus nondegrading music lyrics and sexual behavior among youth. Pediatrics 118:e430-41
Martino, Steven C; Collins, Rebecca L; Kanouse, David E et al. (2005) Social cognitive processes mediating the relationship between exposure to television's sexual content and adolescents' sexual behavior. J Pers Soc Psychol 89:914-24
Collins, Rebecca L (2005) Sex on television and its impact on american youth: background and results from the RAND Television and Adolescent Sexuality study. Child Adolesc Psychiatr Clin N Am 14:371-85, vii
Stein, Bradley D; Elliott, Marc N; Jaycox, Lisa H et al. (2004) A national longitudinal study of the psychological consequences of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks: reactions, impairment, and help-seeking. Psychiatry 67:105-17
Collins, Rebecca L; Elliott, Marc N; Berry, Sandra H et al. (2004) Watching sex on television predicts adolescent initiation of sexual behavior. Pediatrics 114:e280-9
Collins, Rebecca L; Elliott, Marc N; Berry, Sandra H et al. (2003) Entertainment television as a healthy sex educator: the impact of condom-efficacy information in an episode of friends. Pediatrics 112:1115-21