Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They
AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German
Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who
By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an
My Profile
Live Election Coverage
Breaking news, state-by-state map and more...
Election News
You are here:
Home
>
News
>
Entertainment
>
Article
Home
Business & Finance
News
U.S.
Politics
International
Technology
Entertainment
Film
Music
People
Television
Arts
Industry
Sports
Lifestyle
Oddly Enough
Environment
Health
Science
Special Coverage
Video
Pictures
You Witness
The Great Debate
Blogs
Reader Feedback
Do More With Reuters
RSS
Widgets
Mobile
Podcasts
Newsletters
You Witness News
Make Reuters My Homepage
Partner Services
CareerBuilder
Affiliate Network
Professional Products
Support (Customer Zone)
Reuters Media
Financial Products
About Thomson Reuters
Study links teen pregnancy to sexy TV shows
Mon Nov 3, 2008 12:51pm EST
Email | Print |
Share
| Reprints | Single Page
[-]
Text
[+]
By Andrew Stern
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Exposure to some forms of entertainment is a corrupting influence on children, leading teens who watch sexy programs into early pregnancies and children who play violent video games to adopt aggressive behavior, researchers said on Monday.
Researchers at the RAND research organization said their three-year study was the first to link viewing of racy television programing with risky sexual behavior by teens.
"Our findings suggest that television may play a significant role in the high rates of teenage pregnancy in the United States," said Anita Chandra, a behavioral scientist who led the research at RAND, a nonprofit research organization.
"We're not saying we're establishing causation, but we are saying this is one factor that we were able to prospectively link to the teen pregnancy outcome," Chandra said in a phone interview.
The researchers recruited adolescents aged 12 to 17 and surveyed them three times between 2001 and 2004, asking about television viewing habits, sexual behavior and pregnancy.
In findings that covered 718 teenagers, there were 91 pregnancies. The top 10th of adolescents who watched the most sexy programing were at double the risk of becoming pregnant or causing a pregnancy compared to the 10th who watched the fewest such programs, according to the study published in the journal Pediatrics.
The study focused on 23 free and cable television programs popular among teenagers including situation comedies, dramas, reality programs and animated shows. Comedies had the most sexual content and reality programs the least.
"The television content we see very rarely highlights the negative aspects of sex or the risks and responsibilities," Chandra said. "So if teens are getting any information about sex they're rarely getting information about pregnancy or sexually transmitted diseases."
TEEN PREGNANCY ON DECLINE
Teen pregnancy rates in the United States have declined sharply since 1991 but remain high compared to other industrialized nations. Nearly 1 million girls aged 15 to 19 years old become pregnant yearly, or about 20 percent of sexually active females in that age group. Most of the pregnancies were unplanned, the report said.
Young mothers are more likely to quit school, require public assistance and live in poverty, it said.
"Television is just one part of a teenager's media diet that helps to influence their behavior. We should also look at the roles that magazines, the Internet and music play in teens' reproductive health," Chandra said, acknowledging still other factors can influence teen sex habits.
Living in a two-parent family reduced the chances of a teen getting pregnant or causing a pregnancy. Black teenagers, and those with discipline problems, had higher risks.
The report suggested broadcasters provide more realistic portrayals of the consequences of sex and that parents limit their children's access to sexually explicit programing.
A second study in the journal added to existing evidence that youths who play violent video games -- a worldwide trend with American children averaging 13 hours of video gaming a week -- led to increased physically aggressive behavior. Continued...
View article on single page
Share:
Del.icio.us
Digg
Mixx
My Web
Facebook
LinkedIn
Next Article:
UPDATE 2-Circuit City closing 155 stores, seeking options
Also on Reuters
Analysis: How Obama went from longshot to favorite
Media groups turn on Web for election cover
Slideshow
Campaign supporters on both sides brace for nail-biting end
Editor's Choice
Pictures
Video
Articles
Slideshow
A selection of our best photos from the past 24 hours. Slideshow
Election 2008
digital tomb
Muay Thai fight
Lifestyle: Yiddish revival creates rift
Top News: Muslims seek crisis plan with Vatican
International: African albinos killed for body parts
Most Popular on Reuters
Articles
Video
Recommended
Obama's grandmother dies of cancer in Hawaii
Obama leads McCain in 6 of 8 key states | Video
Clues to election result could come early | Video
Study links teen pregnancy to sexy TV shows
Rare flash of anger from Obama on Halloween night
Circuit City to shut 155 stores, mulling options
Gay marriage votes may show changing U.S.
Recession rears ugly head, global auto sales shrink
Clues to U.S. election result could come early
Auto sales plunge to near 25-year lows
Most Popular Articles RSS Feed
Video
Prank call catches Palin off guard
Obama and McCain battle it out
Obama's aunt is 'illegal alien'
Candidates make their final push
Flag burning on West Bank
Betting on the U.S. elections
Goma residents scramble for aid
China tangerine sales go pear-shaped
Iraqi minister hurt in blast
ANC rebels to contest elections
Most Popular Videos RSS Feed
Live Coverage of Election Night, 2008
Breaking news headlines
Interactive state-by-state map
Tails from the Trail blog
Reuters/Zogby tracking polls
Reuters.com:
Help and Contact Us |
Advertise With Us |
Mobile |
Newsletters |
RSS |
Interactive TV |
Labs |
Reuters in Second Life |
Archive |
Site Index |
Video Index
Thomson Reuters Corporate:
Copyright |
Disclaimer |
Privacy |
Professional Products |
Professional Products Support |
About Thomson Reuters |
Careers
International Editions:
Africa |
Arabic |
Argentina |
Brazil |
Canada |
China |
France |
Germany |
India |
Italy |
Japan |
Latin America |
Mexico |
Russia |
Spain |
United Kingdom |
United States
Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.
NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.