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| Bristol Palin, the 17-year-old pregnant daughter of Republican vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin. (AP) |
Washington, Nov. 3: Teenagers who watch a lot of television featuring flirting, kissing, discussion of sex and sex scenes are much more likely than their peers to get pregnant or get a partner pregnant, according to the first study to directly link steamy programming to teen pregnancy.
The study, which tracked more than 700 12-to-17-year-olds for three years, found that those who viewed the most sexual content on TV were about twice as likely to be involved in a pregnancy as those who saw the least.
“Watching this kind of sexual content on television is a powerful factor in increasing the likelihood of a teen pregnancy,” said lead researcher Anita Chandra. “We found a strong association.”
There is rising concern about teen pregnancy rates, which after decades of decline may have started inching up again, fuelling an intense debate about what factors are to blame.
Although TV viewing is unlikely to entirely explain the possible uptick in teen pregnancies, Chandra and others said, the study provides the first direct evidence that it could be playing a significant role.
“Sexual content on television has doubled in the last few years, especially during the period of our research,” said Chandra, a researcher at the non-partisan Rand Corp.
Studies have found a link between watching television shows with sexual content and becoming sexually active earlier, and between sexually explicit music videos and an increased risk of sexually transmitted diseases. Many studies have shown that TV violence seems to make children more aggressive. But the new research is the first to show an association between TV watching and pregnancy among teens.