Media Exposure and the Sexual Attitudes and Behaviors of College Students

Strouse, Jeremiah S.; Buerkel-Rothfuss, Nancy L.

doi:10.1080/01614576.1987.11074908

Cited by 59 publications

(54 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…There is also some evidence that they may be more likely to have abortions (Plotnick, 1992). These seemingly contradictory findings may be reconciled by proposing that they simply have more sex in general, a possibility that is supported by other findings (Strouse & Buerkel-Rothfuss, 1987). Walsh (1991) found that virginity was linked to low self-esteem among men but not among women.…”

Section: Sexual Behaviormentioning

confidence: 48%

Does High Self-Esteem Cause Better Performance, Interpersonal Success, Happiness, or Healthier Lifestyles?

Baumeister¹,

Campbell

Krueger

et al. 2003

Psychol Sci Public Interest

2,837

111

2,157

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Most people feel that self-esteem is important. It is difficult, if not impossible, for people to remain indifferent to information that bears on their own self-esteem, such as being told that they are incompetent, attractive, untrustworthy, or lovable. Increases and decreases in self-esteem generally bring strong emotional reactions. Moreover, these fluctuations are often coincident with major successes and failures in life. Subjective

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Section: Sexual Behaviormentioning

confidence: 48%

Does High Self-Esteem Cause Better Performance, Interpersonal Success, Happiness, or Healthier Lifestyles?

Baumeister¹,

Campbell

Krueger

et al. 2003

Psychol Sci Public Interest

2,837

111

2,157

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In addition, in a longitudinal study of sexual activity and media habits, adolescents who viewed higher proportions of television with sexual content were more likely to become sexually active over the course of the study than were adolescents who watched lower proportions (Brown & Newcomer, 1991). Despite these examples of positive correlations between exposure to sexually-oriented television and sexual experience, studies have generally shown no connection between overall television viewing and sexual behaviors (Brown & Newcomer, 1991;Strouse & Buerkel-Rothfuss, 1987), which suggests that the relationship between television viewing and sexual behavior is conditional and complex.…”

Section: Associations Between Viewing Sexually-oriented Television Anmentioning

confidence: 84%

“…For example, among young women, frequent music video viewing has been linked with both a greater number of sexual partners and with more sexual permissiveness (Strouse & Buerkel-Rothfuss, 1987;Strouse, Buerkel-Rothfuss, & Long, 1995;Wingood et al, 2003). In addition, in a longitudinal study of sexual activity and media habits, adolescents who viewed higher proportions of television with sexual content were more likely to become sexually active over the course of the study than were adolescents who watched lower proportions (Brown & Newcomer, 1991).…”

Section: Associations Between Viewing Sexually-oriented Television Anmentioning

confidence: 92%

Who Wants to Marry a Millionaire? Reality Dating Television Programs, Attitudes Toward Sex, and Sexual Behaviors

2006

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Past research has revealed associations between television viewing and sexual attitudes and behaviors. We examined a burgeoning new television genre, reality dating programs (RDPs). Undergraduate students (ages 18-24) reported their overall television viewing, their RDP viewing, and their involvement with RDPs (watching in order to learn and watching in order to be entertained). They also completed measures of attitudes toward sex, dating, and relationships, and answered questions about sexual behavior. Most participants were occasional or frequent viewers of at least one RDP. Men reported using RDPs for learning more than did women; there was no gender difference in use of RDPs for entertainment. Total amount of RDP viewing was positively correlated, for both men and women, with adversarial sexual beliefs, endorsement of a sexual double standard, and the beliefs that men are sex-driven, that appearance is important in dating, and that dating is a game. In all cases, however, these relationships were partially or totally mediated through viewer involvement. Men and women who watched RDPs tended to be less sexually experienced; there were few other correlations with sexual behaviors.

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“…Previous work demonstrated links between viewing of sexual content on TV and attitudes toward sex, 14 endorsement of gender stereotypes likely to promote sexual initiation, 15 and dissatisfaction with virginity, 16 as well as a wide range of perceptions regarding normative sexual behavior. 17 In addition to these studies, 2 groundbreaking articles published in the early 1990s examined the question of whether exposure to sex on TV influences adolescent sexual behavior.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Watching Sex on Television Predicts Adolescent Initiation of Sexual Behavior

et al. 2004

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ABSTRACT. Background. Early sexual initiation is an important social and health issue. A recent survey suggested that most sexually experienced teens wish they had waited longer to have intercourse; other data indicate that unplanned pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases are more common among those who begin sexual activity earlier. The American Academy of Pediatrics has suggested that portrayals of sex on entertainment television (TV) may contribute to precocious adolescent sex. Approximately two-thirds of TV programs contain sexual content. However, empirical data examining the relationships between exposure to sex on TV and adolescent sexual behaviors are rare and inadequate for addressing the issue of causal effects.Design and Participants. We conducted a national longitudinal survey of 1792 adolescents, 12 to 17 years of age. In baseline and 1-year follow-up interviews, participants reported their TV viewing habits and sexual experience and responded to measures of more than a dozen factors known to be associated with adolescent sexual initiation. TV viewing data were combined with the results of a scientific analysis of TV sexual content to derive measures of exposure to sexual content, depictions of sexual risks or safety, and depictions of sexual behavior (versus talk about sex but no behavior).Outcome Measures. Initiation of intercourse and advancement in noncoital sexual activity level, during a 1-year period.Results. Multivariate regression analysis indicated that adolescents who viewed more sexual content at baseline were more likely to initiate intercourse and progress to more advanced noncoital sexual activities during the subsequent year, controlling for respondent characteristics that might otherwise explain these relationships. The size of the adjusted intercourse effect was such that youths in the 90th percentile of TV sex viewing had a predicted probability of intercourse initiation that was approximately double that of youths in the 10th percentile, for all ages studied. Exposure to TV that included only talk about sex was associated with the same risks as exposure to TV that depicted sexual behavior. African American youths who watched more depictions of sexual risks or safety were less likely to initiate intercourse in the subsequent year.Conclusions. Watching sex on TV predicts and may hasten adolescent sexual initiation. Reducing the amount of sexual content in entertainment programming, reducing adolescent exposure to this content, or increasing references to and depictions of possible negative consequences of sexual activity could appreciably delay the initiation of coital and noncoital activities. Alternatively, parents may be able to reduce the effects of sexual content by watching TV with their teenaged children and discussing their own beliefs about sex and the behaviors portrayed. Pediatricians should encourage these family discussions. Pediatrics 2004;114:e280 -e289. URL: http: //www.pediatrics.org/cgi/content/full/114/3/e280; condoms, media, sex, television.ABBREVIATIONS....

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Media Exposure and the Sexual Attitudes and Behaviors of College Students

Cited by 59 publications

References 20 publications

Does High Self-Esteem Cause Better Performance, Interpersonal Success, Happiness, or Healthier Lifestyles?

Does High Self-Esteem Cause Better Performance, Interpersonal Success, Happiness, or Healthier Lifestyles?

Who Wants to Marry a Millionaire? Reality Dating Television Programs, Attitudes Toward Sex, and Sexual Behaviors

Watching Sex on Television Predicts Adolescent Initiation of Sexual Behavior

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