Chris Ferguson, Stetson University – Sex on TV and Teen Behavior

Does more sexual content in mass media lead to more teen sexual behavior?

Chris Ferguson, associate professor of psychology at Stetson University, examines this question.

Christopher Ferguson holds a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Central Florida. He has clinical experience particularly in working with offender and juvenile justice populations as well as conducting evaluations for child protective services. In 2013 he was awarded a Distinguished Early Career Professional Award from Division 46 (media psychology and technology) of the American Psychological Association. In 2014 he was named a fellow of the American Psychological Association through Division 1 (General Psychology, effective January, 2015). In addition to his academic work he has published a historical mystery novel entitled Suicide Kings. He lives in Winter Springs with his wife and young son.

Sex on TV and Teen Behavior

In recent decades mass media has exploded with sexual content.  Many parents and policy makers wonder what impact this may have on teens.  Yet, teen pregnancy rates have been going down and teens are waiting to have sex longer than in previous decades.  Could it be possible that despite teen sexual behavior improving, sexy media influences teen sexuality?

To answer this question several colleagues and I sought to examine this issue in a meta-analytic study.  We combined previously published research on this topic to look for overall patterns.  In particular, we were curious whether exposure to sexy media was related to teen sexual behavior once other factors like family environment, personality and gender were controlled.  Maybe, if some teens like sexy media and also engage in riskier sexual behaviors, it’s due to underlying issues, not anything to do with the media itself.

This is exactly what we found.  Once other factors were controlled in research studies, exposure to sexy media appeared to have little real relationship with teen sexual behavior.  Beliefs that sexy media shape teen sexuality appear to be more myth than reality.

This is good news for parents.  This means that the messages they teach children about sex…assuming they bother to do so…are not easily undone by watching sexy media.  If teens turn to media at all, it’s likely only in a vacuum left by the failure of parents and educators to provide good information.

In the past, people worried about the impact of media ranging from Elvis Presley through rock and pop music like Prince and heavy metal bands on teen sexual behavior.  Similarly, books like Tropic of Cancer through 50 Shades of Grey were singled out.  Now people worry about television, movies and even video games.  Research evidence increasingly suggests that such fears are unfounded.