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A more recent version of this article was published on [09-17-2012]

Greater Exposure to Sexual Content in Popular Movies Predicts Earlier Sexual Debut and Increased Sexual Risk Taking

  1. James D. Sargent4
  1. 1Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College
  2. 2Department of Psychiatry, Geisel School of Medicine, Dartmouth College
  3. 3Department of Community and Family Medicine, Geisel School of Medicine, Dartmouth College
  4. 4Department of Pediatrics, Geisel School of Medicine, Dartmouth College
  1. Ross E. O’Hara, University of Missouri, 147 Psychology Building, 200 South 7th St., Columbia, MO 65211 E-mail: oharar{at}missouri.edu

Abstract

Early sexual debut is associated with risky sexual behavior and an increased risk of unplanned pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections later in life. The relations among early movie sexual exposure (MSE), sexual debut, and risky sexual behavior in adulthood (i.e., multiple sexual partners and inconsistent condom use) were examined in a longitudinal study of U.S. adolescents. MSE was measured using the Beach method, a comprehensive procedure for media content coding. Controlling for characteristics of adolescents and their families, analyses showed that MSE predicted age of sexual debut, both directly and indirectly through changes in sensation seeking. MSE also predicted engagement in risky sexual behaviors both directly and indirectly via early sexual debut. These results suggest that MSE may promote sexual risk taking both by modifying sexual behavior and by accelerating the normal rise in sensation seeking during adolescence.

Article Notes

  • Declaration of Conflicting Interests The authors declared that they had no conflicts of interest with respect to their authorship or the publication of this article.

  • Funding This research was funded by National Institutes of Health Grants CA077026 and AA015591 to James D. Sargent.

  • Supplemental Material Additional supporting information may be found at http://pss.sagepub.com/content/by/supplemental-data

  • Received August 24, 2011.
  • Accepted December 16, 2011.
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  1. Published online before print July 18, 2012, doi: 10.1177/0956797611435529 Psychological Science 0956797611435529
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