Abstract
Background:
Many adolescents are exposed to a significant amount of sexual content in the media. This has far-reaching effects on their sexual practices as this exposure is occurring at a period when most adolescents are often not sure of the choices to make, and the choices they make during adolescence affect their health when they become adults. The aim of this study was to assess the association between exposure of in-school adolescents to sexual content in the electronic media and their sexual intentions.
Methods:
In this cross-sectional study, information was obtained from 750 senior secondary school students in private and public schools using interviewer-administered questionnaire. Sexual media content in the movies, music video and Internet was assessed using a modified version of the sexual media diet tool. The dependent variable was sexual intention; the main independent variable was exposure to sexually explicit content in the media and confounders that were controlled for selected individual (age, sex, religiosity, self-esteem and attachment to parents), family (parents’ marital status, parents’ type of marriage, hands-on parenting and parent-adolescent communication on sex) and environmental factors (school connectedness and influence from peers) which were previously reported to be associated with sexual intentions of adolescents. Chi-square test was used to determine associations between sexual content of the electronic media and adolescents’ sexual intentions, and confounders were controlled for using logistic regression analysis.
Results:
Thirty-six percent of respondents were exposed to overtly explicit sexual content from all forms of media in the 3 months prior to this study. Twenty-four percent of the adolescents indicated their intention to have sex within 12 months following the study. Predictors of sexual intention were as follows: moderate [odds ratio, OR=2.21 (95% confidence interval, CI: 1.22–3.99)] and high exposure to sexual content in the media [OR=3.02 (95% CI: 1.69–5.43]; attending a public school [OR=2.19 (95% CI: 1.26–3.83)]; moderate peer pressure [OR=2.36 (95% CI: 1.41–3.95)] and high peer pressure [OR=10.32 (95% CI: 2.94–36.31)]; and previous history of sexual intercourse [OR=3.89 (95% CI: 2.25–6.76)].
Conclusion:
Many adolescents were exposed to sexually explicit content in the media and this had a strong association with sexual intention. Interventions to censor sexually explicit content in the media are required to protect adolescents from the consequences of early exposure to sex.
References
1. Huston AC, Wartella E, Donnerstein E. Measuring the effects of sexual content in the media. Kaiser Family Foundation, 1998. Available at: http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED445363.pdf.Search in Google Scholar
2. Committee on Communications. Sexuality, contraception and the media. Am Acad Pediatr 1995;95:298–300.10.1542/peds.95.2.298Search in Google Scholar
3. Wingood GM, DiClemente RJ, Harrington K, Davies S, Hook EW, et al. Exposure to X-rated movies and adolescents’ sexual and contraceptive-related attitudes and behaviors. Pediatrics 2001;107:1116–69.10.1037/e322352004-206Search in Google Scholar
4. Brown JD, L’Engle KL, Pardun CJ, Guo G, Kenneavy K, et al. Sexy media matter: exposure to sexual content in music, movies, television, and magazines predicts black and white adolescents’ sexual behavior. Pediatrics 2006;117:1018–27.10.1542/peds.2005-1406Search in Google Scholar
5. Kunkel D, Biely E, Eyal K, Cope-Farrar K, Donnerstein E, et al. Sex on TV3: a biennial report to the Kaiser Family Foundation 2003: Available at: https://kaiserfamilyfoundation.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/sex-on-tv-4-report-conclusion-and-references.pdf.Search in Google Scholar
6. Cope-Farrar KM, Kunkel D. Sexual messages in teens’ favorite primetime television programs. In: Brown JD, Steele JR, Walsh-Childers K, editors. Sexual teens, sexual media: investigating media’s influence on adolescent sexuality. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum, 2002:59–78.Search in Google Scholar
7. Ward LM. Talking about sex: common themes about sexuality in the prime-time television programs children and adolescents view most. J Youth Adolesc 1995;24:595–615.10.1007/BF01537058Search in Google Scholar
8. Greenberg BS, Stanley C, Siemicki M, Heeter C, Soderman A, et al. Sex content on soaps and prime-time television series most viewed by adolescents. In: Greenberg BS, Brown JD, Buerkel-Rothfuss N, editors. Media, sex and the adolescent. New York: Hampton Press, 1993:29–44.Search in Google Scholar
9. Collins RL, Steven M, Rebecca S. Influence of new media on adolescent sexual health: evidence and opportunities 2011; (WR-761): Available at: www.rand.org/health.Search in Google Scholar
10. World Health Organization W. Maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health. 2013; Available from: http://www.who.int/maternal_child_adolescent/topics/adolescence/dev/en/.Search in Google Scholar
11. Escobar-Chaves SL, Tortolero SR, Markham CM, Low BJ, Eitel P, et al. Impact of the media on adolescent sexual attitudes and behaviors. Pediatrics 2005;116:303–26.Search in Google Scholar
12. U S Department of Health and Human Services. Theory at a glance: a guide for health promotion practice. Washington, DC: National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health., Services. USDoHaH;2005. Report No.: NIH Publication No. 05-3896.Search in Google Scholar
13. McLeroy KR, Bibeau D, Steckler A, Glanz K. An ecological perspective on health promotion programs. Health Educ Quart 1988;15:351–77.10.1177/109019818801500401Search in Google Scholar
14. L’Engle KL, Brown JD, Kenneavy K. The mass media are an important context for adolescents’ sexual behavior. J Adolesc Health 2006;38:186–92.10.1016/j.jadohealth.2005.03.020Search in Google Scholar
15. Strasburger VC, Wilson BJ. Children, adolescents, and the media. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2002. Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/6935595_Children_Adolescents_and_the_Media.Search in Google Scholar
16. Strasburger VC. Alcohol advertising and adolescents. Pediatr Clin North Am 2002;49:353–76.10.1016/S0031-3955(01)00009-8Search in Google Scholar
17. Steele JR, Brown JD. Adolescent room culture: studying media in the context of everyday life. J Youth Adolesc 1995;24: 551–76.10.1007/BF01537056Search in Google Scholar
18. Strasburger VC. “Sex, drugs, rock ‘n’ roll” and the media-are the media responsible for adolescent behavior? Adolesc Med 1997;8:403–14.Search in Google Scholar
19. Collins RL, Elliott MN, Berry SH. Watching sex on television predicts adolescent initiation of sexual behavior. Pediatrics 2004;114:280–9.10.1542/peds.2003-1065-LSearch in Google Scholar PubMed
20. W.H.O., UNAIDS, UNFPA, UNODC, YouthNet. Protecting young people from HIV and AIDS: the role of health services. Geneva: World Health Organization, 2004. Available at: whqlibdoc.who.int/publications/2004/9241592478.pdf.Search in Google Scholar
21. W.H.O. Global prevalence and incidence of selected curable sexually transmitted infections overview and estimates. Geneva: World Health Organization, 2001. Available at: www.who.int/hiv/pub/sti/who_hiv_aids_2001.02.pdf.Search in Google Scholar
22. United Nations Children’s Fund. Towards an AIDS-Free generation-children and AIDS: sixth stocktaking report, 2013. New York: UNICEF, 2013. Available at: http://www.unaids.org/sites/default/files/media_asset/20131129_stocktaking_report_children_aids_en_0.pdf.Search in Google Scholar
23. Bankole A, Oye-Adeniran BA, Singh S, Adewole IF, Wulf O, et al. Unwanted pregnancy and induced abortion in Nigeria: causes and consequences. New York: Guttmacher Institute, 2006. 36pp Available at: https://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/2006/08/08/Nigeria-UP-IA.pdf.Search in Google Scholar
24. Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey. National Population Commission (NPC) [Nigeria]. 2003. Available at: www.dhsprogram.com/pubs/pdf/FR148/FR148.pdf.Search in Google Scholar
25. Health Management Information System unit HMIS. Oyo State Health Facility Directory. Department of Population Research and Statistics, Oyo State Ministry, Ibadan, Nigeria. 2007.Search in Google Scholar
26. National Population Commission Nigeria, ICF Macro. Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey 2008. Abuja, Nigeria. Available at: www.dhsprogram.com/pubs/pdf/FR222/FR222.pdf.Search in Google Scholar
27. Kirkwood BR, Sterne JA. Essentials of Medical Statistics, 2nd ed. Massachussetts: Blackwell Scientific Publications, 1988:501.Search in Google Scholar
28. Pardun CJ, L’Engle KL, Brown JD. Linking exposure to outcomes early adolescents’ consumption of sexual content in six media. Mass Commun Soc 2005;8:75–91.10.1207/s15327825mcs0802_1Search in Google Scholar
29. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Adolescent and School Health. Questionnaires and Items rationale: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2013. Available at: ftp://ftp.cdc.gov/pub/data/yrbs/2015/2015_standard_itemrationale.pdf.Search in Google Scholar
30. Dahlberg L, Toal S, Swahn M, Behrens C. Measuring violence-related attitudes, behaviours and influences: a compedium of assessment tools, 2nd ed. Atlanta, Georgia: National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Center for Disease and Control and Prevention, CDC, 2005:373.Search in Google Scholar
31. Clasen DR, Brown BB. The multidimensionality of peer pressure in adolescence. J Youth Adolesc 1985;14:451–68.10.1007/BF02139520Search in Google Scholar PubMed
32. Online Educational Research Journal (OERJ). How do they tell it to them? Parent-Adolescent sexual communication patterns in Nigeria. Available from: www.oerj.org.Search in Google Scholar
33. TeensNational Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University. National Survey of American Attitudes on Substance Abuse VI. New York, NY: Columbia University, 2001. Available at: http://ncfy.acf.hhs.gov/library/2004/prime-time-teens-perspectives-new-youth-media-environment.Search in Google Scholar
34. Mitroff D. Prime-time teens: perspectives on the new youth-media environment. 2004. Available at: http://ncfy.acf.hhs.gov/library/2004/prime-time-teens-perspectives-new-youth-media-environment.Search in Google Scholar
©2018 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
