Study: Direct link between what kids watch, do

Parents are being warned, again, to beware of what their children see, because adolescent behavior follows what they view on the silver screen, i.e., the more sex they see the more they’ll act out.
The word comes in a report from the Association of Psychological Science, which cites a Dartmouth study on the behavior of children.
The study looked at behavior by adolescents and what the children viewed, and found that “adolescents who are exposed to more sexual content in movies start having sex at younger ages, have more sexual partners, and are less likely to use condoms with casual sexual partners.”
That’s from Ross O’Hara, of the University of Missouri, who did the research with others while at Dartmouth.
“Much research has shown that adolescents’ sexual attitudes and behaviors are influenced by media,” O’Hara said in the Psychological Science report.
Ted Baehr, chief of MOVIEGUIDE®, which offers advisories, reviews and details about productions so that parents can learn what is in the movies their kids watch, said the latest research lines up with many studies that have come before, and reveals the same result.
“I’m very grateful that universities and schools keep coming up with study after study proving, in many different ways, that the media influences susceptible youth to engage in aberrant behavior. … The problem is that the message has not gotten to the parents even after all these years,” he said.
“Every study is an opportunity to reach families,” he said. “The good news is that we can show your kids how to be media- and culture-wise so they don’t get corrupted.”

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