Prof. Martin Fishbein, Drs. Hennessy, Jordan, and Bleakley published in the Journal of Sex Research

Monday, November 16, 2009

View the associated web page

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Martin Fishbein, Ph.D., the Harry C. Coles, Jr. Distinguished Professor of Communication, was the principal investigator in a study published in the Journal of Sex Research titled “Estimating the Longitudinal Association Between Adolescent Sexual Behavior and Exposure to Sexual Media Content,” (April 2009). Michael Hennessy from the Annenberg Public Policy Center (APPC) was the lead author of the article, along with Prof. Fishbein’s, and the APPC’s Amy Bleakley, and Amy Jordan from the Annenberg Public Policy Center.

The research behind the article indicates that sexual trajectory development differs by race and ethnicity, and that if understanding the role and relationship of media exposure to sexual activity by teens may require analysis of younger subjects.

Abstract:

The purpose of this study is to estimate the association between adolescent sexual behavior and exposure to sexual media content. A three-wave, longitudinal survey sample (N=506) of 14- to 16-year-olds at baseline is analyzed using growth curves. Growth trajectories are linear for sexual behavior but not for exposure to sexual media content. The signs of the exposure slopes are not uniformly positive: Hispanic and African American respondents show declines of exposure to sexual media content over the age range investigated here. Although changes in exposure to sex content are highly associated with changes in sexual behavior among Whites, there is little or no association between changes in these variables among Blacks.