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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Amy Bleakley, PhD, MPH, Martin Fishbein, PhD, Michael Hennessy, PhD, MPH, Aaron Smith-McLallen, PhD, Ariel Chernin, Amy Jordan, PhD, Elizabeth Davis, MPH, and Robin C. Stevens, MPH. Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania, 3620 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, 215-898-5000, ableakley@asc.upenn.edu

Current research suggests a relationship between exposure to sexual content in the media and adolescents' intentions to have sex. The present study discusses the development of sexual content exposure measures based on adolescents' own subjective sexual content ratings in 4 media (i.e., television, music, magazines, videogames). We then used these measures to examine the association between sexual content exposure and adolescents' intention to have sex and the relationship of exposure with several mediating variables (e.g. behavioral beliefs). Data were collected in summer 2005 through a web-based survey using a convenience sample of 547 youth aged 14-16 from the Philadelphia area. Adolescents rated on a 4-point scale (never to often) how often they were exposed to specific television shows, magazine titles, etc. Next they rated the sexual content of those titles on a 4-point scale (none to a lot). Sexual content exposure was calculated 4 different ways for each media (with television as an example): (1) mean sexual content favorite television shows, (2) mean sexual content of all shows watched, (3) proportion of all shows watched with high sexual content, and (4) separate mean sexual content ratings for shows watched rarely, sometimes, and often. Preliminary analyses indicated that all types of measures were significantly associated with intention to have sex, although the strength of association varied by medium and measure. Future analyses include using longitudinal data available in summer 2006 to establish temporality between exposure at wave 1 and intentions and sexual behavior at wave 2.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participant (learner) in this session will be able to

• Construct various measures of exposure to sexual content
• Describe the effects of sexual content exposure on adolescents’ intentions to have sex

Keywords: Media, Adolescents

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No