The Unique Influence of Media-Related Cognitions on Predictors of Adolescent Sexual Behaviors

In addition to parents and peers, adolescents look to the media for information about sex. Of concern, the information that teens receive about sex from the media is often inaccurate and unhealthy, and research suggests that exposure to sexual media predicts sexual behavior and teen pregnancy. The present study investigated the influence of adolescents’ media related cognitions on important predictors of sexual behavior accounting for the powerful influence of parents and peers. Data were collected from 869 adolescents in fifty-four 7^th and 8^th grade health classes across nine middle schools in the Southeastern U.S. in a questionnaire that assessed their attitudes, cognitions, and behavioral intentions regarding sexual activity. Three ordered multinomial logistic regression models were conducted for the following outcomes of interest: attitudes about teen sex, intentions to have sex, and self-efficacy to refuse sex. Models included the individual items that comprised the outcome scale as the dependent variables, and contained several demographic variables, parent and peer influence variables (i.e., normative beliefs about teen sex), and media-related cognitions (i.e., perceived realism of media messages, perceived desirability of media messages; and media skepticism). The analyses revealed that the models accounted for a significant amount of variance in the outcomes of interest. Across all three models, factors that were related to negative outcomes were permissive peer norms, permissive parent norms, and perceived desirability of media messages. Conversely, media skepticism was related to positive outcomes across the three models. The analyses also revealed that the block of media-related cognitions predicted a significant amount of variance over and above the demographic, peer, and parental variables on all three predictors of sexual behavior outcomes: 1) attitudes about teen sex, F(3, 416259) = 13.35, p <0.0001; 2) intentions to have sex, F(3, 126133) = 26.80, p <0.0001; and, 3) self-efficacy to refuse sex F(3, 490612) = 37.85, p <0.0001. Overall, the findings reveal that media-related cognitions have a unique influence on adolescents’ attitudes, behavioral intentions, and self-efficacy for sexual activity above and beyond the influence one’s own current relationship status and sexual experience, as well as the influence of parents and peers. This study reveals the importance of key media-related cognitions that serve as risk factors (i.e., perceived desirability and realism) and protective factors (i.e., media skepticism) for early sexual activity.  Implications from this study include the potential role of media literacy education in positively influencing media-related cognitions and enhancing adolescent sexual health.