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Cited by 377Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive HealthSexuality, Behavior, and TechnologyMedia Influence and Health

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 44 of the 44 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

Mass media as a sexual super peer for early maturing girls

Brown, Jane D., Halpern, Carolyn Tucker, L’Engle, Kelly Ladin·2005·Journal of Adolescent Health
DOI 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2004.06.003
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Abstract

Purpose To investigate the possibility that the mass media (television, movies, music, and magazines) serve as a kind of super peer for girls who enter puberty sooner than their age-mates. Multiple studies have demonstrated significant associations between earlier pubertal timing and earlier transition to first sex. Does puberty also stimulate interest in sexual media content that is seen as giving permission to engage in sexual behavior?Methods White and African-American female adolescents (n = 471; average age 13.7 years) recruited from public middle schools in central North Carolina completed two self-administered surveys in their homes about their pubertal status, interest in and exposure to various media, and perceptions of sexual media content.Results Earlier maturing girls reported more interest than later maturing girls in seeing sexual content in movies, television, and magazines, and in listening to sexual content in music, regardless of age or race. Earlier maturing girls were also more likely to be listening to music and reading magazines with sexual content, more likely to see R-rated movies, and to interpret the messages they saw in the media as approving of teens having sexual intercourse.Conclusions The mass media may be serving as a kind of sexual super peer, especially for earlier maturing girls. Given the lack of sexual health messages in most media adolescents attend to, these findings give cause for concern. The media should be encouraged to provide more sexually healthy content, and youth service providers and physicians should be aware that earlier maturing girls may be interested in sexual information.

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Crossref · 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2004.06.003

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Metadata

Authors
Brown, J. D., Halpern, C. T., & L’Engle, K. L.
Affiliations
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (US)
Corresponding author
Brown, Jane D.
ORCID
Venue
Journal of Adolescent Health
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2005-05
Volume
36
Issue
5
Pages
420-427
ISSN
1054-139X (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1016/j.jadohealth.2004.06.003
OpenAlex
W2090837666
Cited by
377
References
43
Citations by year
2026: 8 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 13 · 2022: 11 · 2021: 15 · 2020: 14 · 2019: 18 · 2018: 39 · 2017: 21 · 2016: 23 · 2015: 18 · 2014: 20 · 2013: 24 · 2012: 22
FWCI
44.92
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
www.elsevier.com/tdm/userlicense/1.0/ (tdm)
Locations
  • Journal of Adolescent Health (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • Society for Research in Child Development
  • National Institutes of Health (5r01hd038508-05)
  • National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
  • Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (HD38508-01A)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Sexuality, Behavior, and Technology
  • Social Sciences › Communication › Media Influence and Health
Keywords
mass media, precocious puberty, sexual behavior, adolescent sexual development, racial differences
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Adolescent Behavior, Black or African American, Female, Health Surveys, Humans, Mass Media, Menarche, Peer Group, Puberty, Sexual Behavior, Age of Onset, White People

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