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Alcohol use and sexual behavior are important risk behaviors in adolescent development, and combining the two is common. The reasoned action approach (RAA) is used to predict adolescents' intention to combine alcohol use and sexual behavior based on exposure to alcohol and sex combinations in popular entertainment media. We conducted a content analysis of mainstream (n = 29) and Black-oriented movies (n = 34) from 2014 and 2013-2014, respectively, and 56 television shows (2014-2015 season). Content analysis ratings featuring character portrayals of both alcohol and sex within the same five-minute segment were used to create exposure measures that were linked to online survey data collected from 1,990 adolescents ages 14 to 17 years old (50.3% Black, 49.7% White; 48.1% female). Structural equation modeling (SEM) and group analysis by race were used to test whether attitudes, norms, and perceived behavioral control mediated the effects of media exposure on intention to combine alcohol and sex. Results suggest that for both White and Black adolescents, exposure to media portrayals of alcohol and sex combinations is positively associated with adolescents' attitudes and norms. These relationships were stronger among White adolescents. Intention was predicted by attitude, norms, and control, but only the attitude-intention relationship was different by race group (stronger for Whites).

This study used the Integrative Model as a framework to examine whether religiosity delays onset of coitus among a longitudinal sample of virgins, and investigated the causal pathways of this relationship. In addition, this study examined the behavioral beliefs about the consequences of engaging in sex, which distinguishes between youth who vary in level of religiosity. A further analysis was also conducted to examine whether religiosity offers protective effects in terms of progression toward sexual intercourse on a sexual behavior index. The sexual behavior index assumes a progressive nature of sexual behaviors, and includes the following seven behaviors: kissing, having breasts touched (touching for boys), genital touching, receiving oral sex, vaginal intercourse, giving oral sex, and receiving (or giving) anal sex. Religiosity at baseline was negatively associated with sexual debut one year later. This relationship was mediated through attitudes toward personally engaging in sexual intercourse. Religiosity at baseline was also negatively associated with scores on the sexual behavior index one year later. These results suggest that religiosity offers protective effects for both coital and noncoital sexual behaviors.

This paper reports on the extent to which adolescents report actively seeking sexual content in media, identifies from which media they report seeking, estimates the association between seeking sexual information and romantic and sexual behavior, and shows that active seeking of sexual content in media sources is explained by an intention to seek such content using the Integrative Model of Behavioral Prediction, a reasoned action approach. The data are a national sample of 810 adolescents aged 13-18 years. Results show that fifty percent of adolescents reported actively seeking sexual content in their media choices, which included movies, television, music, internet pornography sites, and magazines. Males sought sex content more than females and gender differences were greatest for seeking from internet pornography sites, movies, and television. Path analysis demonstrate that seeking sexual content is well predicted by intentions to seek and intentions are primarily driven by perceived normative pressure to seek sexual content.

Many studies of sexual messages in media utilize content analysis methods. At times, this research assumes that researchers and trained coders using content analysis methods and the intended audience view and interpret media content similarly. This article compares adolescents' perceptions of the presence or absence of sexual content on television to those of researchers using three different coding schemes. Results from this formative research study suggest that participants and researchers are most likely to agree with content categories assessing manifest content, and that differences exist among adolescents who view sexual messages on television. Researchers using content analysis methods to examine sexual content in media and media effects on sexual behavior should consider identifying how audience characteristics may affect interpretation of content and account for audience perspectives in content analysis study protocols when appropriate for study goals.

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.