Motives for and Effects of Adolescents' Exposure to Romantically-Themed Reality Television. A Prospective Cohort Study.

This prospective cohort study explores motives for and effects of viewing romantically-themed reality television (=RTRT). A panel study was conducted among 498 adolescents during three consecutive years (Mean age=15.75; 57.6% girls). Findings show, first, that viewing RTRT at Time 2 is significantly predicted by Time-1 television dependency and by Time-2 viewing frequencies. Time-1 connectedness to peers and Time-1 viewing motives (entertainment, escapism and mood management), however, did not consistently predict exposure to RTRT. Second, viewing RTRT at Time 2 significantly predicted communication with peers about sex among girls and higher estimations of peers' sexual activities among boys, both one year later. However, viewing RTRT did not predict attitudes towards steady relationships, importance of romantic characteristics of partner and agreement with stereotypical attitudes. Discussion focuses on the need to explore the longitudinal relationships between television viewing and adolescents' sexuality with special attention to the emergence of gender differences in these relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]