Another study has documented the dangerous effect that improper media influences can have on young people. Children who watch movies that are R-rated and meant for adults are more likely to try alcohol, according to a new study in the journal Prevention Science.

• Dr. James Sargent and his colleagues at Dartmouth Medical School surveyed 6,255 children ages 12 to 14 years old every eight months for two years between 2003 and 2005.
  
• The students were allowed to watch both family-oriented and R-rated movies. The R-rated movies were all box office hits rather than horror or sexually oriented films.
  
• The children answered questions about whether they like to do scary or dangerous things, if they were bored and restless, and if they had tried alcohol without telling their parents.
  
• If a child considered a "low sensation seeker" watched R-rated movies, he or she was just as likely to experiment with drinking alcohol as the children rated "high sensation seekers."

"The study found that watching R-rated movies affected the level of sensation seeking among adolescents," said Dr. Sargent. "R-rated movies not only contains scenes of alcohol use that prompt adolescents to drink, they also jack up the sensation seeking tendency, which makes adolescents more prone to engage in all sorts of risky behaviors."

"The message to parents is clear," he said. "Take the movie ratings literally. Under-17s should not be permitted to see R-rated movies."

Labels: media_influences

Posted By: Aspen/CRC