Journal article
Effects of a Peer-Led Media Literacy Curriculum on Adolescents' Knowledge and Attitudes Toward Sexual Behavior and Media Portrayals of Sex
Health communication, Vol.23(5), pp.462-472
10/08/2008
Handle:
https://hdl.handle.net/2376/101202
PMID: 18850393
Abstract
The United States has the highest rates of teenage pregnancy and birth in the Western industrialized world, and research indicates that television and other mass media are important sources of sexual information for young people. The purpose of this study was to determine if a teen-led, media literacy curriculum focused on sexual portrayals in the media would increase adolescents' awareness of media myths concerning sex, decrease the allure of sexualized portrayals, and decrease positive expectancies for sexual activity. A posttest-only quasi-experiment with control groups was conducted at 22 school and community sites in Washington state (N = 532). The intervention, a 5-lesson media literacy curriculum targeted primarily to middle school students, encouraged sexual abstinence because of federal government funding requirements. Adolescents evaluated the program positively, with 85% rating it as better than other sex education programs. Compared to control-group participants, students were less likely to overestimate sexual activity among teens, more likely to think they could delay sexual activity, less likely to expect social benefits from sexual activity, more aware of myths about sex, and less likely to consider sexual media imagery desirable. The results showed that media literacy has promise as part of a sex education program by providing adolescents with a cognitive framework necessary to understand and resist the influence of media on their decision making concerning sex.
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Details
- Title
- Effects of a Peer-Led Media Literacy Curriculum on Adolescents' Knowledge and Attitudes Toward Sexual Behavior and Media Portrayals of Sex
- Creators
- Bruce E Pinkleton - Edward R. Murrow College of Communication , Washington State UniversityErica Weintraub Austin - Edward R. Murrow College of Communication , Washington State UniversityMarilyn Cohen - College of Education , University of WashingtonYi-Chun "Yvonnes" Chen - Department of Communication , Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State UniversityErin Fitzgerald - University of Texas-Austin
- Publication Details
- Health communication, Vol.23(5), pp.462-472
- Academic Unit
- Strategic Communication, Department of; Program in Communication
- Publisher
- Taylor & Francis Group
- Identifiers
- 99900546679701842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article