By Psych Central News Editor
Reviewed by John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on March 12,
2010
Despite the fact that R-rated movies are movies targeted toward adults, many teens
still view such movies with permission from their parents or guardians.
But a new study
finds one more reason why parents should not let their kids watch those movies: adolescents who watch R-rated movies are more
likely to try alcohol at a young age.
In a study of 6,255 children, researchers
examined the relationship between watching R-rated movies and the probability of alcohol use across different levels of “sensation
seeking,” which is a tendency to seek out risky experiences.
“The study
found that watching R-rated movies affected the level of sensation seeking among adolescents,” noted James D. Sargent,
a pediatrician at Dartmouth Medical School.
“It showed that R-rated movies
not only contain 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.”
“There
is another take home point in the findings. When it comes to the direct effect on alcohol use, the influence of R-rated movies
depends on sensation seeking level.”
“High sensation seekers are
already at high risk for use of alcohol, and watching a lot of R-rated movies raises their risk only a little. But for low
sensation seekers, R-rated movies make a big difference. In fact, exposure to R-rated movies can make a low sensation seeking
adolescent drink like a high sensation seeking adolescent,” Sargent explained.
The
Dartmouth pediatrician said that one possible explanation is high sensation seeking adolescents tend to get their experiences
out on the street. They hang around other high sensation seekers, who are also engaging in risky behaviors, so there is less
room for movies to make a difference in their risk for alcohol use.
“The message
to parents is clear. Take the movie ratings literally. Under 17 should not be permitted to see R-rated movies,” Sargent
said.
The study was based on telephone surveys of 6,522 adolescents aged 10-14 years.
The children were surveyed every 8 months for a period of two years from 2003 through 2005.
Parental
consent and adolescent consent was obtained prior to interviewing each respondent. To protect confidentiality, adolescents
indicated their answers to sensitive questions by pressing numbers on the telephone, rather than speaking aloud. The study
sample mirrored the U.S. adolescent population with respect to age, sex, household income and census region, but with a slightly
higher percentage of Hispanics and a slightly lower percentage of Blacks.
Sensation
seeking was based on how individual subjects identified with statements like: “I like to do scary things, I like to
do dangerous things, I often think there is nothing to do, and I like to listen to loud music.” Adolescents were also
asked if they had ever tried alcohol that their parents were not aware of. This excluded adolescents who initiated drinking
with sips of alcohol provided by parents. R-rated movie watching was measured by asking respondents if they had watched a
random selection of movie titles drawn from box office hits during 2003 that had grossed at least $15 million. The movie titles
included movies that had G (general audience), P/G (parental guidance) and R (restricted) ratings.
The study was funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.
The study was published in the March issue of Prevention Science.
Source: Society for Prevention Research
