Do new media affect adolescent sexual attitudes and behaviours? A systematic review

Introduction: There is considerable public concern that new media (including the Internet and mobile phones) could be exposing young people to high levels of sexual content and may impact risky behaviour and/or risk for sexually transmissible infections. Methods: The review was conducted in accordance with the PRISMA guidelines. Medline, EMBASE and PsychINFO were searched to the end of August 2012. Articles were included if they described the statistical association between exposure to sexual content in new media (viewing or engaging) and sexual attitudes or behaviours in young people (defined as 1 partner in last 3 months, multiple lifetime partners, unprotected sex at last sex, drug and alcohol use at last sex, acceptance of casual sexual relationships, having casual sexual relationships, notions of women as sex objects, and approval of extra-marital sex. “Sexting” (sending or receiving sexual texts) was the exposure in the fifth study and was associated with ever having unprotected sex. Conclusion: The relationship between SEW and sexual behaviours and attitudes was inconsistent. Engagement with sexual media appeared to be associated with markers of higher sexual interest and/or activity, but study size, methodological approach and inconsistencies in outcome measures prevented us from drawing conclusions regarding causality. No study explored associations with positive aspects of sexual development (e.g. sexual communication, sexual assertiveness, relationship quality). Further research in this emerging area is needed.2 page(s