By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Journalist
A new study has found that many of the books aimed at teen and tweens contain sexual content that is not age-appropriate or presented in a way most parents would approve of.
FoxNews.com is reporting that the study, published in the Journal of Sex Research, was conducted by Sarah Coyne, a psychologist at Brigham Young University. Coyne and her colleagues reviewed the top 40 books for tweens and teens from the 2008 New York Times bestseller list and found that a majority contained sexual content, most of which was not presented in a healthy way.
This is disturbing because about half of the books reviewed were geared toward children ages nine to 11, with the rest focusing on ages 12 and up.
“A lot of the books were just great,” Coyne said. “But other books had quite a bit, some quite graphic sexual content. Some that I was actually really surprised that it was aimed at an adolescent audience.”
For instance, she found that the Gossip Girl books and the vampire series The Anna Strong Chronicles were particularly focused on sex.
Some of the content would warrant an “R” rating if the same material was presented in a movie, Coyne said.
“I would never argue for censorship,” Coyne told LiveScience. “But I do think we’re missing something here.”
Even though today’s teens seem to be more into their iPods and smart phones, Coyne’s study found that on average, they still spend about 25 minutes a day reading books for pleasure. And researchers say the messages being conveyed in these books definitely sinks in.
“Teen readers are likely to be very involved or engaged or what we call ‘transported’ by the narrative,” said Jane Brown, a professor of journalism and mass communication at the University of North Carolina. Brown, who was not involved in the current study, said children in this age group strongly identify with book characters, which is why we see so many dressed as wizards at Harry Potter book releases, for example.
“When that happens, what we know from other research is that [kids] are more likely to accept the story and find it persuasive,” Brown said. “So we would expect that a teen reader who is transported by the narrative would be more likely to engage in the kind of behavior she is reading about.”
This is more than just theory. Several long-term studies have found that kids exposed to more sexual media early in life go on to engage in earlier sexual behavior than their peers, Brown said.
She criticized the way books present sex to minors, saying they rarely deal with what she calls the “three C’s” – contraceptives, consequences and commitment. In fact, about a third of the 56 incidences of sexual intercourse found in the books Coyne studied took place between people not in relationships.
“Probably the books that are said to be for 12- to 13-year-olds are being read by about 10- to 11-year-olds,” Brown said. “And you may not want them reading about sexual intercourse, at least not how it’s being depicted.”
As a result of the study’s findings, Coyne is encouraging parents to continue to encourage their children to read, but to be much more involved in their book selections.
“What I would love is more information on the back of the book about its content,” Coyne said. “That just empowers parents.”
© All Rights Reserved, Living His Life Abundantly®/Women of Grace® http://www.womenofgrace.com
