Mainstream Media Messages Not Helping Low-Income Black Urban Youth Make Good Sexual Health Decisions, Study Says
[January 22, 2004]
Many low-income black urban youth view sex as "little more than a transaction," and mainstream media messages about sex, love and relationships have "little impact" on the sexual behaviors of urban youth, according to a report released Wednesday by Motivational Educational Entertainment Productions in partnership with the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, according to a MEE/NCPTP release. For the study, titled "This is My Reality—The Price of Sex: An Inside Look at Black Urban Youth Sexuality," researchers summarized findings from 40 focus groups surveying participants on their views about sex, relationships pregnancy, abstinence and marriage. The focus groups, which included a total of 2,000 black youth ages 16 to 20 who live in households with annual incomes of less than $25,000 per year, were conducted in 2002 in Atlanta; Baltimore; Chicago; Detroit; Long Beach, Calif.; Los Angeles; Oakland/Richmond, Calif.; New Orleans; New York City and Philadelphia. Some of the study's findings are summarized below:
- Trust and communication are "rare" among black urban youth, with lack of trust being frequently cited by male respondents as the reason they do not have a single, steady sexual partner, according to the release. Many male respondents reported having both regular and casual sexual partners and reported using condoms more frequently with casual sexual partners than with steady sexual partners.
- Many study participants said that they think that adults are contributing to the problem of early casual sex and pregnancy among urban youth by engaging in high-risk sexual behavior themselves; overtly or tacitly approving of early sex, pregnancy and parenthood; and not discussing sex and related issues with their children. Study participants said that their parents are the "preferred" source of information about sex.
- Becoming a teen parent "seems more realistic" than abstinence, marriage or a successful future, according to the respondents, many of whom reported growing up in an environment where teen parenthood "carries little stigma" and having a child at a young age "is seen as a positive step," according to the release. In addition, many respondents said they believe that "everyone" is having sex, a message they said is "constantly reinforced" by the media, according to the release.
MEE President Ivan Juzang said that black urban youth are not receiving the information necessary to make the best choices about their sexual health. NCPTP Director Sarah Brown said that although teen pregnancy is "a very widespread problem touching all teens," the youth interviewed in the study "represent a group that is at particularly high risk for pregnancy—so it is critical that we understand them better." A video documentary accompanying the report includes excerpts from the focus groups and interviews with 10 experts on sexuality, the media and public health. The study was sponsored by the California Endowment and the Ford Foundation (MEE/NCPTP release, 1/21).
NPR's "Tavis Smiley Show" on Wednesday interviewed Brown and Juzang about the study (Smiley, "Tavis Smiley Show," NPR, 1/21). The complete segment is available online in RealPlayer.
Reprinted with permission from kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Reproductive Health Report, search the archives, and sign up for E-mail delivery at www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/repro. The Kaiser Daily Reproductive Health Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of the Kaiser Family Foundation, by The Advisory Board Company. © 2004 by The Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.
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