Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Sex and Punishment: An Examination of Sexual Consequences and the Sexual Double Standard in Teen Programming

  • Published:
Sex Roles Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

A content analysis was conducted to examine sexual consequences on teen programming. The sample consisted of prime-time television dramas that featured characters between the ages of 12 and 22 years. Two major goals guided the study. First, the types of sexual consequences in teen programming were investigated. Results showed that emotional and social consequences far outnumbered physical consequences. Second, the portrayal of the sexual double standard was investigated. Negative consequences were more common in scenes in which female characters initiated sexual activities than in scenes in which male characters initiated sexual activities. Implications for future content analyses and media-effects research are discussed.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

references

  • Bandura, A. (1994). Social cognitive theory of mass communication. In J. Bryant & D. Zillman (Eds.), Media effects: Advances in theory and research (pp. 61-90). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bingham, R., & Crockett, L. J. (1996). Longitudinal adjustment patterns of boys and girls experiencing early, middle, and late sexual intercourse. Developmental Psychology, 32, 647-658.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carroll, J. L., Volk, K. D., & Hyde, J. S. (1985). Differences between males and females in motives for engaging in sexual intercourse. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 14, 131-139.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carpenter, L. M. (1998). From girls into women: Scripts for sexuality and romance in Seventeen magazine, 1974–1994. Journal of Sex Research, 35, 158-168.

    Google Scholar 

  • Collins, J. (1998, October 26). The youth brigade. Time, pp. 88-90.

  • Durham, M. G. (1998). Dilemmas of desire: Representations of adolescent sexuality in two teen magazines. Youth and Society, 29, 369-389.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fernandez-Collado, C. F., Greenberg, B. S., Korzenny, F., & Atkin, C. K. (1978). Sexual intimacy and drug use in TV series. Journal of Communication, 28 (3), 30-37.

    Google Scholar 

  • Franzblau, S., Sprafkin, J. N., & Rubinstein, E. A. (1977). Sex on TV: A content analysis. Journal of Communication, 27 (2), 164-170.

    Google Scholar 

  • Freeman, M. (2000, December 11). Peacock network cleans up during November sweeps. Electronic Media, p. 2.

  • Glass, G. V., & Hopkins, K. D. (1996). Statistical methods in education and psychology (3rd ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Greenberg, B. S., & Busselle, R. W. (1996). Soap operas and sexual activity: A decade later. Journal of Communication, 46 (4), 153-160.

    Google Scholar 

  • Greenberg, B. S., Stanley, C., Siemicki, M., Heeter, C., Soderman, A., & Linsangan, R. (1993). Sex content on soaps and prime-time television series most viewed by adolescents. In B. S. Greenberg, J. D. Brown, & NL Buerkel-Rothfuss (Eds.), Media, sex, and the adolescent (pp. 29-44). Cresskill, NJ: Hampton Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Huston, A. C., Wartella, E., & Donnerstein, E. (1998). Measuring the effects of sexual content in the media: A report to the Kaiser Family Foundation. Menlo Park, CA: Kaiser Family Foundation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jessor, S. L., & Jessor, R. (1975). Transition from virginity to non-virginity among youth: A social–psychological study over time. Developmental Psychology, 11, 473-484.

    Google Scholar 

  • Keough, C. (2000, December 4). Weblets put a big dent in the ratings of major networks. Los Angeles Business Journal, p. 7.

  • Krippendorff, K. (1980). Content analysis: An introduction to its methodology. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kunkel, D., Biely, E., Eyal, K., Cope-Farrar, K., Donnerstein, E., & Fandrich, R. (2003). Sex on TV: A biennial report to the Kaiser Family Foundation. Menlo Park, CA: Kaiser Family Foundation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kunkel, D., Cope, K. M., & Biely, E. (1999). Sexual messages on television: Comparing findings from three studies. Journal of Sex Research, 36, 230-236.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kunkel, K., Cope, K. M., & Colvin, C. (1996). Sexual messages on family hour television: Content and context. Menlo Park, CA: Kaiser Family Foundation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kunkel, D., Cope-Farrar, K., Biely, E., Farinola, W. J. M., & Donnerstein, E. (2001). Sex on TV: A biennial report to the Kaiser Family Foundation. Menlo Park, CA: Kaiser Family Foundation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Levinson, R. A., Jaccard, J., & Beamer, L. (1995). Older adolescents' engagement in casual sex: Impact of risk perception and psychosocial motivations. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 24, 349-364.

    Google Scholar 

  • MacCorquodale, P. (1989). Gender and sexual behavior. In K McKinney & S. Sprecher (Eds.), Human sexuality: The societal and interpersonal context (pp. 91-112). Norwood, NJ: Ablex.

    Google Scholar 

  • Martin, K. A. (1996). Puberty, sexuality, and the self: Boys and girls at adolescence. New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Muehlenhard, C. L. (1988). “Nice women” don't say yes and “real men” don't say no: How miscommunication and the double standard can cause sexual problems. Women and Therapy, 7(2/3), 95-108.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rathbum, E. A. (1999, July 5). Stations say the WB's worth it. Broadcasting and Cable, p. 6.

  • Schvaneveldt, P. L., Miller, B. C., Berry, E. H., & Lee, T. R. (2001). Academic goals, achievement, and age at first sexual intercourse: Longitudinal, bi-directional influences. Adolescence, 36, 767-787.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, C. (1991). Sex and genre on prime time. Journal of Homosexuality, 21, 119-138.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sprafkin, J. N., & Silverman, L. T. (1981). Update: Physically intimate and sexual behavior on prime-time television. Journal of Communication, 31, 34-40.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tolman, D. L. (1994). Doing desire: Adolescent girls' struggles for/with sexuality. Gender and Society, 8, 324-342.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tolman, D. L. (1999). Female adolescent sexuality in relational context: Beyond sexual decision-making. In N. G. Johnson, M. C. Roberts, & J. Worell (Eds.), Beyond appearance: A new look at adolescent girls (pp. 227-246). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tubman, J. G., Windle, M., & Windle, R. C. (1996). Cumulative sexual intercourse patterns among middle adolescents: Problem behavior precursors and concurrent health risk behaviors. Journal of Adolescent Health, 18, 182-191.

    Google Scholar 

  • Truglio, R. T. (1998). Television as a sex educator. In K. Swan, C. Meskill, & S DeMaio (Eds.), Social learning from broadcast television (pp. 7-23). Cresskill, NJ: Hampton Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ward, L. M. (1995). Talking about sex: Common themes about sexuality in prime-time television programs children and adolescents view most. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 24, 595-615.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wray, J., & Steele, J. R. (2002). Girls in print: Figuring out what it means to be a girl. In J. D. Brown, J. R. Steele, & K Walsh-Childers (Eds.), Sexual teens, sexual media: Investigating media's influence on adolescent sexuality (pp. 191-208). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Communication Studies, The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan

    Jennifer Stevens Aubrey

Authors
  1. Jennifer Stevens Aubrey
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Aubrey, J.S. Sex and Punishment: An Examination of Sexual Consequences and the Sexual Double Standard in Teen Programming. Sex Roles 50, 505–514 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1023/B:SERS.0000023070.87195.07

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/B:SERS.0000023070.87195.07

Search

Navigation