TV broadcast minimized teenage pregnancies

TV show shows everyday life of teenage mothers and could have contributed to the decline of teenage pregnancies in the US

01/24/2014

In the TV show „16 and pregnant“ MTV accompanies teenagers during pregnancy and babies in the first few weeks after the birth of film crews. Since its launch in the US in 2009, it has been hailing criticism. Experts and laypersons fear that teenage pregnancies on the program could be downplayed and that young people might even be encouraged to become pregnant. A study of the „National Bureau of Economic Research“ In Massachusetts, however, revealed that the broadcast could have an opposite effect.

Study shows positive effect of TV broadcast on teenage pregnancies
Melissa Kearney and Phillip Levine from the University of Maryland investigated whether the MTV program influenced teenagers' attitude to pregnancy, contraception and abortion. First, the scientists conducted analyzes on Google and Twitter. It has been shown that significantly more searches and tweets around the issues of contraception and pregnancy during the airtime of „16 and pregnant“ started as at other times. In addition, a decline in the birth rate of teenage mothers of almost six percent in the US during the 18-month broadcast was recorded. However, Kearney and Levine did not exclusively attribute this decline to the program. About half is due to the recession, the scientists reported. Previous studies have shown that the birth rate is declining in times of economic crisis. In places where the show had a particularly large number of viewers, the birth rate dropped particularly sharply. The positive effect of the TV format can not be denied.

„We found that '16 and pregnant 'led to more searches and tweets about birth control and abortion, and ultimately to a 5.7 percent reduction in teenage births within 18 months of the program being aired for the first time. This accounts for approximately one-third of the total decline in teenage births in the United States during this period“, write the scientists.

Open conversation and education can help prevent teen pregnancy
In Germany about 10,000 minors get pregnant every year. The number of girls giving birth to their child is about the same as the number of those who decide to have an abortion. Ulrich Fegeler from the Association of Paediatricians with reference to another US study, which examined the effects of a national abstinence campaign. Instead of religiously and morally motivated campaigns, Fegeler considers open discussion and education to be meaningful. (Ag)