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A new study released by Children’s Hospital Boston reports that children who are exposed to adult content in movies and television are more likely to engage in sexual activity at a younger age.

The study, which consisted of 754 children, followed children over a 5-year period: Once in childhood and again between the ages of 12-18 to see how much television they were watching during the week and on weekends. After that, they studied the participants level of sexual activity. What did they find?

For every hour the youngest group of children watched adult content, their chances of having sex during early adolescence increased by 33%.

“Television and movies are among the leading sources of information about sex and relationships for adolescents,” says the study’s lead author Dr. Hernan Delgado. “Our research shows that their sexual attitudes and expectations are influenced much earlier in life.”

What are your thoughts? As a parent, you have to wonder if there isn’t a chicken/egg scenario going on here. Is the media to blame for making our youth more sexually active, or the parents that allow their children to watch hours of adult television and movies a day without explaining to their children what they’re seeing. Are these parents even talking to their children about sex?

Tell us your opinion in the comments below!

To read the full study, click here.