14 DAY TRIAL // According to new data, it would appear that restricting children's access to R-rated movies decreases their chances of trying out alcohol at a very young age. The researchers behind the study say that this is especially true for kids who are still in middle-school, and add that interventions from parents proved to be extremely useful in averting the habit. Adults can restrict their children's access to the movies, forbid them altogether, or watch the films together with their kids, explaining the behaviors depicted on screen. Either way, the result is the same – the young ones become less likely to drink.
For the investigation, the scientists, based at the Dartmouth Medical School in Hanover, New Hampshire, and led by professor of pediatrics Dr. James D. Sargent, looked at information collected from a group of 3,600 middle school students from New England. The team determined that only 3 percent of the group that did not watch R-rated movies started drinking one to two years after the initial survey date. The results are exceptional, considering that 19 percent of those who “sometime watched” these movies, and 25 percent who did so all the time, also reported using alcohol.
The research group says that the differences between the three groups are a clear indicator that this type of movies is very influential to children. “We think this is a very important aspect of parenting, and one that is often overlooked,” the team leader explains. Details of the study appear in the May issue of the esteemed scientific Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs. The team says that the correlation is not only true for alcohol use, but for violent behavior and smoking as well. “The research to date suggests that keeping kids from R-rated movies can help keep them from drinking, smoking and doing a lot of other things that parents don't want them to do,” Sargent says.
One of the reasons for children's changes in behavior, the investigators say, could be the fact that exposure to R-rated media influences their personality. In other words, the scientists propose that seeing these movies depicting adult behaviors makes kids more prone to seeking new sensations, and also more likely to take on risks. This means that they will consume alcohol even if they know it's bad for them, just to see if they can get away with it. “We think seeing the adult content actually changes their personality,” Sargent concludes, quoted by PhysOrg.