Research shows that teenagers are more inclined to enjoy liquor or binge drinking and develop substance abuse habits if they are viewing movie characters who are involved in unsafe practices, according to the journal Pediatrics.
Dr. Victor Strasburger, an emeritus professor of pediatrics at University of New Mexico, said "Kids who are more likely to drink or are already drinking may seek out more films with drinking in them."
For the study, scientists at the University of Bristol studied information of more than 5,000 youths with an average age of fifteen. All members were part of Bristol's Children of the 90s study.
They were classified based on whether they had observed a little amount of alcoholic drinks in a movie (for less than twenty eight minutes) or plenty in a movie (at least sixty four minutes) or anywhere in between. It was also mandatory for the participants to answer inquiries about how frequently they drank alcohol.
The results showed that teens with the highest exposure to alcohol use in films were 1.2 times more likely to have attempted drinking alcohol than those who were exposed less and about 1.7 times more likely to do binge drinking, as well.
Moreover, the study demonstrated that the individuals who were under the highest alcohol exposure were about 2.4 times more prone to drink every week and two times more possible to have alcohol associated issues than those who were with less exposure.
Strasburger would go the extra mile by introducing a child psychologist and pediatrician on the Motion Picture Association of America panel that agrees on movie scores.
"If movies aren't rated for alcohol content so that parents are prevented from restricting viewing, we do need to be concerned about the movies and other media that kids are watching, regardless of their age," said Dr. Andrea Waylen, lead author of the study Alcohol Use in Films and Adolescent Alcohol Use.
Parents should also chat with their kids about the films that they watch, or better yet, to watch the shows together with their children.
Her conclusion is that the officials rating movies need to take rowdy spring break chugging contests and demure sips of wine more seriously. "Adverse outcomes from alcohol use are a large societal public health problem," the study concludes, "and rating films according to alcohol content may reduce problem-related alcohol use and associated harm in young people."
Similar studies conducted in the Germany and U.S. have found deep relationship between kids that watch characters drink alcohol in film and then boozing in real life. Other studies have found similar associations for risky behaviors like early sex, tobacco addiction and dangerous driving.
Photo: Kenneth Lu | Flickr
