The Role of Mass Media in Iranian Youth's Premarital Sexual Relationships: A Qualitative Study.
Fariba Taleghani, Effat Al Sadat Merghati Khoie, Mahnaz Noroozi and 2 others
PMID 28097182WHAT IT FOUND
Iranian youth described satellite TV, internet, phones and CDs as shaping premarital sexual relationships by providing role models, easy access to sexual content, and easy contact with partners.
They said media made sex seem ordinary.
Key findings
01Participants said mass media had a fundamental role in developing premarital sexual relationships, and three categories emerged: foreign media as role models, easy access to sexual content, and easy interaction with the opposite sex.
02Participants said media role models made sexual relationships seem ordinary, and they mentioned experiencing anal and oral sexual relationships.
03Participants described online and phone-based sexual experiences, including sexy chat, sexy web and phone sex.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study interviewed only young people in Isfahan, Iran who had already started sexual relationships, so it does not represent youth who have not, or people in other cultures. Participants were selected purposively and through snowball sampling, and the authors note they may have come from small networks of peers and friends. Findings are based on self-reported experiences and interpretations of media influence, not measured exposure, behaviour change or tested outcomes. The 12 parents, teachers, counselors and healthcare providers were informants, not a systematic sample of professionals.
Declared interests
No funding or conflict-of-interest statement is given.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as evidence that mass media caused premarital sexual relationships. It describes what Iranian youth and informants said about media, without testing cause or effect.