It's one of those expensive, time-consuming "scientific studies" with a lot of numbers, charts and specialized lingo but which ends up with conclusions that any group of sane people sitting in a coffee shop could tell you.
Here's the story from the Family Research Council's Washington Update.
Parental Advisory: Explicit Lyrics
Raunchy music lyrics can lead teens to early sexual experimentation, a Rand study reports in the journal Pediatrics. Lyrics about conscienceless sex affected both males and females, whites and non-whites, the researchers found. "Lyrics classified as degrading depicted sexually insatiable men pursuing women valued only as sex objects," the researchers reported. These lyrics were most prominent in rap music and convey "distorted notions about gender roles to both male and female teenagers," the report said.
Researchers followed 1,461 teens for three years and compared music they listened to with their self-reported sexual activity. It compared those who listened to such music with those who did not. The study also found, significantly, that "large numbers of sexually active teenagers...wished they had delayed sexual initiation."
Nearly 20 years ago, Tipper Gore and Susan Baker launched a campaign designed to pressure the recording industry to give notice of explicit lyrics so that parents could be forewarned. Mrs. Gore dropped her efforts, however, when she and her husband, Sen. Al Gore, ran afoul of their Hollywood supporters.
Debauching the young is big business. Those who profit from this traffic buy entree to the halls of power. They use their access to silence criticism. And their beat goes on. Still, the Rand study is hard evidence from a non-political source that messages about abstinence and indulgence makes a difference. Sexually active youth regret that impact. It's time the music industry did as well.
If you'd like to read through the original study in the Pediatrics journal, go here.
