Dr. Michael Rich
, Director of CMCH, was interviewed by New England Cable News about the controversial new
trend of racy sexual behavior in teen literature. Many parents are concerned about how this material might
affect their children.

From his clinical work with adolescents and their parents, Dr. Rich recognized that
young people are exposed to sexual portrayals and talk at very early ages. He recommended that parents and
teens talk openly about these books and their content. Teens who aren’t ready for frank discussion of
sexuality won’t be interested in reading the books. He advises that parents should keep up with the
media their teens are using.

“Kids learn from media. Parents should read the books and
watch the TV shows their teens watch, so they can be prepared for an open conversation about what they’re learning.”

“More than three-quarters of prime-time TV shows contain some sexual content, significantly more than previous years, a study shows.”

“A previous study from the July issue of the Journal of Pediatrics found that of 2,522 studies on youths and the media, only 13 looked at sexual issues.” When asked about the effects of sexual behavior in the media, Dr. Michael Rich, Director of CMCH, told the journal that teens may accept TV sex behaviors as ‘normative, attractive and without risk.’

Dr. Michael Rich, Director of CMCH, met with Surgeon General Richard Carmona on November 8th to urge him to put media effects on the national public health agenda as a critical environmental health issue of the Information Age.
» See Dr. Rich’s Bio

A new study suggests smoking is something kids may learn to do by watching movies. Dr. Michael Rich, Director of CMCH, was interviewed about the study:

“Movie exposure stood independently as a primary risk factor for smoking. Kids learn from the television shows, they learn from the video games they play. So this doesn’t surprise me at all.”

» See Video of Newscast and Full Story