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This study explores how positive media messages about sex can lead to better sexual health among young adults (college students at a large university, N = 228) by de-emphasizing sensation seeking, condom embarrassment, and stigma. Employing social learning theory and normative influence frameworks, the research found that college-age women had higher stigma (β =.22, t = 3.37, p <.001 for felt stigma) and lower sensation seeking (β = –.34, t = −3.17, p <.01). Participants exposed to more media in some forms (e.g., news reading, β = –.131, t = −1.94, p =.05) had less felt self-stigma. Thus, exposure to media, such as TV and media, and positive messages could encourage healthy sexual behavior in young women (around college age).
Erika Katherine Johnson (Mon,) studied this question.