A TV in the Bedroom: Implications for Viewing Habits and Risk Behaviors During Early Adolescence

This study examined associations between bedroom television, media use, and adolescents' health risk behaviors. A sample of 1,017 12- to 14-year-old adolescents completed computer-assisted interviews at baseline and 2-year follow-up. Among White adolescents, having a bedroom television predicted risk-promoting media use practices and significantly greater odds of initiating health risk behaviors—cigarette smoking and sexual intercourse—over 2 years. Although significantly more Black than White adolescents had a bedroom television, bedroom television was unrelated to Black adolescents' media use practices or health risk behaviors. Research is needed to understand ethnic differences in family media use and consequences for adolescent development.