TV characters may influence viewers' personal discussions about sexual health

Addressing topics such as sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) with a romantic partner may be difficult, but some television shows may help give viewers the self-confidence to discuss these issues, according to a recent study published in the Journal of Communication.

Characters from the Sex and the City series have been known to be frank when it comes to sex talk. However, many American women find that they can relate to Carrie, Samantha, Miranda and Charlotte.

Researchers created two edited versions of a clip from a Sex and the City episode in which Samantha and Miranda discuss STDs like chlamydia and HIV with their partners, friends and healthcare providers. While one group of participants viewed the original scene, others were exposed to content related to sexual health and STDs, but not explicit conversations, and a third subset watched a piece with no sex theme.

The study's results showed that 46 percent of subjects who viewed the original clip discussed sexual health with their romantic partners in the two weeks following the experiment, compared to 21 percent and 15 percent of those who viewed the content alone or unrelated piece, respectively.

"One of the powerful things about entertainment programming is that it can get people talking about important issues that they might not otherwise talk about," said lead researcher Emily Moyer-Guse.