Explicit movies can cause teens to feel uncomfortable, stressed

By Staff Writer

Millions of teenagers across the U.S. experience stress when they are around their parents. While most research shows that a healthy dialogue between parent and child can strengthen this bond, there are some factors that can strain the relationship that are often overlooked.

A new study concludes that a family's movie-watching habits can impact a child's comfort level. The research, which appears in the journal Applied Cognitive Psychology, reveals that teens who watch films that contain sex scenes with their parents are more likely to experience discomfort and stress.

In addition, males were less likely than females to talk about their discomfort following the screening. The researchers found that boys were more likely to avoid certain topics, change the subject or pretend that the experience did not bother them.

The team examined the comfort levels of viewers who watched movies of different genres with a variety of social groups - parents, friends and significant others. The researchers discovered that sexual and violent scenes caused the most stress when people were viewing it in groups.

Parents may consider employing tough love by censoring their teens' viewing habits.