Amahni's Research
It was hypothesized that a person’s musical taste or preference would have no relationship with the age at which that person became sexually active. Many previous studies related to this topic have been conducted focusing on one or a very few musical genres. Contrary to popular belief and previous findings, musical taste had no significant relationship to when a person became sexually active. In direct contrast too much of the previous and published research, those preferring Hard Rock and Rap had the highest average ages in regards to engaging in initial sexual activity. The results of this study are probably heavily influenced by the age of the participant and the popularity of certain genres over others in the participants peer group. Further research could prove useful if any causation is to be explored. Much of the previous research on such a relationship has only focused on only one or a few pre-determined genres of music at a time. Studies such as the one conducted by Kevin and Weiss were not only limited to certain musical preferences, but also explored a wide range of aspects of personal life that might have been affected by the music (Kevin & Weiss, 1994). Their study looked for a relationship that Heavy Metal and Rap music might have with a wide range of problems experienced by adolescents and not just sexual experience. Other research has focused on sexuality and in these studies the media has continually turned up as a major influence on sexual activeness (Pediatrics,2001). Again, however, a wide range of sexual activities and habits were explored as well as other types of media other than just music. Television is cited most often as being the single most powerful media-influence on the cognitive processes and behavior of people in today’s society (Thompson & Pingree, 1991). Music videos have been scrutinized by researchers and have been identified as being very powerful in their portrayal of sexual issues such as teenage pregnancy. While these and other studies have yielded some useful
and interesting information, none have established a clear relationship between musical taste and the age of initial sexual activity. It is not enough to know that the media is having some influence on sexual activity or even how that activity is being influenced. There is a need to identify specifically what in the media, if anything, is having the most direct influence. Initial sexual experiences can be life-changing events that could possibly be the source of turmoil for many years to come. The age at which a person becomes sexually active is of great concern to parents and society in general from a medical as well as emotional perspective. By focusing only on sexual activity including, but not limited to, intercourse and the type of music that was most prevalent at the time of that experience, I hope to expose any clear relationships that sex might have with a certain genre or genres.