Does television exposure influence college-aged women's sexual self-concept?

The present study examined whether television exposure shapes female emerging adults' sexual self-concept, defined as self-perceptions of one's qualities in the sexual domain. Results from two-year panel data collected from undergraduate women suggested that Time-1 exposure to soap operas, prime-time dramas, and amount of television viewing predicted a deflation in college women's Time-2 sexual self-concept. In addition, Time-1 sexual self-concept negatively predicted Time-2 prime-time drama exposure and Time-2 television watched per day. The results are interpreted in light of the cognitive information processing model (Huesmann, 1997) and the selective exposure hypothesis (Festinger, 1957).