User:Kimchi Hart/16 and Pregnant

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16 and Pregnant was created with the intention to act as a method of early intervention in teenage pregnancy prevention. At the time of its premiere, producers defended the show with arguments that 16 and Pregnant would educate teenage girls on the realities of pregnancy and teenage motherhood. Research indicates that the show has had a mixed effect on the teenage girls it sought out to target.

In 2009, The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy recognized 16 and Pregnant amongst the factors that caused a decrease in teenage pregnancy recorded over the year. A 2012 survey by The National Campaign also praises the show for encouraging discussion regarding teenage pregnancy between viewers aged 10–19, their peers, and their parents.

Viewership of 16 and Pregnant was found to be most successful as a method of intervention for teens aged 15–16 living in states that do not require sex education to be taught in schools. The study concluded that “women in states without [SexEd] mandates may have lacked access to information on sex and contraception, which became more readily available via links to stayteen.org in the after the debut of 16 and Pregnant”.

16 and Pregnant has also been criticized for glamorizing teenage pregnancy and motherhood. Research in 2014 suggests young girls who are frequent viewers of 16 and Pregnant were more likely to have an unrealistic perception of teenage motherhood. Additionally, viewers were found to perceive the benefits of teen pregnancy to be greater than the risks, given the positive conclusions in participants' stories.

In 2014, the National Bureau of Economic Research conducted and published a study suggesting a correlation between the premiere of the show in 2009 and a 5.7% of the total 17.6% decrease in teen births in the US in the 18 months following the premiere. At the time, it was unknown whether this was due to the premiere of 16 and Pregnant or the Financial crisis of 2007–2008. However, the study had shown an increase in search activity about birth control and abortion and had sparked conversation on the subjects via Twitter. The study looked at four different factors to come up with their conclusion: exposure to the television show, increase in searches on birth control during times the show was also being searched, the areas of the searches and their correlation to when the show was airing there, and how popular the show was in those geographic areas. The study had concluded that there was indeed a correlation between viewership and the searching of these topics, indicating the show did have an effect on the decline of teen pregnancy rates at the time.They estimate that 1/3 of the decrease in teen pregnancy rate was directly due to the show airing. There was also a decrease in rates of abortion, but the study did not research the subject enough to know if that was due to the show as well.

Research conducted in 2016 suggested that 16 and Pregnant was unlikely to have had any effect on teenage birth rates and prior research to be "problematic". The latest study revealed, through a series of placebo and other tests, that the assumption of common trends in birth rates between low and high MTV-watching areas is not met.