Study Reveals '16 and Pregnant' and 'Teen Mom' Helped Reduce Teen Birth Rate

Is MTV the ultimate form of birth control? Well, a new study suggests that two of the network's reality shows, 16 and Pregnant and Teen Mom, have helped to curb the rash of teen births in recent years.

Credit: MTV

The totally-not-made-up study, conducted by Wellesley economist Phillip B. Levine and University of Maryland economist Melissa S. Kearney, illustrated the decline in the U.S. teen birth rate between 2008 and 2011: in 2008, 40 out of every 1,000 girls between the ages of 15 and 19 gave birth; but that number fell to 31 out of every 1,000 by 2011. So where does MTV come in? (Okay, bad choice of words) Well, Levine and Kearney looked at birth records and Nielsen TV ratings to find a correlation between the decline in teen pregnancy in areas where more teens were watching the MTV shows vs. the areas where fewer teens were watching.

Ultimately, the study proposes that 16 and Pregnant and Teen Mom might have prevented over 20,000 births to teen mothers in 2010, a 5.7 percent reduction in teen births. The shows essentially account for roughly one-third of the decline in teen births for the year and a half after the shows were first introduced. In addition, the study examined the shows' effect on teenage behavior, revealing that social-media postings and Internet searches about contraception increased significantly during periods in which the show was airing. So parents across the nation should probably be thanking MTV, although I remain sore about the network's continued opposition to actually airing music videos. But that's a "90s Kid" complaint, I suppose.

The new season of Teen Mom 2 premieres Jan. 21, continuing its humanitarian mission of talking kids out of recklessly locking crotches.

Via: Entertainment Weekly