Los Angeles - Teenagers who watch television programs with high sexual content double their risk of being involved in a pregnancy, according to a study published Monday in the journal Pediatrics.

The RAND Corp study is the first of its kind to identify a link between teenagers' exposure to sexual content on TV and teen pregnancies.

"Adolescents receive a considerable amount of information about sex through television and that programming typically does not highlight the risks and responsibilities of sex," said the study's lead author Anita Chandra, in a news release.

"Our findings suggest that television may play a significant role in the high rates of teenage pregnancy in the United States."

The study surveyed about 2,000 adolescents aged 12 to 17 about their television habits and sexual behavior. Researchers focused on 23 programs - popular teenage shows that included dramas, comedies, reality programs and animated shows.

Shows such as Sex and the City, That 70s Show and Friends were considered to have strong content - defined as depictions of sex as well as dialogues or discussions about sex.

The teens who watched the most sexual content on TV were twice as likely to have become pregnant or caused a pregnancy over the following three years, compared to the teens who watched the least amount of sexual content on TV.

Adolescents who lived in a two-parent household had a lower probability of pregnancy while African Americans and adolescents with behaviour problems were more likely to be involved in a pregnancy.

The researchers also found that exposure to sex on television could create the perception that there is little risk to engaging in sex without using contraceptives and influence teens to have sex at an earlier age.

Chandra, the study's lead author, advised parents to limit their teen's exposure to sexual content on TV. She said TV producers should consider more realistic depictions of the consequences of sex in their scripts.

"Right now the message teens are getting is that everything is great, and there really are no consequences to sex," Chandra said. (dpa)