United States adolescents’ responses to sexual consent on television and the moderating role of anxious attachment

Understanding effects of televised depictions of sexual consent communication on adolescents is important, given that many individuals experience their first romantic and sexual relationships during this developmental period. Using the theory of planned behavior as a framework, we examined how portrayals of verbal and non-verbal sexual consent in adolescent-directed programming influenced attitudes, perceived norms, and perceived behavioral control regarding sexual consent communication among a sample of adolescents (ages 12–17, N = 130). We also examined adolescents’ anxious attachment as a moderator. Results demonstrated a significant main effect of experimental condition on sexual consent norms, but anxious attachment orientation did not moderate the relationships between experimental condition and perceived norms. We discuss findings in the context of individual differences, with implications for the design of media to support sexual consent communication among different adolescents.