Teenagers whose favorite music has raunchy, sexual lyrics are more likely to start having sex sooner than their friends who listen to tunes with tamer words, according to a study of 1,461 teens ages 12 to 17 from RAND, a nonprofit think tank.

Such sexual lyrics are found in all types of music, from hip-hop to rap and pop to rock. How sex is portrayed in the songs is what appears to influence teenage behavior, reports The Associated Press.

For example, when songs depict men as sexually driven and women as their sex objects or the songs describe explicit sex acts, they are more likely to prompt early sexual behaviors. However, when sexual references are more implicit and the relationships are committed, music doesn't trigger early sex.

Specifically, the researchers found that teenagers who listen to a lot of songs that contain degrading sexual messages are almost twice as likely to start having intercourse or other sexual activities within the following two years, compared with teens who listen to little or no sexually degrading music, reports AP.

Here is the shocking conclusion: Among those who listened the most to such music, 51 percent started to have sex within two years, compared with 29 percent who listened to little or no sexually-charged music. These numbers held even after the researchers accounted for parental permissiveness and other factors that could affect teens' sexual behavior.

Exposure to lots of sexually degrading music ''gives them a specific message about sex,'' lead author Steven Martino told AP. He said that boys learn they should be relentless in pursuit of women, and girls learn to view themselves as sex objects.

The study findings were published the journal Pediatrics.

--From the Editors at Netscape