The study, conducted by Rand corporation, a not-for-profit research agency, asked 2,000 young people about their viewing habits and sexual behaviour over three years.
The young people who became pregnant were exposed to TV programmes with high levels of sexual content, that included both depictions of, and discussions about, sex.
The researchers are calling on paediatricians to ask adolescents about the sort of TV programmes they watch, to encourage discussion about contraception. Parents have also been advised to control what teenagers watch on TV.
Anita Chandra, behavioural scientist at Rand, said: "Adolescents receive a considerable amount of information about sex through television and that programming does not highlight the risks and responsibilities of sex. Our finding suggest that television may play a significant role in the high rates of teenage pregnancy in the United States."
