Media Internalization and Social Comparison as Predictors of Eating Pathology Among Latino Adolescents: The Moderating Effect of Gender and Generational Status

Abstract

Using a sociocultural framework, this crosssectional study examined eating pathology among 235 Latino adolescents from the Southwestern U.S. who differed in generational status. Participants completed self-report measures of media pressures, internalization, social comparison, and eating pathology. Overall, results revealed stronger relationships between these sociocultural variables and eating pathology for girls. Girls reported greater social comparison, thin-ideal pressure and internalization, and eating pathology than boys. Generational status was positively correlated with these sociocultural variables and eating pathology for girls only. Moderated hierarchical regression analyses indicated that athletic-ideal internalization was a key predictor of eating pathology for girls but not boys. Discussion highlights gender, more than generational status, as critical to a sociocultural framework for eating pathology among adolescent Latino Americans.

The Relationship between the Body Image in Adolescent Boys and Girls and the Use of Internet Social Networks

“…Kūno lyginimas (ang. body comparison), anot Festinger (1954), yra viena iš socialinio lyginimo formų, dažna tarp paauglių vaikinų ir paauglių merginų, kai jie lygina savo kūną su bendraamžių ir žmonių (įžymybių, modelių), pasirodančių žiniasklaidoje, kūnais (Warren et al, 2010). Ferguson, Munoz, Contreras ir Velasquez, (2011) atliko eksperimentą, kuriame dalyvavo paaugliai vaikinai ir jų bendraamžės merginos -jiems buvo rodomi jų bendraamžių liekno kūno paveikslai televizijoje.…”

“…Tyrimai rodo (Grabe, Hyde, & Lindberg, 2007;Knauss, Paxton, & Alsaker, 2008;Tiggemann & Lynch, 2001), kad visi trys minėti rodikliai yra susiję su paauglių nepasitenkinimu savo kūnu. Pabrėžtina, kad nepasitenkinimas savo kūnu yra vienas iš svarbiausių valgymo sutrikimų turinčių individų požymių (Grabe et al, 2007;Markey, 2010;McCabe & Ricciardelli, 2001 Festinger (1954), yra viena iš socialinio lyginimo formų, dažna tarp paauglių vaikinų ir paauglių merginų, kai jie lygina savo kūną su bendraamžių ir žmonių (įžymybių, modelių), pasirodančių žiniasklaidoje, kūnais (Warren et al, 2010). Ferguson, Munoz, Contreras ir Velasquez, (2011) atliko eksperimentą, kuriame dalyvavo paaugliai vaikinai ir jų bendraamžės merginos -jiems buvo rodomi jų bendraamžių liekno kūno paveikslai televizijoje.…”

Fiction, Fashion, and Function Revisited: An Introduction to the Special Issue on Gendered Body Image, Part II

“…For example, women and men are at risk for doing 'double damage' to themselves if they adopt gendered body standards-women concomitantly try to reduce their overall body size via disordered eating but enlarge their breasts via breast augmentation surgery (Harrison 2003), while men may engage in drug use and excessive weight training to increase their muscularity while dieting to lose excess fat that covers the definition in their muscles (Cafri et al 2005). Many studies included in this issue consider the extent to which females and males adopt gendered body standards as their own and engage in body change behaviors to achieve the ideal body for their gender (Choma et al 2010;Harriger et al 2010;Karazsia and Crowther 2010;Petrie et al 2010;Smolak and Stein 2010;Warren et al 2010).…”

“…Is body image stable across adulthood, and is this stability consistent between women and men? The articles in Part II explored gendered body image within various developmental stages of life, such as young girls (Anschutz and Engels 2010;Harriger et al 2010); early adolescent girls and boys (Petrie et al 2010;Smolak and Stein 2010); adolescent girls and boys (Warren et al 2010); emerging adults (Boroughs et al, Choma et al, 2010;Hesse-Biber et al 2010;Karazsia and Crowther 2010;Pompper 2010); and early, middle, and late adult women and men (Mellor et al 2010;Newheiser et al 2010;Pompper 2010).…”

“…Moreover, Latina women who have immigrated to the U.S. endorse a larger body ideal than Latina women born in the U.S.; perhaps the former group is more likely to retain aspects of their culture of origin (Lopez et al 1995). Four studies included in Part II more closely explore the links between ethnic identity and body image for women and men living in the U.S. (Boroughs et al 2010;Hesse-Biber et al 2010;Pompper 2010;Warren et al 2010).…”