Social influences and female adolescent dieting

Drive for Muscularity and Drive for Thinness: The Impact of Pro-Anorexia Websites

“…Corroborating research by Tiggemann and Miller (2010) found that a high percentage of girls reported friend influence on website viewing choices. The results from the present study are also in accordance with research suggesting that social influence is a factor in predicting dieting behaviors (Huon et al, 2000) and that close relationships (i.e., friends and family) influence the development of drive for thinness, excessive exercise and the desire to gain muscle mass (Shomaker & Furman, 2009). …”

“…According to Grieve (2007), the views of muscularity as the ideal body type for men are reinforced by family, significant others and friends. Social influence is a strong predictor of dietary behaviors (Huon, Lim, & Gunewardene, 2000). Research has shown that members of particular social groups may exhibit the same behaviors as their peers in order to avoid being rejected (Shea & Pritchard, 2007).…”

Relations of Eating Disorder Symptomology with Perceptions of Pressures from Mother, Peers, and Media in Adolescent Girls and Boys

“…Levine et al (1994) found that consistent cumulative messages from family, peers, and fashion magazines led to a strong drive for thinness in girls. Huon et al (2000) found that girls who were more seriously committed to dieting reported higher levels of social influence from both parents and peers, but the strongest influences on dieting behaviors appeared to be peer modeling of dieting behaviors and peer endorsement of the participants' dieting, followed by parents' endorsement of dieting and comments that they should lose weight. Further, Stice et al (e.g., Presnell et al 2004;Stice and Whitenton 2002) also studied the influence of multiple contexts, focusing on the influence of adolescents' perceived pressure to be thin (from parents, peers, and media) on body dissatisfaction.…”

Weight-related attitudes and behaviors ofadolescent boys and girls who are encouraged to diet by their mothers

“…9,10 Sociocultural pressures to be thin via the media are strong, 11,12 and peer dieting attitudes and behaviors have also been shown to be very important to adolescents. 10 However, studies have shown that parents, particularly mothers, can have a substantial influence on their children's eating and dieting patterns.…”

“…19,20 In particular, when parents directly encourage their children to diet, the children are more likely to diet. For instance, studies of adolescent girls 9,18,21 found that, compared with girls who did not report parental encouragement to diet, girls who reported parental encouragement to diet were significantly more likely to diet. Similar findings were seen in a study of pre-adolescent girls; girls who reported that their mother commented on their weight were significantly more likely to diet.…”