The contribution of peer and media influences to the development of body satisfaction and self-esteem in young girls: A prospective study.

Abstract

This study aimed to prospectively examine the role of peer and media influences in the development of body satisfaction (incorporating the desire for thinness and satisfaction with appearance) in young girls, as well as the relationship between body satisfaction and self-esteem. A sample of 97 girls 5-8 years of age completed individual interviews at Time 1 and 1 year later at Time 2. Linear panel analyses found that Time 1 perception of peers' desire for thinness was temporally antecedent to girls' desire for thinness, appearance satisfaction, and self-esteem 1 year later. In addition, the watching of appearance-focused television programs was temporally antecedent to appearance satisfaction. Finally, girls' desire for thinness was found to temporally precede low self-esteem. Thus, as early as school entry, girls appear to already live in a culture in which peers and the media transmit the thin ideal in a way that negatively influences the development of body image and self-esteem.

Contemporary girlhood: Maternal reports on sexualized behaviour and appearance concern in 4–10 year-old girls

“…In the regression analysis, involvement with teen culture, the wearing of beauty accessories such as nail polish or heeled shoes, and attention to clothes emerged as unique predictors. The first of these extends the small amount of previous research that has demonstrated relationships between exposure to appearance-related media (teen magazines, soap operas, music videos) and body image concerns among young preadolescent girls (Anschutz, Engels, Van Leeuwe, & van Strien, 2009;Clark & Tiggemann, 2007;Dohnt & Tiggemann, 2006b;Sands & Wardle, 2003), parallel to what has been reported for their adolescent counterparts (Levine & Murnen, 2009). …”

“…Although there is considerable prospective evidence as to the negative consequences of body dissatisfaction in adolescent girls and adult women (e.g., Stice, 2002), as yet there are few data on the longerterm consequences of body concerns beginning at such a young age. One study has shown that appearance dissatisfaction in 5-8 year-old girls predicted a subsequent drop in overall self-esteem one year later (Dohnt & Tiggemann, 2006b). …”

Development of multi-dimensional body image scale for malaysian female adolescents

“…Evidences have shown that negative body image is significantly linked to various health issues, including a spectrum of disordered eating, low selfesteem, depression, and unhealthy weight-loss practices (Dohnt & Tiggemann, 2006;Field et al, 2001;Littleton & Ollendick, 2003;Neumark-Sztainer et al, 2006;Stice & Bearman, 2001). While preoccupation with thinness and frequent dieting are well-recognized factors associated with eating disorders, unnecessary dieting and repeated weight loss attempts may be risk factors for obesity (Thompson & Smolak, 2001).…”

Westernization: The Role of Mass Media on Body Image and Eating Disorders

“…There are less published studies that suggest that early exposure to the thin-ideal can predict an increase in body image dissatisfaction. Dohnt and Tiggemann (2006) interviewed a sample of 97 girls aged 5 to 8 years to study how they incorporated the desire for thinness and satisfaction with appearance, and the relationship of this association with their self-esteem. A year later, the variable watching appearance-focused television programmes predicted an increase of appearance dissatisfaction and, subsequently, the girls' desire for thinness was found to precede temporarily low self-esteem.…”