TY - JOUR A1 - Skowronski, Marika A1 - Busching, Robert A1 - Krahé, Barbara T1 - Links between exposure to sexualized Instagram images and body image concerns in girls and boys JF - Journal of media psychology N2 - The current study examined the links between viewing female and male sexualized Instagram images (SII) and body image concerns within the three-step process of self-objectification among adolescents aged 13-18 years from Germany (N = 300, 61% female). Participants completed measures of SII use, thin- and muscular-ideal internalization, valuing appearance over competence, and body surveillance. Structural equation modeling revealed that SII use was associated with body image concerns for boys and girls via different routes. Specifically, female SII use was indirectly associated with higher body surveillance via thin-ideal internalization and subsequent valuing appearance over competence for girls. For both girls and boys, male SII use was indirectly linked to higher body surveillance via muscular-ideal internalization. Implications for the three-step model of self-objectification by sexualized social media are discussed. KW - social media KW - sexualization KW - body image concerns KW - self-objectification; KW - body surveillance Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1027/1864-1105/a000296 SN - 1864-1105 SN - 2151-2388 VL - 34 IS - 1 SP - 55 EP - 62 PB - Hogrefe & Huber Publ. [u.a.] CY - Göttingen ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Skowronski, Marika A1 - Busching, Robert A1 - Krahé, Barbara T1 - Women’s exposure to sexualized TV, self-objectification, and consideration of cosmetic surgery BT - the role of age JF - Psychology of popular media N2 - Public Policy Relevance Statement TV is full of content presenting women in a sexualized way, with a focus on their sexual appearance and appeal to others. We found that across an age spectrum from 15 to 72 years, the more women watched sexualized TV, the more concerned they were about their body; a link between watching sexualized TV and considering cosmetic surgery was found only for women above the age of 31. Adding to the evidence documenting negative consequences of sexualized media use on young women's body image, this study is a first indicator that these might also apply to women across a broader age spectrum.
Extensive research has documented links between sexualized media use and body image concerns. Previous findings are based largely on female adolescents or young adults, although objectification theory predicts changes of body image concerns with age. Therefore, the current study investigated the link of sexualized TV exposure (STE) with self-objectification and consideration of cosmetic surgery within the framework of objectification theory in a sample of 519 female participants between the age of 15 and 72 (M = 39.43 years). Participants completed measures of STE, appearance-ideal internalization, valuing appearance over competence, body surveillance, and consideration of cosmetic surgery. Structural equation modeling revealed that STE was indirectly linked with consideration of cosmetic surgery via valuing appearance over competence and body surveillance. Age was negatively related to internalization, valuing appearance over competence, and body surveillance, but did not moderate the links between STE and body image. Older women scored lower on the body-related variables, but the associations between STE and self-objectification were the same across the age spectrum. STE predicted consideration of cosmetic surgery only for women over 31 years of age. Implications concerning the role of age in linking sexualized media to self-objectification are discussed. KW - television KW - sexualization KW - age KW - body image KW - self-objectification Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1037/ppm0000348 SN - 2160-4143 SN - 2160-4142 VL - 11 IS - 2 SP - 117 EP - 124 PB - American Psychological Association CY - Washington ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Skowronski, Marika A1 - Busching, Robert A1 - Krahé, Barbara T1 - The effects of sexualized video game characters and character personalization on women's self-objectification and body satisfaction JF - Journal of experimental social psychology N2 - Female role models in video games are rare, and if they are present, they are often heavily sexualized. Objectification theory suggests that exposure to sexualized media characters increases self-objectification and decreases body satisfaction in female users. This study investigated the effect of playing a video game with a sexualized versus a nonsexualized character on women's experiences of self-objectification and body satisfaction. We further studied the effect of character personalization as a core feature of video games on the relation between sexualized avatars, self-objectification and body satisfaction. N = 262 female participants reported state self-objectification and body satisfaction after 30 min of playing the video game The Sims 4 with a sexualized or nonsexualized avatar that was either generic or personalized to look like the participant. We predicted that controlling for trait self-objectification, playing the game with a sexualized character would increase state self-objectification, especially in the personalized condition. Regarding the effect of character sexualization on body satisfaction, competing hypotheses based on priming vs. the Proteus effect were tested, considering character personalization and enjoyment of sexualization as moderators and controlling for trait body satisfaction. The current study did not find evidence for the proposed hypotheses. The findings are discussed in terms of the relevance of objectification theory in explaining effects of sexualized models in interactive media. KW - Video games KW - Sexualization KW - Self-objectification KW - Body satisfaction KW - Character personalization KW - Media effects Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2020.104051 SN - 0022-1031 SN - 1096-0465 VL - 92 IS - 1 PB - Elsevier CY - San Diego ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Skowronski, Marika A1 - Busching, Robert A1 - Krahé, Barbara T1 - Predicting adolescents’ self-objectification from sexualized video game and Instagram use BT - A longitudinal study JF - Sex roles : a journal of research N2 - A growing body of research has demonstrated negative effects of sexualization in the media on adolescents' body image, but longitudinal studies and research including interactive and social media are scarce. The current study explored the longitudinal associations of adolescents' use of sexualized video games (SVG) and sexualized Instagram images (SII) with body image concerns. Specifically, our study examined relations between adolescents' SVG and SII use and appearance comparisons, thin- and muscular-ideal internalization, valuing appearance over competence, and body surveillance. A sample of 660 German adolescents (327 female, 333 male;M-age = 15.09 years) participated in two waves with an interval of 6 months. A structural equation model showed that SVG and SII use at Time 1 predicted body surveillance indirectly via valuing appearance over competence at Time 2. Furthermore, SVG and SII use indirectly predicted both thin- and muscular-ideal internalization through appearance comparisons at Time 1. In turn, thin-ideal internalization at Time 1 predicted body surveillance indirectly via valuing appearance over competence at Time 2. The results indicate that sexualization in video games and on Instagram can play an important role in increasing body image concerns among adolescents. We discuss the findings with respect to objectification theory and the predictive value of including appearance comparisons in models explaining the relation between sexualized media and self-objectification. KW - social media KW - computer games KW - sexualization KW - body image KW - self-objectification Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-020-01187-1 SN - 0360-0025 SN - 1573-2762 VL - 84 IS - 9-10 SP - 584 EP - 598 PB - Springer CY - New York ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Busching, Robert A1 - Krahé, Barbara T1 - With a little help from their peers BT - the impact of classmates on JF - Journal of youth and adolescence : a multidisciplinary research publication N2 - Peer groups are critical socialization agents for the development of social behavior in adolescence, but studies examining peer-group effects on individuals' prosocial behavior are scarce. Using a two-wave, multilevel data set (N = 16,893, 8481 male; 8412 female; mean age at Time 1: 14.0 years) from 1308 classes in 252 secondary schools in Germany, main effects of the classroom level of prosocial behavior, cross-level interactions between the classroom and the individual levels of prosocial behavior at Time 1, and the moderating role of gender were examined. The results showed that adolescents in classrooms with high collective levels of prosocial behavior at Time 1 reported more prosocial behavior at Time 2, about two years later, reflecting a class-level main effect. A significant cross-level interaction indicated that a high classroom level of prosocial behavior particularly affected individuals with lower levels of prosocial behavior at Time 1. The influence of same-gender peers was larger compared with opposite-gender peers. The findings are discussed with respect to social learning mechanisms in the development of prosocial behavior and their implications for interventions to promote prosocial behavior. KW - prosocial behavior KW - adolescence KW - development KW - gender KW - longitudinal KW - multilevel Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-020-01260-8 SN - 0047-2891 SN - 1573-6601 VL - 49 IS - 9 SP - 1849 EP - 1863 PB - Springer Science CY - New York ER - TY - GEN A1 - Skowronski, Marika A1 - Busching, Robert A1 - Krahé, Barbara T1 - Predicting adolescents’ self-objectification from sexualized video game and Instagram use BT - A longitudinal study T2 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe N2 - A growing body of research has demonstrated negative effects of sexualization in the media on adolescents' body image, but longitudinal studies and research including interactive and social media are scarce. The current study explored the longitudinal associations of adolescents' use of sexualized video games (SVG) and sexualized Instagram images (SII) with body image concerns. Specifically, our study examined relations between adolescents' SVG and SII use and appearance comparisons, thin- and muscular-ideal internalization, valuing appearance over competence, and body surveillance. A sample of 660 German adolescents (327 female, 333 male;M-age = 15.09 years) participated in two waves with an interval of 6 months. A structural equation model showed that SVG and SII use at Time 1 predicted body surveillance indirectly via valuing appearance over competence at Time 2. Furthermore, SVG and SII use indirectly predicted both thin- and muscular-ideal internalization through appearance comparisons at Time 1. In turn, thin-ideal internalization at Time 1 predicted body surveillance indirectly via valuing appearance over competence at Time 2. The results indicate that sexualization in video games and on Instagram can play an important role in increasing body image concerns among adolescents. We discuss the findings with respect to objectification theory and the predictive value of including appearance comparisons in models explaining the relation between sexualized media and self-objectification. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe - 845 KW - social media KW - computer games KW - Sexualization KW - body image KW - self-objectification Y1 - 2020 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-541992 SN - 1866-8364 IS - 9-10 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Jung, Janis Moritz A1 - Busching, Robert A1 - Krahe, Barbara T1 - Catching aggression from one's peers BT - a longitudinal and multilevel analysis JF - Social and personality psychology compass N2 - Exposure to peer aggression is a major risk factor for the development of aggressive behavior in childhood and adolescence. Furthermore, peer aggression has the propensity to spread and affect individuals who were not exposed to the original source of aggression. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate that peer aggression is in many regards similar to a contagious disease. By presenting a program of research based on longitudinal and multilevel studies, we provide evidence for the contagious quality of aggressive behavior, show that individuals vary in their susceptibility to peer aggression, and describe group‐level characteristics that moderate the influence of peer aggression. We discuss mechanisms that may explain how individuals catch aggressive behavior from their peers and how the effects on the development of individuals' aggressive behavior unfold over time. Further, we examine processes that may increase the risk of being exposed to peers' aggressive behavior. We conclude with discussing implications for future studies on the contagious nature of peer aggression. Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/spc3.12433 SN - 1751-9004 VL - 13 IS - 2 PB - Wiley CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kirsch, Fabian A1 - Busching, Robert A1 - Rohlf, Helena A1 - Krahé, Barbara T1 - Using behavioral observation for the longitudinal study of anger regulation in middle childhood JF - Applied Developmental Science N2 - Assessing anger regulation via self-reports is fraught with problems, especially among children. Behavioral observation provides an ecologically valid alternative for measuring anger regulation. The present study uses data from two waves of a longitudinal study to present a behavioral observation approach for measuring anger regulation in middle childhood. At T1, 599 children from Germany (6-10 years old) were observed during an anger eliciting task, and the use of anger regulation strategies was coded. At T2, 3 years later, the observation was repeated with an age-appropriate version of the same task. Partial metric measurement invariance over time demonstrated the structural equivalence of the two versions. Maladaptive anger regulation between the two time points showed moderate stability. Validity was established by showing correlations with aggressive behavior, peer problems, and conduct problems (concurrent and predictive criterion validity). The study presents an ecologically valid and economic approach to assessing anger regulation strategies in situ. Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1080/10888691.2017.1325325 SN - 1088-8691 SN - 1532-480X VL - 23 IS - 2 SP - 105 EP - 118 PB - Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group CY - Abingdon ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Tetzner, Julia A1 - Kliegl, Reinhold A1 - Krahé, Barbara A1 - Busching, Robert A1 - Esser, Günter T1 - Developmental problems in adolescence BT - a person-centered analysis across time and domains JF - Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology N2 - This longitudinal study investigated patterns of developmental problems across depression, aggression, and academic achievement during adolescence, using two measurement points two years apart (N = 1665; age T1: M = 13.14; female = 49.6%). Latent Profile Analyses and Latent Transition Analyses yielded four main findings: A three-type solution provided the best fit to the data: an asymptomatic type (i.e., low problem scores in all three domains), a depressed type (i.e., high scores in depression), an aggressive type (i.e., high scores in aggression). Profile types were invariant over the two data waves but differed between girls and boys, revealing gender specific patterns of comorbidity. Stabilities over time were high for the asymptomatic type and for types that represented problems in one domain, but moderate for comorbid types. Differences in demographic variables (i.e., age, socio-economic status) and individual characteristics (i.e., self-esteem, dysfunctional cognitions, cognitive capabilities) predicted profile type memberships and longitudinal transitions between types. KW - Adolescence KW - Person-centered approach KW - Depression KW - Aggression KW - Academic achievement Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appdev.2017.08.003 SN - 0193-3973 SN - 1873-7900 VL - 53 SP - 40 EP - 53 PB - Elsevier CY - New York ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Busching, Robert A1 - Krahé, Barbara T1 - The contagious effect of deviant behavior in adolescence BT - a longitudinal multilevel study JF - Social psychological and personality science N2 - This article investigated how the development of deviant behavior in adolescence is influenced by the variability of deviant behavior in the peer group. Based on the social information-processing (SIP) model, we predicted that peer groups with a low variability of deviant behavior (providing normative information that is easy to process) should have a main effect on the development of adolescents’ deviant behavior over time, whereas peer groups in which deviant behavior is more variable (i.e., more difficult to process) should primarily impact the deviant behavior of initially nondeviant classroom members. These hypotheses were largely supported in a multilevel analysis using self-reports of deviant behavior in a sample of 16,891 adolescents in 1,308 classes assessed at two data waves about 1-year apart. The results demonstrate the advantages of studying cross-level interactions to clarify the impact of the peer environment on the development of deviant behavior in adolescence. KW - multilevel analyses KW - peer influences KW - deviant behavior KW - gender KW - adolescence Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1177/1948550617725151 SN - 1948-5506 SN - 1948-5514 VL - 9 IS - 7 SP - 815 EP - 824 PB - Sage Publ. CY - Thousand Oaks ER -