TY - GEN A1 - Helfert, Susanne A1 - Warschburger, Petra T1 - The face of appearance-related social pressure BT - gender, age and body mass variations in peer and parental pressure during adolescence N2 - Background Appearance-related social pressure plays an important role in the development of a negative body image and self-esteem as well as severe mental disorders during adolescence (e.g. eating disorders, depression). Identifying who is particularly affected by social pressure can improve targeted prevention and intervention, but findings have either been lacking or controversial. Thus the aim of this study is to provide a detailed picture of gender, weight, and age-related variations in the perception of appearance-related social pressure by peers and parents. Methods 1112 German students between grades 7 and 9 (mean age: M = 13.38, SD = .81) filled in the Appearance-Related Social Pressure Questionnaire (German: FASD), which considers different sources (peers, parents) as well as various kinds of social pressure (e.g. teasing, modeling, encouragement). Results Girls were more affected by peer pressure, while gender differences in parental pressure seemed negligible. Main effects of grade-level suggested a particular increase in indirect peer pressure (e.g. appearance-related school and class norms) from early to middle adolescence. Boys and girls with higher BMI were particularly affected by peer teasing and exclusion as well as by parental encouragement to control weight and shape. Conclusion The results suggest that preventive efforts targeting body concerns and disordered eating should bring up the topic of appearance pressure in a school-based context and should strengthen those adolescents who are particularly at risk - in our study, girls and adolescents with higher weight status. Early adolescence and school transition appear to be crucial periods for these efforts. Moreover, the comprehensive assessment of appearance-related social pressure appears to be a fruitful way to further explore social risk-factors in the development of a negative body image. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe - 357 KW - peer pressure KW - parental pressure KW - adolescence KW - gender KW - age KW - BMI Y1 - 2017 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-401155 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 -