Elsevier

Body Image

Volume 4, Issue 4, December 2007, Pages 353-360
Body Image

Relationships amongst body dissatisfaction, internalisation of the media body ideal and perceived pressure from media in adolescent girls and boys

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2007.06.007Get rights and content

Abstract

Sociocultural factors that underpin gender differences in body dissatisfaction have not frequently been explored. We examined the relative contribution of internalization of media body ideals and perceived pressure to achieve this ideal in explaining body dissatisfaction in adolescent boys and girls. A sample of 819 boys and 791 girls completed measures of internalization of body ideals, perceived pressure, body mass index (BMI) and body dissatisfaction. As expected, girls showed higher body dissatisfaction, internalization and pressure than boys. Internalization, pressure and BMI contributed to the prediction of body dissatisfaction in boys and in girls although these variables explained less variance in body dissatisfaction in boys. In addition, for girls the strongest predictor of body dissatisfaction was internalization, whilst for boys the strongest predictor was pressure. Differences in extent of internalization and pressure may contribute to higher body dissatisfaction in girls than boys. These sociocultural factors may affect girls and boys differently.

Introduction

Many studies have shown that body dissatisfaction is highly prevalent during adolescence (e.g., Kostanski, Fisher, & Gullone, 2004; Ricciardelli & McCabe, 2001). Moreover, there has been substantial empirical evidence indicating that girls show greater body dissatisfaction than boys (e.g., Barker & Galambos, 2003; Eisenberg, Neumark-Sztainer, & Paxton, 2006; Kostanski et al., 2004; Muth & Cash, 1997). Muth and Cash (1997) found in their study focusing on gender differences in body image that 40% of females and 22% of males were not satisfied with their body. Results from a representative sample of 7420 adolescents in the Swiss Multicenter Adolescent Survey on Health (Narring et al., 2004) showed that nearly 50% of girls and 18% of boys were not satisfied with their body. Wardle and Marsland (1990) found similar results with 47% of girls and 72% of boys being satisfied with their body.

Whilst body dissatisfaction in girls is mostly related to a desire to be thinner (Kostanski et al., 2004; Ricciardelli & McCabe, 2001; Wardle & Marsland, 1990), in boys, body dissatisfaction is related either to a desire to lose or gain weight or to be more muscular (Cohane & Pope, 2001; Ricciardelli & McCabe, 2001; Smolak, Levine, & Thompson, 2001; Smolak & Stein, 2006). Although gender differences in frequency and intensity of body-image concerns are widely recognized, few studies have examined attitudes and beliefs that might contribute to these differences or the manner in which they operate. To address these issues, the present study aimed to compare the extent of internalization of media body ideals, and the pressure to conform to these ideals, in adolescent girls and boys.

One explanation for gender differences in body dissatisfaction is that there is greater sociocultural emphasis placed on physical attractiveness for girls and women in Western society (McKinley, 1999), and Switzerland is no exception in this respect. Media images create a beauty standard for girls in which a perfect, thin, body is central. However, the thin ideal propagated in media is generally unattainable (Wiseman, Gray, Mosimann, & Ahrens, 1992). It has been suggested that the discrepancy between actual and ideal body can result in body dissatisfaction (Durkin & Paxton, 2002; Thompson, Heinberg, Altabe, & Tantleff-Dunn, 1999). Not surprisingly, under these circumstances, larger body size has consistently been observed to predict greater body dissatisfaction in girls (e.g., Barker & Galambos, 2003; Jones, 2004; Paxton, Eisenberg, & Neumark-Sztainer, 2006; Presnell, Bearman, & Stice, 2004).

In recent years, boys too have been presented with a proliferation of images of the ideal male body by media (e.g., Rohlinger, 2002). Rather than a very thin ideal, boys are presented with a lean, muscular ideal body and this ideal has become more muscular over time (Leit, Pope, & Gray, 2001; Pope, Olivardia, Gruber, & Borowiecki, 1999). It has been suggested that exposure to the muscular ideal has contributed to greater body dissatisfaction in boys (Arbour & Ginis, 2006; Grogan, 1999, Labre, 2002), and Stanford and McCabe (2005) have shown in their study of boys’ body image that muscularity is very central to the masculine body ideal. Thus, whilst girls have reported they wish to lose weight and be thinner, boys have indicated that they either wish to lose or gain weight and develop muscularity (Cohane & Pope, 2001; Kostanski et al., 2004, Narring et al., 2004). Notably, physical changes during puberty are likely to bring boys closer to, whilst taking girls further away from their body ideal (Labre, 2002). In boys, higher body mass index (BMI) is not as consistent a predictor of body dissatisfaction, some studies supporting this relationship (Jones, Vigfusdottir, & Lee, 2004; Paxton et al., 2006; Ricciardelli, McCabe, Lillis, & Thomas, 2006), while others have not (Barker & Galambos, 2003; Jones, 2004, Presnell et al., 2004). Although body mass is related to body dissatisfaction, for both genders sociocultural influences seem to have a stronger influence on body image than biological factors such as BMI (McCabe & Ricciardelli, 2003).

Although there are distinct body ideals for males and females presented in media and it has been suggested that both girls and boys are influenced by these ideals (McCabe & Ricciardelli, 2003; Smolak et al., 2001), research suggests that boys and girls do not respond to the media presentations with the same intensity (Presnell et al., 2004). Adolescent girls frequently report an increase in body dissatisfaction following exposure to idealised female images (Durkin & Paxton, 2002; Groesz, Levine, & Murnen, 2002; Hargreaves & Tiggemann, 2004), whilst boys show no increase in body dissatisfaction after exposure to idealised images of young men (Arbour & Ginis, 2006; Hargreaves & Tiggemann, 2004; Humphreys & Paxton, 2004).

In addition to media exposure, more subjective indicators of the influence of media such as internalization of the body ideal and perceived pressure from media have been shown to be directly related to body dissatisfaction (Thompson et al., 1999). Internalization of media ideals can be understood as the adoption of socially defined ideals as presented by media as a personal standard (Jones, 2004). The internalization of externally presented images and the acceptance and adoption of these societal body ideals can affect attitudes and behaviour (Thompson et al., 1999). Self-concept research has indicated that although body image is relatively stable, it can be influenced by the internalization of images presented by media (Deusinger, 1998, Grogan, 1999). Furthermore, body image is a central part of the self-concept, especially during adolescence (Flammer & Alsaker, 2002; Levine and Smolak, 2002). Thus, it can be assumed that the successful integration of the changing body into the self-concept is an important task for personality development during adolescence. Reasons why girls and boys respond differently to exposure to media images may relate to differences in the extent to which girls and boys internalize media ideals and the extent to which they feel pressure to conform to these ideals.

Research that has examined the relationship between internalization of the media body ideal and body dissatisfaction has been extensive in girls (Cafri, Yamamiya, Brannick, & Thompson, 2005). Cafri and colleagues (2005) have shown in a meta-analysis of cross-sectional studies that internalization has medium-to-large associations with body dissatisfaction. Several longitudinal studies have also provided empirical evidence that internalization of the thin ideal predicts increases in body dissatisfaction among girls (Jones, 2004; Stice & Bearman, 2001; Stice & Whitenton, 2002). Further, in girls the effect of media exposure on body image has been shown to be dependent on the extent of internalization of body ideals (Durkin & Paxton, 2002).

Research into internalization of media body ideals in boys has been much more limited. Cafri and colleagues (2005) concluded there were too few studies to conduct a meta-analysis of the association between internalization and body dissatisfaction in boys. However, a small number of studies suggest that there is an association between internalization of the media body ideal and body dissatisfaction for boys, although the correlations appear lower in boys than girls (Jones, 2004, Jones et al., 2004, Smolak et al., 2001). One longitudinal study has investigated the prospective role of internalization of the muscular body ideal for boys (Jones, 2004) and internalization was found to be a significant predictor of body dissatisfaction after 1 year.

Another factor that may influence body dissatisfaction in adolescent girls and boys is perceived pressure from the media to reach this ideal (Cafri et al., 2005). Girls, in particular, have reported that they experience strong pressure to be thin from the media (Tiggemann, Gardiner, & Slater, 2000; Wertheim, Paxton, Schutz, & Muir, 1997) and perceived pressure has, in some studies, been an important predictor of body dissatisfaction for girls (Stice & Whitenton, 2002). To date, the relationship between perceived pressure from the media and body dissatisfaction has only been investigated to a limited extent, especially in boys.

Only few studies have examined the extent to which girls compared to boys internalize the media body ideal and perceive pressure from media. Wilksch, Tiggemann, and Wade (2006) did observe in an intervention study that girls had higher internalization of the media body ideal and perceived more pressure from media than boys.

Although research has provided evidence for associations amongst body dissatisfaction, internalization of media body ideals and perceived pressure from the media, few studies have examined whether boys and girls differ in the extent to which they internalize media ideals and feel pressure from media to conform to these ideals. In the present study, we aimed to extend current research findings using a large adolescent sample by examining gender differences in body dissatisfaction and exploring whether internalization and pressure are related to body dissatisfaction in boys and girls. First, we hypothesized that girls would have higher body dissatisfaction than boys. Second, we hypothesized that girls would internalize media body ideals to a larger extent and feel greater pressure from media than boys. Third, we hypothesized that internalization of body ideals, perceived pressure and BMI would be significant predictors of body dissatisfaction in adolescents, but to a lesser extent in boys than in girls.

Section snippets

Participants

Participants were 1610 adolescent girls (n = 791) and boys (n = 819) aged 14 to 16 years (mean age = 14.9 years, SD = .73). Respondents were drawn from 58 different public co-educational schools in the German-speaking part of Switzerland from a wide range of socioeconomic status areas.

Body dissatisfaction and body mass index

Body dissatisfaction was assessed with two measures. The Negative Body Evaluation subscale of the Body Image Questionnaire (Clement & Löwe, 1996) assessed dissatisfaction with one's own appearance and body, but also

Comparison of body dissatisfaction, internalization, pressure and BMI in boys and girls

Mean values for body dissatisfaction, internalization, pressure and BMI for boys and girls are presented in Table 1. As hypothesized, girls showed significantly higher body dissatisfaction than boys with a medium effect size of d = .72 (Cohen, 1988). Girls had significantly higher internalization of body ideals and perceived pressure to achieve these ideals than boys, both differences being of a small effect size (internalization d = .37; pressure d = .34). However, there was no significant

Discussion

The present study aimed to gain greater understanding of gender differences in body dissatisfaction by investigating relationships amongst body dissatisfaction, internalization of media body ideals, perceived pressure from media to achieve that ideal, and BMI in both girls and boys. As expected, girls had higher body dissatisfaction than boys. In addition, in support of our second hypothesis, girls internalized media body ideals to a greater extent and felt more pressure from media to conform

Acknowledgement

This research was supported by a fellowship from the Swiss National Science Foundation to Christine Knauss.

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