Explaining the relationship between media exposure and early adolescents' body image perceptions: The role of favorite characters

Journal of Media Psychology

Volumn 25, Issue 3, 2013, Pages 129-141

  Eyal, Keren ^a   Te'eni Harari, Tali ^b  

^a INTERDISCIPLINARY CENTER   (Israel)

^b Peres Academic Center   (Israel)

Author keywords

Adolescents; Body image; Media; Parasocial relationship; Social comparison

Indexed keywords

EID: 84882748951     PISSN: 18641105     EISSN: 21512388     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1027/1864-1105/a000094     Document Type: Article

References (73)

1. Anton, S. D., Perri, M. G., & Riley, J. R. (2000). Discrepnacy between actual and ideal body images impact on eating and exercise behaviors. Eating Behaviors, 1, 153-160. PII: s1471-0153(00)00015-5
2. Bartlett, C. P., & Harris, R. J. (2008). The impact of body emphasizing video games on body image concerns in men and women. Sex Roles, 59, 586-601. doi: 10.1007/s11199- 008-9457-8
3. Bessenoff, G. R. (2006). Can the media affect us? Social comparison, self-discrepancy, and the thin ideal. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 30, 239-251. doi: 10.1111/j.1471- 6402.2006.00292.x
4. Chory-Assad, R. M., & Cicchirillo, V. (2005). Empathy and affective orientation as predictors of identification with television characters. Communication Research Reports, 22, 151-156.
5. Clay, D., Vignoles, V. L., & Dittmar, H. (2005). Body image and self-esteem among adolescent girls: Testing the influence of sociocultural factors. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 15, 451-477. doi: 10.1111/j.1532- 7795.2005.00107.x
6. Cohen, J. (2003). Parasocial breakups: Measuring individual differences in responses to the dissolution of parasocial relationships. Mass Communication & Society, 6, 191-202.
7. Cohen, J. (2008). What I watch and who I am: National pride and the viewing of local and foreign television in Israel. Journal of Communication, 58, 149-167.
8. Dibble, J. L., & Rosaen, S. F. (2011). Parasocial interaction as more than friendship: Evidence for parasocial interactions with disliked media figures. Journal of Media Psychology, 23, 122-132. doi: 10.1027/1864-1105/ a000044
9. Downs, E., & Smith, S. L. (2010). Keeping abreast of hypersexuality: A video game character content analysis. Sex Roles, 62, 721-733. doi: 10.1007/s11199-009-9637-1
10. Eyal, K., & Cohen, J. (2006). When good Friends say goodbye: A para-social breakup study. Journal of Broadcasting&Electronic Media, 50, 502-523. doi: 10.1207/s15506878jobem5003-9
11. Eyal, K., & Rubin, A. M. (2003). Viewer aggression and homophily, identification, and parasocial relationships with television characters. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 47, 77-98.
12. Festinger, L. (1954). A theory of social comparison processes. Human Relations, 7, 117-140. doi: 10.1177/00187267540 0700202
13. Field, A. E., Camargo, C. A., Taylor, B., Berkey, C. S., Roberts, S.,&Colditz, G.A. (2001). Peer, parent, and media influences on the development of weight concerns and frequent dieting among preadolescent and adolescent girls and boys. Pediatrics, 107, 54-60. doi: 10.1542/peds.107.1.54
14. Fouts, G., & Burggraf, K. (1999). Television situation comedies: Female body images and verbal reinforcements. Sex Roles, 40, 473-481. doi: 0360-0025/99/0300-0473
15. Giles, D. C. (2002). Parasocial interaction: A review of the literature and a model for future research. Media Psychology, 4, 279-305.
16. Giles, D. C., & Maltby, J. (2004). The role of media figures in adolescent development: Relations between autonomy, attachment, and interest in celebrities. Personality & Individual Differences, 36, 813-822. doi: 10.1016/S0191- 8869(03)00154-S
17. Grabe, S., Ward, L. M., & Hyde, J. S. (2008). The role of the media in body image concerns among women: A metaanalysis of experimental and correlational studies. Psychological Bulletin, 134, 460-476.
18. Greenberg, B. S., Eastin, M., Hofschire, L., Lachlan, K., & Brownell, K. D. (2003). Portrayals of overweight and obese individuals on commercial television. American Journal of Public Health, 93, 1342-1348.
19. Greenwood, D. (2009). Idealized TV friends and young women's body concerns. Body Image, 6, 97-104. doi: 10.1016/j.bodyim.2008.12.001
20. Groesz, L. M., Levine, M. P., & Murnen, S. K. (2002). The effect of experimental presentation of thin media images on body satisfaction: A meta-analytic review. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 31, 1-16. doi: 10.1002/ eat.10005
21. Halliwell, E., & Dittmar, H. (2005). The role of self-improvement and self-evaluation motives in social comparisons with idealized female bodies in the media. Body Image, 2, 249- 261. doi: 10.1016/j.bodyim.2005.05.001
22. Hamilton, E. A., Mintz, L., & Kashubeck-West, S. (2007). Predictors of media effects on body dissatisfaction in European American women. Sex Roles, 56, 397-402. doi: 10.1007/s11199-006-9178-9
23. Hargreaves, D. A., & Tiggemann, M. (2004). Idealized media images and adolescent body image: "Comparing" boys and girls. body image, 1, 351-361. doi: 10.1016/ j.bodyim.2004.10.002
24. Harrison, K. (2000). Television viewing, fat stereotyping, body shape standards, and easting disorder symptomatology in grade school children. Communication Research, 27, 617- 640. doi: 10.1177/00936500027005003
25. Harrison, K., & Cantor, J. (1997). The relationship between media consumption and eating disorders. Journal of Communication, 47(1), 40-67. doi: 0021-9916/97
26. Hayes, A. F., & Krippendorff, K. (2007). Answering the call fora standard reliability measure for coding data. Communication Methods & Measures, 1, 77-89.
27. Helgeson, V. S., & Mickelson, K. D. (1995). Motives for social comparison. Personality & Social Psychology Bulletin, 21, 1200-1209. doi: 10.1177/01461672952111008
28. Hoffner, C. (1996). Children's wishful identification and parasocial interaction with favorite television characters. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 40, 389-402. doi: 10.1080/08838159609364360
29. Holmstrom, A. J. (2004). The effects of the media on body image: A meta-analysis. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 48, 196-217.
30. Hooper, D., Coughlan, J., & Mullen, M. R. (2008). Structural equation modeling: Guidelines for determining model fit. Electronic Journal of Business Research Methods, 6, 53-60.
31. Horton, D., & Wohl, R. R. (1956). Mass communication and para-social interaction. Psychiatry, 19, 215-229.
32. Hu, L., & Bentler, P. M. (1999). Cutoff criteria for fit indices in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling, 3, 369-379. doi: 10.1080/10705519909540118
33. Jones, D. C. (2001). Social comparison and body image: Attractiveness comparisons to models and peers among adolescent girls and boys. Sex Roles, 45, 645-664. doi: 0360-0025/01/1100-0645/0
34. Klimmt, C., Hartmann, T., & Schramm, H. (2006). Parasocial interactions and relationships. In J. Bryant & P. Vorderer (Eds.), Psychology of entertainment (pp. 291-313). Mahwah NJ: Routledge
35. Mahwah, NJ: Routledge. Krayer, A., Ingledew, D. K., & Iphofen, R. (2007). Social comparison and body image in adolescence: A grounded theory approach. Health Education Research, Retrieved from http://her.oxfordjournals. org/cgi/reprint/cym076v1. doi:10.1093/her/cym076
36. Lemish, D. (1998). Spice Girls' talk: A case study in the development of gendered identity. In S. A. Inness (Ed.), Millennium girls: Today's girls around the world (pp. 145- 167). New York: Rowman & Littlefield.
37. Lobstein, T., Baur, L., & Uauy, R. (2004). Obesity in children and young people: A crisis in public health. Obesity Reviews, 5, 4-85.
38. Luszczynska, A., Gibbons, F. X., Piko, B. F., & Tekozel, M. (2004). Self-regulatory cognitions, social comparison, and preferred peers' behaviors as predictors of nutrition and physical activity: A comparison among adolescents in Hungary, Poland, Turkey, and USA. Psychology & Health, 19, 577-593. doi: 10.1080/0887044042000205844
39. Makino, M., Tsuboi, K., & Dennerstein, L. (2004). Prevalence of eating disorders: A comparison of Western and non- Western countries. Medscape General Medicine, 6, 49.
40. Maltby, J., Giles, D. C., Barber, L., & McCutcheon, L. E. (2005). Intense personal celebrity and worship and body image: Evidence of a link among female adolescents. British Journal of Health Psychology, 10, 17-32. doi: 10.1348/ 135910704x15257
41. Martin, M. C., & Gentry, J. W. (1997). Stuck in the model trap: The effects of beautiful models in ads on female preadolescents and adolescents. Journal of Advertising, 26, 19- 33.
42. Martin, M. C., & Kennedy, P. E. (1993). Advertising and social comparison: Consequences for female preadolescents and adolescents. Psychology & Marketing, 10, 513-530.
43. Mendelson, B. K., White, D. R., & Mendelson, M. J. (1996). Self-esteem and body esteem: Effects of gender, age, and weight. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 17, 321-346.
44. Morrison, T. G., Kalin, R., & Morrison, M. A. (2004). Bodyimage evaluation and body-image investment among adolescents: A test of sociocultural and social comparison theories. Adolescence, 39, 571-592.
45. Moyer-Gusé. (2008). Toward a theory of entertainment persuasion: Explaining the persuasive effects of entertainment- education messages. Communication Theory, 18, 407- 425. doi: 10.1111-j.1468-2885.2008.00328.x
46. Mueller, A. S., Pearson, J., Muller, C., Kenneth, F., & Turner, A. (2010). Sizing up peers: Adolescent girls' weight control and social comparison in the school context. Journal of Health & Social Behavior, 51, 64-78. doi: 10.1177/ 0022146509361191
47. Myers, P. N., & Biocca, F. A. (1992). The elastic body image: The effect of television advertising and programming on body image distortion in young women. Journal of Communication, 42(3), 108-133.
48. Neumark-Sztainer, D., Wall, M., Story, M., & Sherwood, N. E. (2009). Five-year longitudinal predictive factors for disordered eating in a population-based sample of overweight adolescents: Implications for prevention and treatment. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 42, 664-672.
49. Ogden, C. L., Carroll, M. D., Curtin, L. R., McDowell, M. A., Tabak, C. J., & Flegal, K. M. (2006). Prevalence of overweight and obesity in the United States 1999-2004. Journal of American Medical Association, 295, 1549-1555.
50. Polce-Lynch, M., Myers, B. J., Liewer, W., & Kilmartin, C. (2001). Adolescent self-esteem and gender: Exploring relations to sexual harassment, body image, media influence, and emotional expression. Journal of Youth & Adolescence, 30, 225-244. doi: 10.1023/A: 1010397809136
51. Potter, W. J. (1999). On media violence. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
52. Preacher, K. J., & Hayes, A. F. (2008). Asymptotic and resampling strategies for assessing and comparing indirect effects in multiple mediator models. Behavior Research Methods, 40, 879-891. doi: 10.3758/BRM.40.3.879
53. 2: Media in the lives of 8- to 18-year-olds. Menlo Park, CA: Kaiser Family Foundation.
54. Roguin Maor, N., Sayag, S., Dahan, R., & Hermoni, D. (2006). Eating attitudes among adolescents. Israeli Medical Association Journal, 8, 627-629.
55. Rubin, R. B., & McHugh, M. P. (1986). Development of parasocial interaction relationships. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 31, 279-292.
56. Rubin, A. M., Perse, E. M., & Powell, R. A. (1985). Loneliness, parasocial interaction, and local television news viewing. Human Communication Research, 12, 155-180. doi: 10.1111/j.1468-2958.1985.tb00071.x
57. Shorter, L., Brown, S. L., Quinton, S. J., & Hinton, L. (2008). Relationships between body shape discrepancies with favorite celebrities and disordered eating in young women. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 38, 1364-1377.
58. Sohn, S. H. (2010). Sex differences in social comparison and comparison motives in body image process. North American Journal of Psychology, 12, 481-500.
59. Steinberg, L., & Morris, A. S. (2001). Adolescent development. Annual Review of Psychology, 52, 83-110. doi: 0066-4308/ 01/0201-0083
60. Tabachnick, B. G., & Fidell, L. S. (2007). Using multivariate statistics (5th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.
61. Theran, S. A., Newberg, E. M., & Gleason, T. R. (2010). Adolescent girls' parasocial interaction with media figures. Journal of Genetic Psychology, 171, 270-277.
62. Thompson, M. A., & Gray, J. J. (1995). Development and validation of a new body-image assessment scale. Journal of Personality Assessment, 64, 258-269.
63. Tiggemann, M., & McGill, B. (2004). The role of social comparison in the effect of magazine advertisements on women's mood and body dissatisfaction. Journal of Social & Clinical Psychology, 23, 23-44.
64. Tiggemann, M., & Miller, J. (2010). The Internet and adolescent girls' weight satisfaction and drive for thinness. Sex Roles, 63, 79-90. doi: 10.1007/s11199-010-9789-z
65. Tiggemann, M., Polivy, J., & Hargreaves, D. (2009). The processing of thin ideals in fashion magazines: A source of social comparison or fantasy? Journal of Social & Clinical Psychology, 28, 73-93.
66. Trabelsi-Hadad, T. (2012, July). Viewing and surfing teens. Yedioth Ahronoth,1514-15.
67. US Department of Health & Human Services. (2011, August 9). Calculate your body mass index. Retrieved from http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/
68. Vandewater, E. A., & Lee, S.-J. (2009). Measuring children's media use in the digital age: Issues and challenges. American Behavioral Scientist, 52, 1152-1176. doi: 10.1177/0002764209331539
69. Want, S. C. (2009). Meta-analytic moderators of experimental exposure to media portrayals of women on female appearance satisfaction: Social comparison as automatic processes. Body Image, 6, 257-269. doi: 10.1016/j.bodyim. 2009.07.008
70. Wertheim, E. H., Paxton, S. J., & Tilgner, L. (2004). Test-retest reliability and construct validity of Contour Drawing Rating Scale scores in a sample of early adolescent girls. Body Image, 1, 199-205. doi: 10.1016/S1740-1445(03)00024-x
71. White, S. E., Brown, N. J., & Ginsburg, S. L. (1999). Diversity of body types in network television programming: A content analysis. Communication Research Reports, 16, 386-392.
72. Young, A. F., Gabriel, S., & Hollar, J. L. (2013). Batman to the rescue: The protective effect of parasocial relationships with muscular superheroes on men's body image. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 49, 173-177. doi: 10.1016/ j.jesp.2012.08.003
73. Young, A. F., Gabriel, S., & Sechrist, G. B. (2012). The skinny on celebrities: Parasocial relationships moderate the effects of thin media figures on women's body image. Social Psychology & Personality Science, 3, 659-666. doi: 10.1177/1948550611434785