Adolescents’ social network site use, appearance training, and body dissatisfaction: Testing a mediation model

D.A. de Vries, J. Peter, Hanneke de Graaf, Peter Nikken

Research output: Contribution to conferencePaperOther research output

Abstract

Due to their focus on personal photographs and physical appearance, social networksites may encourage and facilitate appearance training among adolescents, that is,influencing each other to conform to sociocultural body ideals. The tripartite influencemodel of body image predicts that receiving appearance training contributes to bodydissatisfaction (Thompson, Heinberg, Altabe, & Tantleff-Dunn, 1999). Therefore,social network site use was expected to increase body dissatisfaction throughappearance training. The present two-wave panel study tested these hypothesizedrelationships among 604 Dutch adolescents (aged 11-18) and explored the potentialmoderation of gender. Structural equation modeling showed similar results for boysand girls: Social network site use increased body dissatisfaction and also predictedincreased appearance training. However, appearance training did not predict bodydissatisfaction. The effect of social network site use on body dissatisfaction wasthus not mediated by appearance training
Original languageEnglish
Publication statusUnpublished - 2015

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