Social network addiction symptoms and body dissatisfaction in young women: exploring the mediating role of awareness of appearance pressure and internalization of the thin ideal
Fecha
2022
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BMC
Resumen
Background: Previous studies testing for a direct relationship between social networking sites (SNS) addiction and body dissatisfaction (BD) have yielded inconsistent results. Here, we aimed to identify underlying processes that could mediate this relationship. Specifically, we studied the relationship between SNS addiction symptoms and BD through the awareness of appearance pressures and the internalization of beauty ideals, both individually and serially: SNS addiction → Awareness → BD; SNS addiction → Internalization → BD; SNS addiction → Awareness → Internalization → BD.
Method: A total of 368 female undergraduates with SNS accounts completed scales to assess SNS addiction symptoms (Social Network Addiction Questionnaire), BD (Body Shape Questionnaire), awareness, and internalization (Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Questionnaire‐4; awareness and internalization scales). A theoretical serial mediation model was constructed to examine the proposed relationships. Body mass index was included as a covariate to control the influence of this important variable.
Results: The results indicated that both awareness and internalization independently mediated the relationship between SNS addiction symptoms and BD. Also, there was a significant serial mediation effect; women with more SNS addiction symptoms tended to be more aware of appearance pressure, which was associated with the internalization of beauty ideals. In turn, this internalization was positively related to BD symptoms.
Conclusions: These findings shed light on the indirect relationship between SNS addiction and BD, demonstrating independent and accumulative mediating effects of awareness and internalization.
Descripción
Palabras clave
Body dissatisfaction, Social network site addiction, Awareness of appearance‐based pressures, Internalization of thin ideal, Body mass index
Citación
Delgado-Rodríguez, R., Linares, R., & Moreno-Padilla, M. (2022). Social network addiction symptoms and body dissatisfaction in young women: exploring the mediating role of awareness of appearance pressure and internalization of the thin ideal. Journal of Eating Disorders, 10(1), 117