Parent, Peer, And Media Influences On Body Image And Strategies To Both Increase And Decrease Body Size Among Adolescent Boys Ant Girls - Statistical Data Included

Adolescence, Summer, 2001 by Marita P. McCabe, Lina A. Ricciardelli

ABSTRACT

This study investigated the nature of body image and body change strategies, as well as the sociocultural influences on these variables, among a group of 1,266 adolescents (622 males, 644 females). In particular, it investigated weight gain and increased muscle, as well as weight loss. It was found that females were less satisfied with their bodies and were more likely to adopt strategies to lose weight, whereas males were more likely to adopt strategies to increase weight and muscle tone. Respondents with higher body mass index (BMI) evidenced greater body dissatisfaction and more weight loss strategies, but there were no differences between BMI groups in weight gain or strategies to increase muscles. Weight gain and strategies to increase muscles were more likely to be undertaken by older adolescents, but there were no grade level differences in weight loss. Media influences to alter weight, as well as feedback from mother, father, and both male and female peers, were greater for females. There were few gra de level or BMI differences in regard to any of the sociocultural influences. The importance of these findings in terms of providing a better understanding of factors which may lead to a disturbed body image and body change disorders, particularly among adolescent boys, is discussed.

Researchers and clinicians have recently recognized that there has been an inadequate conceptualization and assessment of body image and associated behavioral problems among males. By focusing on the same areas that concern females, many problem areas for males have been neglected. In particular, the literature has focused on weight loss, with little research on weight gain or strategies to increase muscle tone. Although disorders that may develop from a preoccupation with restrictive food practices are now recognized (Keel, Fulkerson, & Leon, 1997; Stice, 1998), there is little information on the impact, among males, of binge eating, excessive exercise, or other behaviors associated with disturbed body image (Middleman, Vazquez, & Durant, 1998; Moore, 1993). In addition to disturbed eating and exercise patterns, which may lead to significant health problems, males with a poor body image may develop psychological problems, such as depression, low self-esteem, and anxiety disorders (Braun, Sunday, Huang, & Hal mi, 1999).

The lack of focus on the determinants of body image disturbance among males may be due to the finding that eating disorders, such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa, affect a substantially smaller percentage of adolescent males than females (Braun et al., 1999; Sharp, Clark, Dunan, Blackwood, & Shapiro, 1994). However, research has largely failed to examine other consequences of disturbed body image; for example, binge eating, excessive exercise, and steroid use. Therefore, the extent of disturbed body change activities adopted by males has probably been underestimated.

Dieting is the main form of weight regulation used by females (Huon, 1994), but is less likely to be used by males (Drewnowski, Kennedy, Kurth, & Krahn, 1995; Fox, Page, Armstrong, & Kirby, 1994; Moore, 1993; Tiggemann, 1994). The conclusion drawn from this finding is that males engage in fewer behaviors to alter their body size and shape. However, dieting usually takes males further away from their ideal body. Perhaps a more accurate interpretation of this finding is that the measures to assess body change techniques have been designed for females and thus do not focus on techniques used by males (Fox et al., 1994). In fact, there has been little assessment of strategies to increase body bulk, although research has demonstrated that males are fairly evenly divided between those who want to lose weight and those who want to gain weight (Cohn & Alder, 1992; Drewnowski & Yee, 1987; Raudenbush & Zeilner, 1997). Further, few studies have evaluated the influence of family, peers, or the media on weight gain or str ategies to increase muscles. Some research suggests that parents play a role in body image disturbances among girls (Wertheim, Paxton, Schultz, & Muir, 1997), but we know little about the role of parents in the development of body image among boys.

Parents appear to play an important role in transmitting sociocultural messages regarding the ideal body to adolescents (Stice, 1994). For females, the sociocultural ideal of a thin body is very clear (Cash & Henry, 1995; Monteath & McCabe, 1997; Slade, 1994; Wertheim et al., 1997). While mothers have a strong influence on adolescent females' attitudes and behaviors (Moreno & Thelen, 1993; Mukai, 1996), less is known about the role of fathers, although one study (Moreno & Thalen, 1993) found that mothers and fathers did not differ in the dieting encouragement given to their daughters. Although most of these studies have focused on females, a study by Schwartz, Phares, Tantleff-Dunn, and Thompson (1999) found that, among both adult males and females, parents were perceived to be more likely to provide feedback to daughters than to sons regarding their appearance. There was no difference between males and females on the perceived level of feedback received from mothers, but females were likely to report receivi ng feedback from their fathers. However, the study did not investigate feedback on eating patterns or other strategies to either increase or decrease weight.