Media influences on body image and disordered eating among indigenous adolescent Australians

Adolescence, Spring, 2005 by Marita P. McCabe, Lina Ricciardelli, David Mellor, Kylie Ball

Consistent with past studies, girls were more likely to be dissatisfied with their weight (Keel, Fulkerson, & Leon, 1997) and to engage in strategies to lose weight (Smolak & Murnen, 2001), whereas boys were more likely to engage in strategies to increase muscles (McCabe & Ricciardelli, 2003). These findings are consistent with some of the main gender differences on perceived media messages found in the present study. Girls reported more perceived media messages about weight loss while boys reported more perceived media messages about increasing muscles.

Contrary to expectations, indigenous adolescents engaged in more strategies to lose weight, increase weight, and increase muscles than did non-indigenous adolescents. These findings are at variance with previous research among Black adolescent girls (Abrams & Stormer, 2002; Poran, 2002) and Black adolescent boys (Adams et al., 2000; Field et al., 1999). These inconsistencies may be related to the different ethnic groups under study. There are no previous studies of these issues among indigenous Australian adolescents with which the present findings can be compared. The greater use of body change strategies among indigenous adolescents also seems at odds with several of the other findings in the present study. Indigenous girls displayed lower levels of body dissatisfaction than did non-indigenous girls. In addition, indigenous adolescents reported that media messages were less likely to encourage weight loss behavior in comparison to the nonindigenous adolescents. Furthermore, regression analyses showed that the factors contributing to body dissatisfaction and body change strategies were similar for both cultural groups. However, consistent with the finding that indigenous adolescents were engaging in more body change strategies, perceived media messages were significantly associated with a larger number of body image and body change strategies among the indigenous group. Therefore, although indigenous adolescents reported fewer media messages, overall these seemed to have more impact on the indigenous group than on the non-indigenous group. It may be that indigenous adolescents were less aware of the media messages and their possible impact on their behavior. Another possibility is that they were more reluctant to report that media messages influenced their body change strategies. Future studies need to examine how adolescents from indigenous backgrounds and other cultures are interpreting the nature of media messages and the impact these have on their body image and body change strategies.

Further research is also needed to examine other factors that may explain why indigenous adolescents are engaging in more body change strategies. It may be that these adolescents are receiving messages regarding body change strategies from other sources. These may be coming from parents, peers or from engaging in higher levels of social comparisons. Certainly, previous research has demonstrated the role of these sociocultural influences on shaping both body dissatisfaction and body change strategies among non-indigenous adolescents (e.g., McCabe & Ricciardelli, 2003; Ricciardelli & McCabe, 2001b). It is also possible that the indigenous adolescents may be engaging in more body change strategies because of their higher BMI and/or larger body build. Neither BMI nor body frame was assessed in the current study; however, indigenous Australians tend to have a larger body frame than do non-indigenous Australians (House of Representatives Standing Committee on Family and Community Affairs, 2000).