“[In] a poll done by the American Association of University Women (AAUW) of 3,000 fourth to tenth graders revealed that most girls can’t look in a mirror and say, ‘I’m pretty!’ or even ‘I’m okay!’”(Cordes 4). Social media, avenues of peer and parental influences, and role models of “beauty” cause young girls of today’s society to develop distorted views of beauty for themselves. America over time has reached a level that depicts beauty as an unrealistic and unachievable model of the “perfect beautiful girl.” According to research by Shelly Grabe, Janet Shibley Hyde—both staff of the Department of Psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison—and L. Monique Ward of the Department of Psychology at the University of Michigan, half of the population of females younger than twenty-four confess to being dissatisfied with the way they look (Grabe, Hyde, and Ward 460). Females of today’s society look to their culture to derive what exactly beauty is, and recently the depiction of beauty has been tainted. There is a plethora of speculated causes for this trend of negative self-perception in young females, and many of these causes eventually lead to dangerous extreme measures by girls striving to reach the “idealized level of beauty.” Peer influences such as appearance conversations and friendship cliques have proven to have direct correlation with young girls and body image. Gathered from the research of two professors from the School of Psychology at Flinders University Levina Clark and Marika Tiggermann, “poor body image in children has been associated with teasing by peers and conversations with peers about appearance” (Clark and Tiggermann 1125). Peers easily persuade young girls, and if a girl’s peer group considers the unreal... ... middle of paper ... ...e Effect of Experimental Exposure to Images of Dolls on the Body Image of 5- to 8-year-old Girls." Developmental Psychology 42.2 (2006): 283-92. PsycARTICLES. Web. 29 Nov. 2011. Grabe, Shelly, L. Monique Ward, and Janet Shibley Hyde. "The Role of the Media in Body Image Concerns among Women: A Meta-analysis of Experimental and Correlational Studies." Psychological Bulletin 134.3 (2008): 460-76. PsycARTICLES. Web. 29 Nov. 2011. Smolak, Linda. "Eating Disorders in Girls." Handbook of Behavioral and Emotional Problems in Girls. Ed. Sharon L. Foster, Eric J. Mash, and Deborah J. Bell. New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum, 2005. 463+. SpringerLink. Web. 29 Nov. 2011. Stice, Eric, and Kathryn Whitenton. "Risk Factors for Body Dissatisfaction in Adolescent Girls: A Longitudinal Investigation." Developmental Psychology 38.5 (2002): 669-78. PsyARTICLES. Web. 29 Nov. 2011.
Adolescence is one of the most difficult times for development. This difficulty is experienced very differently for boys and girls. This paper will examine how gender role socialization effects girls more specifically, the emergence of eating disorders and depression in adolescent girls.
Every culture around the globe stresses specific ideals for body image. In the United States and many other countries, the media plays a big role in how we view ourselves- it shows us what is "good" and what is "bad." In many ways our society infiltrates our concept of ideal body image by setting unrealistic expectations for both genders. At an early age we are instructed to pay special attention to our appearance. A...
McKnight. (2003). Risk factors for the onset of eating disorders in adolescent girls: Results of
The purpose of this paper is to prove that peer pressure plays in important part in how girls perceive their self-esteem and body imagine. We go into ways to improve a teenager’s body image with the use of maintaining a proper diet and exercise routine. It goes into keeping opening communication and the drastic things teenagers will do to get the “look”. Surgery and eating disorders are briefly gone over. We go into what types of pressure a teenager will face for example parental teasing, parents encouragement lose weight, and what parents consider the norm. Peer pressure deals with appearance and wanting to fit in. Only 5 percent of women posses the body type that is reflected in the media. We will test 30 girls with a simple survey test with six, yes or no questions. The results will give us a percentage of what has the most influence. I believe if we can determine the cause, we can get to the root of things and make young girls more accepting of themselves and be healthier.
Solomon, Mindy, John Venuti, Jilda Hodges, Jena Iannuzzelli , and Catherine Chambliss. "Educational Responses To Media Challenges To Self Esteem: Body Image Perceptions Among Undergraduate Students." ERIC. 2001. n.p.Web. 27 Dec. 2013. .
She writes and researchers about body image and eating disorders in adolescents. Susan Paxton’s qualification consists of an B.A. Honors, MPsych and PhD. She is currently a professor at La Trobe University. Her research is concentrated on understanding risk factors for the development of body image and eating disorders and prevention and treatments for the problems. Siân McLean, who also earned her B.A. and PhD, is a professor in Psychology at La Trobe University. All of the mentioned authors have invested a considerable amount of time into researching towards this specific topic. This article targets researchers wanting to know more about the risk factors that influence adolescent eating disorders and body image concerns. The author’s writing is clear, straightforward and provides a lot of information that pertains to my topic. This specific article, is more informational because it provided useful statistics on risk factors that lead to eating disorders. It can be compared to Salafia and Lemer’s article because both have to deal with stress as a significant issue. This specific article stood out the most in my research because it provided well written and studied information and also served as another supporting article for this specific
Yamamiya, Y., Cash, T. F., Melnyk, S. E., Posavac, H. D., & Posavac, S. S. (2005). Women's exposure to thin-and-beautiful media images: body image effects of media-ideal internalization and impact- reduction interventions. Body Image, 2, 74-80.
Yamamiya, Y., Cash, T. F., Melnyk, S. E., Posavac, H. D., & Posavac, S. S. (2005). Women's exposure to thin-and-beautiful media images: Body image effects of media-ideal internalization and impact-reduction interventions. Body image, 2(1), 74-80.
Tiggemann, Marika. "The role of media exposure in adolescent girls' body dissatisfaction and drive for thinness: Prospective results." Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology 25.5 (2006): 523-541.
In recent years, body image emerged as the top concern among 29,000 young people aged 11-24 years. Three key factors affecting and influencing the body image of adolescent girls today include social, print and digital media, gender expectations of people in relationships and peer pressure pursued by those living around us.
...ly to late adolescence." International Journal of Eating Disorders 39.8 (2006): 729-740. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 17 Nov. 2009.
The overwhelming idea of thinness is probably the most predominant and pressuring standard. Tiggeman, Marika writes, “This is not surprising when current societal standards for beauty inordinately emphasize the desirability of thinness, an ideal accepted by most women but impossible for many to achieve.” (1) In another study it is noted that unhealthy attitudes are the norm in term of female body image, “Widespread body dissatisfaction among women and girls, particularly with body shape and weight has been well documented in many studies, so much so that weight has been aptly described as ‘a normative discontent’”. (79) Particularly in adolescent and prepubescent girls are the effects of poor self-image jarring, as the increased level of dis...
Research in psychology today seems to be drawn towards particular fields of interest especially when it comes to understanding human behavior. One of the most common research topics for social psychology is body image and the perceptions that are related to age groups, genders, and ethnicities. Young people today are pressured by society to make physical appearance a dominant factor in their everyday lives, and the pressure is found not only through media influence but friends and family as well (Pavica, 2010). These pressures can affect many different aspects of a person’s life and significantly influence their actions. The aspects affected by body image can include popularity among peers, social comfort, and the attitudes an individual comes to commit to behavior (Lewis & Rosenblum, 1999).
Teens oftentimes gain dignity and confidence when their physical faults are corrected, but dissatisfaction is shown to decrease the older one gets. Analysis directed toward boys and girls ages 11-18 found that body image satisfaction was higher at age 18 for both boys and girls. Participants were most discontented with reflected the culturally determined stereotypes
Thompson-Brenner, H., Boisseau, C. L. & Satir, D. A. (2010). Adolescent eating disorders: Treatment and response in a naturalistic study. Journal of Clinical Psychology,66(3), 277-301.