Media influence, self-esteem and body dissatisfaction in a group of preadolescent boys and girls [Influenza dei media, autostima e insoddisfazione corporea in un gruppo di preadolescenti maschi e femmine]

Summary Media influence, self-esteem and body dissatisfaction in a group of preadolescent boys and girls - The present study analyses the relation among media influence, self esteem and body dissatisfaction in a group of preadolescent boys and girls. 243 preadolescents with the mean age of 12 were involved. The group consisted of 127 boys and 116 girls. They were asked to complete the Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Questionnaire-3 (SATAQ-3; Thompson et al., 2004), the Body Shape Questionnaire (Dowson e Henderson, 2001) and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (Rosenberg, 1965). Preadolescent females reported higher levels of body dissatisfaction than preadolescent males. They also scored higher in three SATAQ-3 subscales: whether media are important source of information about being attractive, internalization of a media thin ideal and perceived media pressures to be thin. Body mass index and internalization of a thin ideal emerged as significant predictors of body dissatisfaction for both sexes. Perceived media pressures predict body dissatisfaction only among girls.