10.1177/0743558403258847 JOURNAL Jones et al. /OF BODY ADOLESCENT IMAGE IN RESEARCH ADOLESCENCE / May 2004

ARTICLE

Body Image and the Appearance Culture Among Adolescent Girls and Boys: An Examination of Friend Conversations, Peer Criticism, Appearance Magazines, and the Internalization of Appearance Ideals Diane Carlson Jones

University of Washington

Thorbjorg Helga Vigfusdottir Reykjavik University

Yoonsun Lee

University of Washington This research evaluates the contributions of three dimensions of appearance culture (appearance magazine exposure, appearance conversations with friends, and peer appearance criticism) and body mass index (BMI) to internalization of appearance ideals and body image dissatisfaction. Four hundred thirty-three girls and 347 boys in Grades 7 through 10 responded to several measures on a self-report questionnaire. The results of path analyses indicated that Internalization mediated the relationship between Appearance Conversations With Friends and Body Dissatisfaction for both boys and girls. In addition, Internalization, Peer Appearance Criticism, and BMI made direct contributions to Body Dissatisfaction for boys and girls, although the strength of the relationships varied by gender. The proposed mediated relation between Appearance Magazine Exposure and Body Dissatisfaction was confirmed only for the girls. The findings provide needed information about the contributions of the peer appearance culture to internalization and body image disturbances for adolescent boys and girls. Keywords:

body image; adolescent girls; adolescent boys

The sociocultural approach has been prominent in research on the development of body image disturbance. The basic premise of this approach is that societal factors have a powerful impact on the development and maintenance Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Diane Carlson Jones, Ph.D., Educational Psychology, Box 353600, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195-3600. This research was funded by grants from the College of Education and the Royalty Research Fund, University of Washington.

Journal of Adolescent Research, Vol. 19 No. 3, May 2004 323-339 DOI: 10.1177/0743558403258847 © 2004 Sage Publications

323

324

JOURNAL OF ADOLESCENT RESEARCH / May 2004

of body image through the creation of an appearance culture that values, reinforces, and models cultural ideals of beauty and body shape (J. K. Thompson, Heinberg, Altabe, & Tantleff-Dunn, 1999). Media images are central elements of the appearance culture and have been identified as powerful forces shaping appearance standards (Field et al., 1999; Levine, Smolak, & Hayden, 1994). External media images have impact on conceptions of self when individuals internalize these cultural appearance standards. The internalized appearance ideals come to represent personal goals and standards against which to judge self and others. As such, internalization has been a critical mechanism accounting for the influence of the media on body image dissatisfaction and disordered eating (J. K. Thompson & Stice, 2001). The media is only one aspect of an appearance culture that can potentially shape the development of internalization of appearance ideals and body image during adolescence. An important cultural context that has been given less attention in existing research is that afforded by peers. The need to consider more fully the contribution of experiences with peers to internalization and body image is especially crucial during adolescence, when peer relationships play an increasingly prominent role in well-being and adjustment (Hartup, 1996). In the present research, there are two aspects of peer experiences that are expected to contribute to internalization and body image: appearance conversations with friends and appearance criticism from peers. Conversations with friends about appearance can be especially influential because of the increased intimacy in friendships during adolescence and the importance of close friendships in shaping the social context of adolescents (Berndt & Keefe, 1995). Appearance conversations direct attention to appearancerelated issues, reinforce the value and importance of appearance to close friends, and promote the construction of appearance ideals. Previous research has examined friend and peer pressure for dieting (Levine et al., 1994; Paxton, Schutz, Wertheim, & Muir, 1999) but has not assessed the prevalence of seemingly general conversations about appearance for either boys or girls. These conversations with friends provide the everyday context for attending to, constructing, and interpreting information relevant to appearance concerns. Peer criticism about appearance is a well-documented reality in the lives of adolescents (Eder, Evans, & Parker, 1995). The significant linkage between critical appearance comments and negative body image has been verified in previous research for females from the elementary through college years (Levine et al., 1994; J. E. Thompson, Coovert, & Stormer, 1999; Oliver & Thelen, 1996). Appearance criticism should also be evaluated for

Jones et al. / BODY IMAGE IN ADOLESCENCE

325

boys as a contributor to the internalization process. The experience of being a target of appearance criticism from peers can reinforce the value of appearance to peers and highlight specific desirable appearance attributes, the absence of which is presumably the basis of the criticism. Thus, peer appearance criticism not only generates a direct and potent experience with negative evaluation of one’s own body by another, but it also potentially contributes to internalization by reflecting important features of the appearance culture among peers. In addition to an expanded conceptualization of the role of peer experiences for internalization and body image, this research evaluated the contributions of one type of media, appearance magazines, to body image. Magazines have been considered a central medium for shaping cultural ideals about appearance (Cusumano & Thompson, 1997; Levine et al., 1994). Analyses of appearance magazines reveal a steady bombardment of images that underscore the importance of idealized appearance (Peirce, 1990). The repeated media images of thin females and muscular males make these idealized body shapes seemingly the standard, even though they do not reflect population norms (J. K. Thompson et al., 1999). The relevance of appearance magazines to body image is evident in a recent survey of adolescent girls: 69% reported that magazine pictures influence their idea of the perfect body shape, and 47% claimed that the pictures influenced them to want to diet to lose weight (Field et al., 1999). Analyses of appearance magazines and their impact on adolescent boys have been rare, although recent research has verified the linkage between internalization of media appearance ideals with body dissatisfaction among elementary and middle-school boys (Cusumano & Thompson, 2000; Smolak, Levine, & Thompson, 2001). In the present study, the contributions of these three primary dimensions of the appearance culture (appearance magazines, conversations with friends, and peer appearance criticism) were evaluated in a model using path analyses. The model proposed that the relationship of appearance culture factors to body image would be mediated through the internalization of appearance ideals. Adolescents who reported greater exposure to appearance magazines, more frequent appearance conversations with friends, and higher levels of appearance criticism from peers were hypothesized to report greater internalization of appearance ideals. These internalized representations were expected, in turn, to be related to lower levels of body image satisfaction. The research also assessed the direct effects of the appearance culture measures on body dissatisfaction. Body mass was included as a factor in the model because body weight has been an important factor in predicting body image disturbance for both girls

326

JOURNAL OF ADOLESCENT RESEARCH / May 2004

and boys (Rosenblum & Lewis, 1999; Stice & Whitenton, 2002; StriegelMoore et al., 2000). Its contributions to internalization and body image were evaluated. This research also focused on gender differences and similarities. Gender differences in body image have been well established. Body dissatisfaction has been more common among females (Feingold & Mazzella, 1998) and has been frequently indicated by concerns to lose weight (J. K. Thompson et al., 1999). Body image issues for males have focused on increasing weight and shoulder/muscular shape (Rauste-von Wright, 1989). In particular, the desire to develop muscularity has emerged as an important issue among men and adolescents boys (Cohane & Pope, 2001). Gender differences have also been documented for levels of internalization of ideal images. In recent research, girls compared with boys reported greater internalization of appearance ideals (Cusumano & Thompson, 2000). Still, internalization has been related to lower body esteem during early adolescence for both girls and boys (Smolak et al., 2001). Because of the greater cultural pressure to attend to appearance, it was hypothesized that girls compared with boys would indicate greater levels of involvement in the culture of appearance (as indicated by favorite magazines, appearance conversations, and peer criticism), higher internalization of appearance ideals, and greater body dissatisfaction. At the same time, it was expected that boys who were more involved in the culture of appearance and who reported greater internalization evaluations would also experience greater body dissatisfaction. METHOD Participants Participants were from five middle schools and three high schools located in four suburban public school districts in the metropolitan area of a major northwest city. Students were recruited on a classroom basis from regular science and health classes. The sample included 266 seventh graders (151 girls and 115 boys, mean age = 12.6 years), 322 eighth graders (187 girls and 135 boys, mean age = 13.6 years), 192 early high schoolers (9th and 10th graders; 95 girls and 97 boys, mean age = 14.6 years). The students were primarily from middle- to upper-middle-class backgrounds, based on school district characteristics and student-reported parental education levels. Self-reports of ethnic background revealed that the

Jones et al. / BODY IMAGE IN ADOLESCENCE

327

majority of the students were White (71%). The sample also included African American (2%), Asian (15%), and Hispanic (4%) respondents. Procedures The questionnaires were administered in regular class periods. Individuals who provided both parental consent and student assent were included. Measures Appearance Magazine Exposure. The participants listed their three favorite magazines and reported on their reading habits for each favorite magazine. Initial magazine categories were obtained from previous analyses and then adapted (Cusumano & Thompson, 1997). Three categories of magazines were determined a priori to focus on appearance or to provide images that represented appearance ideals for either women or men: glamour (Seventeen, Teen, YM, Maxim, Gentlemen’s Quarterly); entertainment (People, Teen People); sports (Sports Illustrated, ESPN Magazine). A student’s favorite magazine was given a score of 1 if it was included on the list of magazines for glamour, entertainment, or sports. All other magazine favorites were assigned a score of 0. The total number of appearance-related magazine favorites ranged from zero to three. An indicator of the intensity of magazine exposure was derived from responses to two questions that followed the listing of a favorite magazine: (a) How frequently do you read the magazine? (4 = every day; 3 = several times a week; 2 = once or twice a week; 1 = once or twice a month), and (b) How often do you try to do the things suggested in the magazines? (4 = a lot; 3 = sometimes; 2 = not very often; 1 = never). The two items were averaged for each magazine favorite. Appearance Magazine Exposure was determined by weighting each appearance magazine score (0 or 1) by the mean intensity indicator for the magazine (0 to 4). These scores were summed across appearance magazine favorites to create Appearance Magazine Exposure. This type of weighted measure has been used in previous research to provide an integrated assessment of both content and involvement with written media (Anderson, Huston, Schmitt, Linebarger, & Wright, 2001). The maximum score for the indicator was 12; the observed range was 0 to 12 for girls and 0 to 11.5 for boys.

328

JOURNAL OF ADOLESCENT RESEARCH / May 2004

TABLE 1: Factor Loadings for Appearance Culture Among Peers Subscales for Girls

Factor 1 Factor 2 Factor 3 Appearance Conversations With Friends 1. My friends and I talk about how our bodies look in our clothes. 2. My friends and I talk about what we would like our bodies to look like. 3. My friends and I talk about how important it is to always look attractive. 4. My friends and I talk about the size and shape of our bodies. 5. My friends and I talk about what we can do to always look our best. Peer Appearance Criticism: General body and shape 6. Girls tease me or make fun of the size or shape of my body. 7. Boys laugh at me or make fun of me because of my body. 8. Boys tease me or make fun of me because of the size or build of my body. 9. Girls laugh at me or make fun of me because of my body. Peer Appearance Criticism: Specific criticism about thinness 10. Boys say I should go on a diet. 11. Boys say that I would look better if I were thinner. 12. Girls say that I would look better if I were thinner.

.82

.00

.00

.81

.11

.00

.79

.00

.16

.77

.20

.00

.79

.00

.00

.00

.73

.27

.00

.83

.22

.13

.84

.18

.00

.76

.33

.00 .00 .17

.30 .31 .30

.84 .85 .75

Appearance Culture Among Peers. An initial pool of 20 items (1 = never, 5 = very often) evaluated two aspects of the appearance culture among peers: appearance conversations with friends and peer appearance criticism. The items were adapted from existing literature (Oliver & Thelen, 1996; Brown, Cash, & Mikulka, 1990) or created for this study. Principal component factor analyses were conducted to verify the structure of the conversation and criticism scales. Because several of the items were made gender appropriate, the factor analyses using a varimax rotation were completed separately for boys and girls. Items were retained in the final scales if the factor loadings were at least .50 and cross loadings on other factors were not more than .40. The 12 items and the final factor loadings are reported in Tables 1 and 2.

Jones et al. / BODY IMAGE IN ADOLESCENCE

329

TABLE 2: Factor Loadings for Appearance Culture Among Peers Subscales for Boys

Factor 1 Factor 2 Factor 3 Appearance Conversations With Friends 1. My friends and I talk about how our bodies look in our clothes. 2. My friends and I talk about what we would like our bodies to look like. 3. My friends and I talk about how important it is to always look attractive. 4. My friends and I talk about the size and shape of our bodies. 5. My friends and I talk about what we can do to always look our best. Peer Appearance Criticism: General body and shape 6. Girls tease me or make fun of the size or shape of my body. 7. Boys laugh at me or make fun of me because of my body. 8. Boys tease me or make fun of me because of the size or build of my body. 9. Girls laugh at me or make fun of me because of my body. Peer Appearance Criticism: Specific criticism about muscularity 10. Girls say I should build up my muscles. 11. Girls say that I would look better if I had a more muscular build. 12. Boys say I would look better if I were more muscular.

.00

.73

.00

.11

.74

.18

.00

.77

.15

.00

.71

.15

.20

.71

.17

.80

.17

.13

.86

.00

.12

.85

.00

.21

.78

.00

.26

.16

.22

.81

.23

.17

.85

.40

.27

.58

Appearance Conversations With Friends. The first factor for the girls and the second factor for the boys included five items that assessed how often students talked with their friends about expectations for their bodies and for appearance enhancements. The responses were averaged across items to form a separate measure. Cronbach’s alphas indicated adequately reliable scales for both girls (.85) and boys (.83). Peer Appearance Criticism. The other two factors extracted represented perceived negative appearance evaluations by peers (Oliver & Thelen, 1996). Four items loaded on one factor (Factor 1 for the boys; Factor 2 for the girls) and represented general criticism about the body. Three additional items

330

JOURNAL OF ADOLESCENT RESEARCH / May 2004

loaded on the third factor and indicated criticism about the gender-specific concerns of thinness for girls or muscular build for boys. Preliminary analyses indicated that the correlations between the two peer criticism scales for both boys and girls were high (girls, r = .62; boys, r = .54). Therefore, items were averaged across the two subscales to form Peer Appearance Criticism. Cronbach’s alphas were acceptable (girls, .84; boys, .80) and similar to those reported by Oliver and Thelen (1996). Internalization of the Media Ideals

The Internalization scale of the Sociocultural Attitudes Toward Appearance Questionnaire developed by Heinberg, Thompson, & Stormer (1995) was used to assess the students’ acceptance of media images as the appearance ideal. The reliability and validity of the scale have been well documented (J. K. Thompson et al., 1999). The original scale items were slightly modified and were similar to those recently developed for young boys and girls (Cusumano & Thompson, 2000; Smolak et al., 2001). The primary modification involved generating a male version with such items as “Music videos that show muscular males make me wish that I were like them.” Responses were scored on a 5-point Likert-type scale ranging from never to very often. To verify the factor structure of the scales, principal component factor analyses with varimax rotation were conducted separately for boys and girls. For both groups, one factor emerged. The factor structure and internal consistency of the scale (Cronbach’s alphas: girls, .90; boys, .86) compared favorably with the unidimensional structure and alpha of .88 reported in the original research (Heinberg et al., 1995). Body Image Satisfaction

The Body Dissatisfaction scale from the Eating Disorder Inventory (Garner, Olmstead, & Polivy, 1983) evaluated the level of satisfaction with general shape and specific body parts. The items on hips and thighs from the original scale were retained for the girls but were altered for the boys to assess their satisfaction with chest and bicep size. The selection of these specific body parts for the boys was based conceptually on the relevance of upper body muscularity for boys (Cohane & Pope, 2001). In addition, the items containing the term buttock were eliminated from the scale because of school district concerns. This issue was similar to the experience reported by Cusumano & Thompson (2000). The final scales had adequate internal reliablity for girls (α = .88) and boys (α = .82).

Jones et al. / BODY IMAGE IN ADOLESCENCE

331

Body Mass Index

Previous research has established that self-reported weight and height are reliable (Brooks-Gunn, Warren, Rosso, & Gargiulo, 1987). From the students’ self-reported height and weight, a body mass index (BMI) was computed using the formula BMI = kg/m2. RESULTS Descriptive statistics for the primary variables are presented in Table 3. The means for BMI are at the lower end of the healthy range but within the range reported for adolescents (17.9 to 21.7) in previous research (Byely, Archibald, Graber, & Brooks-Gunn, 2000; Taylor et al., 1998). The pattern of significant gender differences indicated that compared with males, females were more engaged with appearance magazines, reported more appearance conversations, endorsed greater internalization of appearance ideals, and were more dissatisfied with their bodies. There was a tendency for males to report more peer appearance criticism about their appearance. Prediction of Body Image Dissatisfaction Table 3 presents the zero-order correlation between the variables used in the analyses. The correlations are relevant to the mediating model in that they provide evidence on the relationships between the appearance culture measures, BMI, and body image. Among the girls, significant relationships were confirmed between Body Dissatisfaction and Appearance Magazine Exposure, Appearance Conversations with Friends, Peer Appearance Criticism, and BMI. For the boys, however, Appearance Magazine Exposure was not related to Body Dissatisfaction, but Conversations with Friends, Peer Appearance Criticism, and BMI were significantly correlated with Body Dissatisfaction. Path analysis was used to evaluate the proposed mediation model and the contributions of Appearance Magazines, Appearance Conversations With Friends, Peer Appearance Criticism, BMI, and Internalization to the prediction of Body Dissatisfaction. Grade was also entered into the equations as a control variable. Separate analyses were performed for males and females. The complete path model predicted a significant amount of the variance in body image dissatisfaction among the girls, R2 = .48, F(6, 423) = 65.79, p < .0001. Figure 1 presents the standardized coefficients defining the paths.

332

Appearance Magazines Appearance Conversations Peer Appearance Criticism Body Mass Index Internalization Body Dissatisfaction

.— .24 .10 .04 .16 .01

.37 .— .44 –.07 .50 .16

2 .04 .25 .— .20 .31 .38

3 –.05 .01 .37 .— –.01 .20

4 .29 .55 .33 .20 .— .29

5 .15 .34 .38 .44 .61 .—

6 5.01 2.72 1.44 20.09 2.94 16.96

M 2.43 0.96 0.63 3.24 0.98 4.57

SD 2.49 1.84 1.53 20.90 2.31 15.54

M

Boys

2.56 0.73 0.63 3.56 0.79 3.82

SD

198.37 199.37 3.72 11.19 92.56 21.19

F

< .0001 < .0001 .054 < .001 < .0001 < .0001

p

NOTE: Boys (below the diagonal), n = 346; all correlations greater than .10 are significant, p < .05; Girls (above the diagonal), n = 430; all correlations greater than .14 are significant, p < .001.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

1

Girls

TABLE 3: Correlations Between Major Variables, and Means and Standard Deviations for Girls and Boys

Jones et al. / BODY IMAGE IN ADOLESCENCE

333

BMI .30*** .14** Appearance Magazine Exposure

.13**

.44*** Appearance Conversations With Friends

.17***

Internalization of Media Ideals R 2 = .38

.49***

Body Image Dissatisfaction R 2 = .48

.31***

Peer Appearance Criticism

*p < .05. **p < .01. ***p < .001.

Figure 1.

Path analysis results predicting body dissatisfaction among the girls.

Each of the appearance culture measures and BMI were related significantly to Internalization, but it was Appearance Conversations With Friends that was most strongly related to Internalization. The contributions of Appearance Magazine Exposure and Appearance Conversations With Friends to Body Dissatisfaction were mediated through their linkage to Internalization. In addition, Peer Appearance Criticism and BMI contributed both indirectly and directly to Body Dissatisfaction. Internalization had the strongest demonstrated relationship with Body Dissatisfaction. Among the boys, the complete path model also predicted significant variance in body image dissatisfaction, R2 = .21, F(6, 339) = 14.82, p < .0001. An examination of the standardized coefficients in Figure 2 revealed that the two aspects of the peer appearance culture, Appearance Conversations With Friends and Peer Appearance Criticism, were significantly and positively related to Internalization of Appearance Ideals. The relationship of Appearance Conversation to Body Dissatisfaction was mediated through Internalization, which was associated with greater Body Dissatisfaction. The impact of Peer Appearance Criticism was not limited to its relationship to Internalization, but was also linked directly to greater sense of body

334

JOURNAL OF ADOLESCENT RESEARCH / May 2004

BMI

Appearance Magazine Exposure

.13**

.04

Internalization of Media Ideals R 2 = .26

.25***

Body Image Dissatisfaction R 2 = .21

.44*** Appearance Conversations With Friends .12*

.32***

Peer Appearance Criticism

*p < .05. **p < .01. ***p < .001.

Figure 2.

Path analysis results predicting body dissatisfaction among the boys.

image dissatisfaction. BMI contributed directly to Body Dissatisfaction. Among the boys, Peer Appearance Criticism had the strongest relationship with Body Dissatisfaction. An additional path analysis was conducted using the entire sample to confirm the statistical significance of the apparent gender differences in the relationships. Variables were centered and four interaction terms were created to represent the interaction of gender with BMI, Appearance Magazine Exposure, Peer Appearance Criticism, and Internalization (Aiken & West, 1991). The interaction terms confirmed that the relationship between BMI and Internalization, t(767) = –2.90, p < .01, and BMI and Body Dissatisfaction, t(765) = –3.47, p < .001, were significantly stronger for the girls compared with the boys. The linkage between Appearance Magazine Exposure and Internalization, t(765) = –1.77, p < .08, was marginally stronger for the girls. However, Peer Appearance Criticism and Body Dissatisfaction, t(765) = 2.35, p < .02, were significantly greater for the boys than for the girls. Finally, gender interacted significantly with Internalization in the prediction of Body Dissatisfaction, t(765) = –4.64, p < .0001, indicating that the strength of the relationship was significantly greater for girls than for boys.

Jones et al. / BODY IMAGE IN ADOLESCENCE

335

DISCUSSION This research provides an expanded conceptualization of the appearance culture and its relationship to body image satisfaction during adolescence by highlighting the role of the peer context. Peer experiences, both seemingly positive/neutral (appearance conversations with friends) and decidedly negative (peer appearance criticism), have significant connections to internalization and body image for both boys and girls. Even though there were variations on the theme for boys and girls, the findings supported the model predictions that experiences with friends and peers were central factors related to appearance internalization and body image satisfaction. The results clearly confirmed the hypothesized mediated relationship between appearance conversations with friends and body image. Students who reported engaging in more frequent conversations about appearance with friends were more likely to endorse greater internalization that, in turn, was related to greater feelings of dissatisfaction with one’s body. The hypothesized pattern was confirmed for both the boys and girls even though the strength of the relationship between internalization and body image was significantly stronger for the girls compared with the boys. Peer appearance criticism was also an important part of the peer contribution to internalization and body image satisfaction. Both the proposed indirect path through internalization and a direct linkage to body dissatisfaction were substantiated for both boys and girls. In this case though, the strength of the relationship was significantly stronger among the boys compared with the girls. In addition, the peer critical comment measure was the strongest direct predictor of body image for the boys. It is interesting that the mean levels of peer appearance criticism indicated that appearance criticism was rarely experienced by most students. Although rare, critical comments from peers have a decided impact on students’ feelings about their bodies. This study also confirms the need to consider individual biological contributions to body image as well as sociocultural factors. For both girls and boys, BMI contributed to the prediction of body dissatisfaction. In addition, BMI was linked to internalization among the girls. Heavier body weights and shapes appear to be socially undesirable for both adolescent boys and girls, but the assumed greater deviation from the stereotypic ideal only increases the apparent burden for the girls by enhancing the appeal of the ideal appearance image. Gender differences were most notable for Appearance Magazine Exposure. The hypothesized mediated relationship between appearance magazines and body dissatisfaction was confirmed only for the girls. Even for the

336

JOURNAL OF ADOLESCENT RESEARCH / May 2004

girls, the strength of the relationship was noticeably weaker compared with the other appearance culture factors. The pattern suggests that magazine images, in their own right, probably have limited direct impact on body image when tested in a multidimentional model. Our finding is similar to that reported by Cusumano and Thompson (1997). Still, there is evidence that appearance magazines are linked to the peer appearance culture for girls, specifically to the appearance conversations with friends. The positive correlations between the indicators of Appearance Conversations With Friends and Appearance Magazine Exposure are significant and suggest that girls who are more involved with appearance magazines also are engaged in friendships that focus more attention on appearance concerns. The magazines may provide food for conversation that is personalized with friends. It is in the more interpersonal context of conversations with friends that the peer appearance culture has its clearest linkage to internalization and body image satisfaction. Appearance magazines did not contribute to the prediction of either internalization or body image among the boys. This outcome could reflect the mildly skewed distribution among the boys related to the lower levels of appearance magazine exposure. However, the robustness of the general linear model with skewed data (McAweeney & Klockars, 1998) make it unlikely that the finding is due primarily to statistical limitations. Rather, accessibility, developmental, and assessment issues may account for the outcome among the boys. For example, male appearance magazines are directed toward adults, so the possibilities of finding a personal favorite may be more limited among adolescent boys. The connection, therefore, between appearance magazines and body image among males may be more apparent later in development during the college or adulthood years. Issues in assessment are also relevant. It could be that other favorite magazines not included in our coding system may portray idealized images of males and be unrepresented in the evaluation of the linkage between appearance magazines and body image. However, additional analyses that included favorite magazines from other highly endorsed categories (cars, computers, news) did not change the results reported earlier. This additional information supports the finding that for adolescent boys, magazine exposure to idealized male images is not strongly related to body image. Gender differences in the involvement in the appearance culture are also evident in the girls’ more frequent self-reported appearance conversations with friends and greater internalized appearance ideals compared with the boys. It is important to note that the girls are not only more embedded in an appearance culture; they are also feeling less satisfied with their body images. This result clearly replicated the well-established observation that

Jones et al. / BODY IMAGE IN ADOLESCENCE

337

girls are more negative about their body images than are boys (Cusumano & Thompson, 2000; Rosenblum & Lewis, 1999). At the same time, it should be remembered that the boys are not necessarily experiencing a supportive or even neutral appearance environment in that they are reporting greater peer criticism about their bodies. The impact of this criticism is indicated in its strong connection to body dissatisfaction. Furthermore, the mean level of body dissatisfaction reported by the boys suggests that they are experiencing only moderate levels of satisfaction. An additional gender difference to note is that the model captured the processes connected to body image dissatisfaction more effectively for the girls than for the boys. The model explained 48% of the variance in body dissatisfaction among the girls, compared with 21% among the boys. Additional factors obviously need to be identified and incorporated into a model that better accounts for body image dissatisfaction among boys. Other aspects of samesex peer relations, such as social comparison and competition, may provide fruitful directions for future research. Efforts should be made to include other media sources (such as television, movies, video games, and internet connections) to better evaluate the relationships among appearance media, internalization of ideal images, and body image among males. During adolescence, increasing amounts of time are spent with peers so that much of everyday life unfolds in the midst of schoolmates and friends. This research emphasizes the importance of examining the unfolding of the appearance culture among peers when studying body image during adolescence. The findings also have important implications for prevention. Prevention programs have most frequently focused on media literacy and personbased issues. The contribution of the present study is in demonstrating the specific relevance of the peer appearance culture in the determination of internalization and body image satisfaction. For example, greater attention should be given to helping adolescents understand the ways in which their appearance conversations serve to create and reinforce standards of beauty that can augment the internalization of appearance ideals and undermine body image satisfaction. The impact of peer criticism on body image would likewise be important to address. The success of interventions during adolescence may be enhanced if these characteristics of the peer appearance culture are also integrated into strategies for change. REFERENCES Aiken, L. S., & West, S. G. (1991). Multiple regression: Testing and interpreting interactions. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

338

JOURNAL OF ADOLESCENT RESEARCH / May 2004

Anderson, D. R., Huston, A. D., Schmitt, K. L., Linebarger, D. L., & Wright, J. C. (2001). Early childhood television viewing and adolescent behavior: The recontact study. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 66, (Serial No. 264). Berndt, T. J., & Keefe, K. (1995). Friends’ influence on adolescents’ adjustment to school. Child Development, 66, 1312-1329. Brooks-Gunn, J., Warren, M. P., Rosso, J., & Gargiulo, J. (1987). Validity of self-report measures of girls’pubertal status. Child Development, 58, 829-841. Brown, T. A., Cash, T. F., & Mikulka, P. J. (1990). Attitudinal body-image assessment: Factor analysis of the body-self relations questionnaire. Journal of Personality Assessment, 55, 135144. Byely, L., Archibald, A. B., Graber, J., & Brooks-Gunn, J. (2000). A prospective study of familial and social influences on girls’ body image and dieting. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 28, 155-164. Cohane, G. H., & Pope, H. G., Jr. (2001). Body image in boys: A review of the literature. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 29, 373-379. Cusumano, D. L., & Thompson, J. K. (1997). Body image and body shape ideals in magazines: Exposure, awareness, and internalization. Sex Roles, 37, 701-721. Cusumano, D. L., & Thompson, J. K. (2000). Media influence and body image in 8-11-year-old boys and girls: A preliminary report on the Multidimensional Media Influence Scale. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 29, 37-44. Eder, E., Evans, C. C., & Parker, S. (1995). School talk: Gender and adolescent culture. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press. Feingold, A., & Mazzella, R. (1998). Gender differences in body image are increasing. Psychological Science, 9, 190-195. Field, A. E., Cheung, L., Wolf, A. M., Herzog, D. B., Gortmaker, S. L., & Colditz, G. A. (1999). Exposure to the mass media and weight concerns among girls. Pediatrics, 103, 36. Garner, D. M., Olmstead, M. P., & Polivy, J. (1983). Development and validation of a multidimensional eating disorder inventory for anorexia nervosa and bulimia. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 2, 15-34. Hartup, W. W. (1996). The company they keep: Friendships and their developmental significance. Child Development, 67, 1-13. Heinberg, L. J., Thompson, J. D., & Stormer, S. (1995). Development and validation of the Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Questionnaire. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 17, 81-89. Levine, M. P., Smolak, L., & Hayden, H. (1994). The relation of sociocultural factors to eating attitudes and behaviors among middle school girls. Journal of Early Adolescence, 14, 471490. McAweeney, M. J., & Klockars, A. J. (1998). Maximizing power in skewed distributions: Analysis and assignment. Psychological Methods, 3, 117-122. Oliver, K. K., & Thelen, M. H. (1996). Children’s perceptions of peer influence on eating concerns. Behavior Therapy, 27, 25-39. Paxton, S. J., Schutz, H., Wertheim, E. H., & Muir, S. L. (1999). Friendship clique and peer influences on body image concerns, dietary restraint, extreme weight-loss behaviors and binge eating in adolescent girls. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 108, 255-266. Peirce, K. (1990). A feminist theoretical perspective on the socialization of teenage girls through Seventeen magazine. Sex Roles, 23, 491-500. Rauste-von Wright, M. (1989). Body image satisfaction in adolescent girls and boys: A longitudinal study. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 18, 71-83.

Jones et al. / BODY IMAGE IN ADOLESCENCE

339

Rosenblum, G. D., & Lewis, M. (1999). The relations among body image, physical attractiveness, and body mass in adolescence. Child Development, 70, 50-64. Smolak,L., Levine, M. P., & Thompson, J. K. (2001). The use of the sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Questionnaire with middle school boys and girls. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 29, 216-223. Stice, E., & Whitenton, K. (2002). Risk factors for body dissatisfaction in adolescent girls: A longitudinal investigation. Developmental Psychology, 38, 669-678. Striegel-Moore, R. H., Schreiber, G. B., Lo, A., Crawford, P., Obarzanek, E., & Rodin, J. (2000). Eating disorder symptoms in a cohort of 11- to 16-year-old Black and White girls. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 27, 49-66. Taylor, C. B., Sharpe, T., Shisslak, C., Bryson, S., Estes, L. S., Gray, N., et al. (1998). Factors associated with weight concerns in adolescent girls. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 24, 31-42. Thompson, J. E., Coovert, M. D., & Stormer, S. M. (1999). Body image, social comparison, and eating disturbance: A covariance structure modeling investigation. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 26, 43-51. Thompson, J. K., Heinberg, L. J., Altabe, M., & Tantleff-Dunn, S. (1999). Exacting beauty: Theory, assessment, and treatment of body image disturbances. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. Thompson, J. K., & Stice, E. (2001). Thin-ideal internalization: Mounting evidence for a new risk factor for body-image disturbance and eating pathology. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 10, 181-183.

Diane Carlson Jones, Ph.D., is an associate professor in educational psychology at the University of Washington. Her previous work has focused on the contributions of friendship and peer relations to social and emotional competence. Thorbjorg Helga Vigfusdottir completed a master’s degree in educational psychology at the University of Washington. Her primary area of interest is motivation. She is applying her interest to her current work in the area of executive education and the school of business at Reykjavik University, Iceland. Yoonsun Lee is a doctoral student in statistics and measurement in educational psychology at the University of Washington. She has an enduring interest in cross-cultural assessments of self-esteem.