یک ارزیابی از مدل تأثیر سه جانبه از نارضایتی از بدن و اختلال خوردن در دختران نوجوان

The Tripartite Influence Model of body image and eating disturbance proposes that three formative influences (peer, parents, and media) affect body image and eating problems through two mediational mechanisms: internalization of the thin-ideal and appearance comparison processes. The current study evaluated this model in a sample of 325 sixth through eighth grade girls. Simple path analyses indicated that internalization and comparison fully mediated the relationship between parental influence and body dissatisfaction and partially mediated the relationship between peer influence and body dissatisfaction. Additionally, internalization and comparison partially mediated the relationship between media influence and body dissatisfaction. Six a priori SEM models based on the full Tripartite Influence Model were also evaluated. A resulting model was found to be an adequate fit to the data, supporting the viability of the Tripartite Model as a useful framework for understanding processes that may predispose young women to develop body image disturbances and eating dysfunction.

Eating disorders occur at an alarming frequency in adolescent girls and are associated with high levels of emotional distress and physical problems (Thompson & Smolak, 2001). The prevalence of anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa in adolescence is similar to that found in adults (i.e., approximately 0.5 and 1–3.0%, respectively) and subclinical levels of eating disturbance range as high as 10% of adolescent females (American Psychiatric Association, 2000; Thompson & Smolak, 2001). Accordingly, researchers in the past few years have invested an enormous amount of effort in attempts to define, measure, and evaluate formative influences that may lead to the onset of such disturbances (Shisslak & Crago, 2001; Stice, 2001; Stice and Hoffman, 2004 and Wertheim et al., 2004).