عملکرد روانی، فشار رسانه ها و نارضایتی از بدن زنان دانشجو

The aim of this study was to explore the moderating effect of a number of psychological variables on the relationship between media pressure and body dissatisfaction. A total of 200 young women completed questionnaires assessing body dissatisfaction, perceived media pressure, self-esteem, depression, anxiety, and social phobia. Media pressure, anxiety and self-esteem revealed direct effects in the prediction of body dissatisfaction. However, when the interaction terms were examined, only the interaction between social phobia and media pressure was a significant predictor of body dissatisfaction. The findings of the study reveal the importance of psychological functioning regarding vulnerability to the effects of media pressure.

In Western society, body image concerns are so prevalent among young women they have been called normative, with body dissatisfaction appearing in girls as young as 5 years old (Davison et al., 2003, Rodin et al., 1985 and Schur et al., 2000). The proportion of adolescent girls dissatisfied with their body shape has been reported to range between 37 and 54% (Børresen and Rosenvinge, 2003 and Moore, 1988). This phenomenon has been largely attributed to the role of the mass media, which promotes an unrealistically slender body shape, which many young women strive to reach (Thompson et al., 2004). Peer and family influences have also been posited to play an important role with sociocultural frameworks (Byely et al., 2000), and media influences have been explored alongside peer and family influences in integrative models (Keery et al., 2004 and Shroff and Thompson, 2006). However, culture alone cannot be responsible for the appearance of body image concerns as all young women do not strive for this thin-deal, revealing the importance of individual psychology (Brumberg, 1988). Despite the increasing amount of research devoted to the study of sociocultural pressure upon body shape, relatively little is known concerning the factors that moderate the relationship between the internalisation of the media-ideal and body dissatisfaction. The aim of this study was therefore to explore the effect of psychological functioning on the relationship between media pressure and body dissatisfaction.