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Body Dissatisfaction in Early Adolescence: The Coactive Roles of Cognitive and Sociocultural Factors

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Abstract

The sociocultural influences of the media, friends, and family on body dissatisfaction in young girls are well documented, yet further increasing our comprehension of the coaction of cognitive processes with sociocultural factors is crucial to understanding the dynamic emergence of body dissatisfaction in early adolescence. The current study examined the roles of appearance related messages and expectations from friends and family and selective attention biases in the development of body dissatisfaction. An ethnically and racially diverse sample of girls (72 % Hispanic White, 17.8 % African-American, 8.5 % non-Hispanic White, and 1.7 % Asian-American) between the ages of 9 and 13 (N = 118) completed multiple measures of attention, sociocultural attitudes toward weight and shape, and body dissatisfaction. The data from these measures were examined using path analysis. The final model fit well, and demonstrated the coactive effect of selective attention and sociocultural factors on body dissatisfaction. These findings will be instrumental in designing future body dissatisfaction intervention and prevention programs that incorporate cognitive factors, augmenting the existing sociocultural and psycho-educational frameworks.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank Stacy Frazier and Dionne Stephens for their consultation on this work, Melissa Baralt for her technological support, Victoria Echevarria for her assistance with data collection, and the anonymous reviewers for their thoughtful feedback. They extend their gratitude to the adolescents and families for their participation in this project, and the following community organizations for their willingness to collaborate: Miami-Dade Parks and Recreation, City of South Miami Recreation, Girl Scouts of South Florida, Florida International University After-School All-Stars, City of Miami Springs Recreation, and the Motivational Edge.

Authors’ Contributions

JFS conceived of the study idea, conducted all data collection sessions, analyzed the data, drafted and revised the manuscript. LDF provided feedback on the conceptual and theoretical aspects of the study and manuscript revisions. Both authors approve of the final version of the manuscript.

Funding

This work was funded by the Florida International University Department of Psychology Seed Fund Award and University Graduate School Presidential Fellowship, both awarded to JFS.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Florida International University, Miami, FL, USA

    Jessica F. Saunders & Leslie D. Frazier

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  1. Jessica F. Saunders
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  2. Leslie D. Frazier
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Correspondence to Leslie D. Frazier.

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Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical Compliance

This work was approved by the Social and Behavioral Institutional Review Board at Florida International University prior to any collection of data.

Informed Consent

Prior to research participation, written informed consent was obtained from the parent or legal guardian and written informed assent was obtained from all study participants.

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Saunders, J.F., Frazier, L.D. Body Dissatisfaction in Early Adolescence: The Coactive Roles of Cognitive and Sociocultural Factors. J Youth Adolescence 46, 1246–1261 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-016-0559-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-016-0559-2

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