Abstract
During adolescence, body image plays an increasingly central role in girls’ well-being and overall functioning. One dimension that has been associated with girls’ body image is social relationships, specifically those established with close others and peers. Cross-sectional findings on the association between both early positive relational memories and current feelings of social pleasure and safeness with body appreciation, an aspect of positive body image, have been recently reported. Nonetheless, this association lacked longitudinal confirmation. The present study thus aimed at exploring associations between these variables along 12 months. Also, the mediating effect of social safeness and pleasure in the association between early memories of warmth and safeness and body appreciation was longitudinally tested. A total of 236 female adolescents, aged between 12 and 18, participated in the study. Participants completed self-report questionnaires in a school context in three waves of data, 6 months apart. Data was analysed via descriptive, correlational, ANOVA and path analysis. Results pointed positive over time correlations, with moderate to strong magnitudes, between the variables in study. Also, means of the variables in study decreased along the 12 months. A path analysis confirmed the mediating effect of social safeness and pleasure in the association between early positive emotional memories and body appreciation. In conclusion, this study shows that current feelings of social safeness are a mechanism that underlies the association between being able to recall positive emotions of early relationships and girls’ body appreciation attitudes.
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Data Availability
The data that support the findings of this study might be available on request, from the first author, Joana Marta-Simões. The data are not publicly available due to their containing private information that may compromise the privacy of research participants.
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Acknowledgments
The authors would like to recognize Ana Laura Mendes (M.S.) for her collaboration in sample collection. They would also like to acknowledge the principals and teachers at the schools involved in the study.
Funding
Research by Joana Marta-Simões is supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), the Human Capital Operational Programme (POCH), and the European Union (UE) [Ph.D. Grant number SFRH/BD/120095/2016].
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Simões, J.M., Tylka, T.L. & Ferreira, C. Early memories of warmth and safeness, and current social safeness: Longitudinal contributions for girls’ body appreciation. Curr Psychol 42, 19607–19614 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-022-03075-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-022-03075-1