The DOI matches its Crossref record; 35 of the 35 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
The relationship between social media use and disordered eating in young adolescents.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The relationship between social media (SM) use and disordered eating (DE) has not been adequately explored in young adolescents. METHODS: Data from 996 Grade 7 and 8 adolescents (n = 534 girls; M age = 13.08) was investigated. DE cognitions (Eating Disorder Examination-Questionnaire [EDE-Q]), DE behaviors (Project Eating Among Teens), and SM use measures related to Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and Tumblr were completed. RESULTS: DE behaviors were reported by 51.7% of girls and 45.0% of boys, with strict exercise and meal skipping the most common. A total of 75.4% of girls and 69.9% of boys had at least one SM account where Instagram was the most common, used by 68.1% of girls and 61.7% of boys. Global EDE-Q scores were significantly higher for girls and boys with each type of SM account, except for Facebook and Instagram for girls. A greater number of SM accounts was associated with higher DE scores for both cognitions and behaviors. Girls with Snapchat and Tumblr accounts and boys with Snapchat, Facebook and Instagram were significantly more likely to have both DE behaviors and over-evaluation of shape and weight in the clinical range. Greater daily time spent using Instagram was associated with significantly higher Global EDE-Q scores and DE behaviors for girls, while this pattern was also found for Snapchat usage and DE behaviors for girls. CONCLUSIONS: A clear pattern of association was found between SM usage and DE cognitions and behaviors with this exploratory study confirming that these relationships occur at younger-age than previously investigated.
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“Disturbingly high prevalence of body image dissatisfaction, disordered eating pathology and comorbid mental health outcomes were reported amongst young social media users in this review [57, 66, 70].”
From The social media diet: A scoping review to investigate the association between social media, body image and eating disorders amongst young people (2023) · cites this paper as [57]
In the citing paper
“Most previous studies were cross-sectional and exploratory in nature, thus preventing conclusion about causation (Wilksch et al., 2020).”
From Common Predictive Factors of Social Media Addiction and Eating Disorder Symptoms in Female College Students: State Anxiety and the Mediating Role of Cognitive Flexibility/Sustained Attention (2022) · cites this paper as Wilksch et al., 2020
In the citing paper
“Three cross sectional studies indicated that appearance focused platforms, namely Instagram and Snapchat, are significantly associated with body image concerns, eating disorder pathology, anxiety and depressive symptoms [51, 56, 57].”
From The social media diet: A scoping review to investigate the association between social media, body image and eating disorders amongst young people (2023) · cites this paper as [57]
In the citing paper
“One cross-sectional study found that 51.7% of adolescent girls and 45% of boys engaged in meal skipping and excessive exercise [57].”
From The social media diet: A scoping review to investigate the association between social media, body image and eating disorders amongst young people (2023) · cites this paper as [57]
In the citing paper
“Generally, girls invested heavily in photos of themselves, endorsed the thin / fit ideal, made more comparisons with others, and engaged in higher levels of disordered eating pathology, specifically dieting and emotional eating [50, 57, 75].”
From The social media diet: A scoping review to investigate the association between social media, body image and eating disorders amongst young people (2023) · cites this paper as [57]
In the citing paper
“There is evidence from three Australian studies with some concerns (total n = 5967) that social media is associated with several DE symptoms in both sex/gender groups directly or indirectly.”
From Associations between social media, adolescent mental health, and diet: A systematic review (2023) · cites this paper as [54]
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“However, the results of research in Australia showed that there is a connection between the use of social networks and the number of profiles on social networks and eating disorders among adolescents (16).”
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“The relationship between social media and eating disorders has been frequently studied in recent years (15).”
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Metadata
- Authors
- Wilksch, S. M., O'Shea, A., Ho, P., Byrne, S., & Wade, T. D.
- Affiliations
- Flinders University (AU)
- School of Psychology Flinders University Adelaide South Australia Australia
- The University of Western Australia (AU)
- Corresponding author
- Wilksch, Simon M.
- Venue
- International Journal of Eating Disorders
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2019-12-03
- Volume
- 53
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 96-106
- ISSN
- 0276-3478 (ISSN-L)
- 1098-108X
- OpenAlex
- W2992708484
- Cited by
- 267
- References
- 35
- Citations by year
- 2026: 34 · 2025: 49 · 2024: 49 · 2023: 51 · 2022: 49 · 2021: 29 · 2020: 5
- FWCI
- 24.22
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- International Journal of Eating Disorders (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- UWA Profiles and Research Repository (UWA) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Australian Rotary Health (Mental Health Grant)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Eating Disorders and Behaviors
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Impact of Technology on Adolescents
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Body Image and Dysmorphia Studies
- Keywords
- social media use, disordered eating, early adolescents, Instagram, Snapchat, Tumblr, Facebook, eating disorder cognitions, eating disorder behaviors, gender differences, physical activity limitation, meal skipping, eating disorder prevention
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adolescent Behavior, Feeding and Eating Disorders, Female, Humans, Male, Surveys and Questionnaires, Social Media
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