Cited by 155Eating Disorders and BehaviorsBody Image and Dysmorphia StudiesNutrition, Health and Food Behavior

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 65 of the 65 references it cites were found in a registry or an index; 10 of the 42 sources its claims cite were checked for support.

Incorporating social media and muscular ideal internalization into the tripartite influence model of body image: Towards a modern understanding of adolescent girls’ body dissatisfaction

Open access
Roberts, Savannah R., Maheux, Anne J., Hunt, Rowan A., Ladd, Brianna A., Choukas-Bradley, Sophia·2022·Body Image

Abstract

The tripartite influence model stipulates that appearance pressures from three sources (family, peers, traditional media) lead adolescent girls to internalize a thin appearance ideal and engage in social appearance comparisons, resulting in body dissatisfaction (Thompson et al., 1999). Social media is a modern source of appearance pressure and, increasingly, adolescent girls desire an appearance that is both thin and muscular. The current study of U.S. adolescent girls (n = 543, Mage = 15.58, 49.17% Latina, 28.18% White, 8.66% Black, 7.55% Asian, 6.45% multiracial/another race/ethnicity) incorporates social media appearance pressures and muscular ideal internalization into the tripartite influence model using structural equation modeling. Findings provided support for this adapted model: family, peers, traditional media, and social media contributed to body dissatisfaction. All appearance pressure sources were associated with appearance esteem via thin ideal internalization. Peer and social media pressures were both related to greater muscular ideal internalization, which was not significantly associated with appearance esteem. Social media was the only source of pressure associated with appearance esteem through both thin ideal internalization and body comparison. Findings highlight adolescent girls’ pressure to look both thin and muscular, as well as the role of social media as a prominent source of appearance socialization.

Overview

AI snapshot

Written from the paper’s full text.

TL;DR

This study adapts the tripartite influence model by adding social media appearance pressure and muscular ideal internalization in U.S. adolescent girls (n = 543). Social media pressure uniquely related to lower appearance esteem through thin ideal internalization and body comparison, while muscular ideal internalization was linked to peer and social media pressure but not appearance esteem.

Key findings

  • The final structural model showed acceptable fit, χ²(974) = 2617.78, TLI = .92, CFI = .92, RMSEA = .06, SRMR = .05; family, peer, traditional media, and social media pressures each had significant total effects on appearance esteem through the mediators (ps = .009 to .04).
  • All appearance pressure sources were indirectly associated with lower appearance esteem through thin ideal internalization: family (b = −0.10, SE = 0.05, p = .02), peers (b = −0.08, SE = 0.04, p = .03), traditional media (b = −0.17, SE = 0.08, p = .04), and social media (b = −0.20, SE = 0.09, p = .02).
  • Social media was the only pressure source associated with appearance esteem through both thin ideal internalization and body comparison (body comparison indirect effect b = −0.16, SE = 0.08, p = .04); social media direct paths were significant to body comparison (b = 0.37, β = .29, p = .020), thin ideal internalization (b = 0.44, β = .30, p = .007), and muscular ideal internalization (b = 0.29, β = .25, p = .023).
  • Peer pressure (b = 0.25, β = .22, p < .001) and social media pressure (b = 0.29, β = .25, p = .023) were related to greater muscular ideal internalization, but muscular ideal internalization was not significantly associated with appearance esteem (b = 0.09, β = .07, p = .225).

Methods

  • Cross-sectional survey data from a U.S. sample of 543 adolescent girls ages 13–18 (M age = 15.58, SD = 1.23), recruited from a large, diverse suburban high school district in Florida; 49.17% Hispanic/Latina, 28.18% White, 8.66% Black, 7.55% Asian, 6.45% multiracial/another race/ethnicity; 32.97% eligible for free or reduced-price lunch; data collected October 2019.
  • Measures included SATAQ-4 family, peer, and traditional media pressure subscales; an adapted SATAQ-4 social media pressure subscale; SATAQ-4 thin and muscular ideal internalization subscales; BEECOM body comparison; and BESAA appearance esteem; current-sample α = .88–.96.
  • Structural equation modeling in R with lavaan, using a measurement model followed by a structural model, full-information maximum likelihood for missing data (1.90% missing), 10,000 bootstrapped samples for indirect effects, and BMI and race/ethnicity as covariates.

Limitations

  • Stated: cross-sectional data prevent assessing temporal ordering or causal structure of the mediational tripartite model.
  • Stated: measures capture a dominant Eurocentric beauty ideal (e.g., thinness) and do not capture appearance ideals that may be culturally relevant to historically marginalized racial and ethnic populations, despite a sample that was nearly 50% Latina.
  • Evident: the sample came from one Florida suburban school district, and the social media pressure items were adapted from traditional media items with identical wording except for “social media,” which the authors note required residual covariances between media and social media items; these features may limit generalizability and measurement specificity.

Model-written summary. Check it against the paper before relying on it.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1016/j.bodyim.2022.03.002

Cites

65 of 65 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Verification

Claims the paper makes

27 Own result · 21 No full text of the sources · 13 Own interpretation · 12 Own method · 7 No basis given · 5 Partly supported · 4 Supported · 1 Supported so far · 1 Sources not found · 1 Not checked yet · accuracy not yet measured

  • Probably not a substantial claim. 27
  • It may state two separate claims as one. 26
  • The quote only partly states this claim. 2
44 of 44
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The adapted social media pressure subscale validly measures social media appearance pressure.

    “For the current study, items from the (traditional) media subscale of the SATAQ-4 (Schaefer et al., 2015) were adapted to ask about pressure from social media, creating a new, fourth subscale that consisted of 4 items.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The sample of adolescent girls from a Florida school district is representative of U.S. adolescent girls.

    “The current study represents a subset of data from a U.S. sample of 543 adolescent girls (ages 13-18, M age = 15.58;SD age = 1.23), recruited from a large, diverse suburban high school district in Florida as part of an overarching study assessing social media use, character development, and wellbeing among adolescents.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Researchers have yet to examine longitudinally how social media appearance pressures differ from other sources of appearance pressures (e.g., mass media, parents).

    “Importantly, researchers have yet to examine longitudinally how social media appearance pressures differ from other sources of appearance pressures (e.g., mass media, parents).”
3 of 3

Statistics recomputed

Every reported test result, recomputed from its test statistic and degrees of freedom. A result shows as not adding up only once an independent check has confirmed it.

  • Consistentχ²(791) = 3550.47reported p < .001 · recomputed p < .001

    “χ 2 (791) = 3550.47,p < .001”

  • Consistentχ²(769) = 2118.9reported p < .001 · recomputed p < .001

    “χ 2 (769) = 2118.90,p < .001”

  • Consistentχ²(776) = 2348.28reported p < .001 · recomputed p < .001

    “χ 2 (776) = 2348.28,p < .001”

  • Consistentχ²(974) = 2617.78reported p < .001 · recomputed p < .001

    “χ 2 (974) = 2617.78,p < .001”

4 of 4

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

Self-check results appear here once an independent check has confirmed them.

Citations

Cites

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Metadata

Authors
Roberts, S. R., Maheux, A. J., Hunt, R. A., Ladd, B. A., & Choukas-Bradley, S.
Affiliations
  • University of Delaware (US)
  • University of Louisville (US)
Corresponding author
Roberts, Savannah R.
Venue
Body Image
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2022-06
Volume
41
Pages
239-247
ISSN
1740-1445 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W4220970637
Cited by
154
References
63
Citations by year
2026: 44 · 2025: 48 · 2024: 35 · 2023: 19 · 2022: 7
FWCI
23.31
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Body Image (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Eating Disorders and Behaviors
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Body Image and Dysmorphia Studies
  • Health Sciences › Nursing › Nutrition and Dietetics › Nutrition, Health and Food Behavior
Keywords
body dissatisfaction, Tripartite Influence Model, social media, thin-ideal internalization, appearance pressure, body comparison, adolescent girls, peer influence, family influence, traditional media
MeSH terms
Body Dissatisfaction, Adolescent, Body Image, Defense Mechanisms, Female, Humans, Peer Group, Social Media

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