The prevalence and determinants of body dysmorphic disorder among young social media users: A cross-sectional study
Open accessAbstract
Social media that is heavily used in Saudi Arabia has been linked to a negative impact on body image satisfaction. The objective of the current study was to examine the burden, determinants, and impacts of Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) among a community sample of social media users in Saudi Arabia. The Internet-based cross-sectional study was conducted among social media users during January and February 2020. BDD was assessed using a validated BDD Questionnaire. A total of 1010 participants were included in the current analysis. A total of 42 (4.2%) met the criteria of BDD, with higher prevalence in younger participants. The defects of high concerns were skin disfigurements (64.2%) and hair issues (42.3%). BDD was significantly associated with spending a longer time on Snapchat and Instagram and less interest in religious topics. BDD group was more likely to compare their appearance with famous people in social media. BDD group reported more harassment and more history of psychiatric problems. There is a need to educate the public about the risk of BDD and to promote safe social networking.
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The majority of participants used social media platforms for more than 4 hours each day.
“Consistent with Alsaidan et al.18, the majority used social media platforms for more than 4 h each day.”
From Association between beauty standards shaped by social media and body dysmorphia among Egyptian medical students (2025) · cites this paper as Alsaidan et al. [18]
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- Authors
- Alsaidan, M. S., Altayar, N. S., Alshmmari, S. H., Alshammari, M. M., Alqahtani, F. T., & Mohajer, K. A.
- Affiliations
- Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University (SA)
- King Saud Medical City (SA)
- Corresponding author
- Alsaidan, Mohammed Saud
- Altayar, Nawaf Saad
- Alshmmari, Saqer Habeeb
- Alshammari, Meshari Mahud
- Alqahtani, Faisal Turki
- Mohajer, Khaled Abdullah
- Venue
- Dermatology Reports
- Publisher
- PAGEPress Publications
- Published
- 2020-12-22
- Volume
- 12
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 8774-8774
- ISSN
- 2036-7392 (ISSN-L)
- 2036-7406
- PMC
- PMC7772767
- OpenAlex
- W3116106971
- Cited by
- 65
- References
- 28
- Citations by year
- 2026: 8 · 2025: 16 · 2024: 17 · 2023: 18 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 4
- FWCI
- 2.40
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Dermatology Reports (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Body Image and Dysmorphia Studies
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Impact of Technology on Adolescents
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Dermatology › Acne and Rosacea Treatments and Effects
- Keywords
- body dysmorphic disorder, social media use, body image, prevalence, determinants, young adults, Saudi Arabia, Snapchat, Instagram, appearance comparison, online harassment, psychiatric history
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