Only vulnerable youth appear to be affected
Previous research indicated that exposure to ultra-thin models in fashion magazines leads to excessive dieting and body dissatisfaction among adolescent girls. However, a new study that will be presented at the American Psychological Association's 107th Annual Convention in Boston, August 20-24, 1999, found few lasting effects. Only those girls who already had body-image problems were at risk for negative effects.
Psychologists Eric Stice, Ph.D., University of Texas at Austin; Diane Spangler, Ph.D., Brigham Young University; and W. Stewart Agras, MD, Stanford University, randomly assigned 219 girls, ages 13 to 17, to a 15-month subscription to Seventeen magazine, which is the most widely read magazine among adolescent females, or to a no-magazine control group and followed the girls for 20 months. Despite the increased amount of time participants spent reading the fashion magazine, there were no effects on body dissatisfaction, thin-ideal internalization, dieting or negative affect over time. The only adverse effect occurred in adolescents with initially elevated body dissatisfaction: Exposure to the fashion magazine resulted in increased negative affect/depression for these adolescents.
"The discrepancy between our study and previous research is largely because we measured the effects in a natural environment," said Dr. Stice. "Previous research that suggested magazine-portrayed, thin-ideal images would lead to eating disorders and low self-esteem among teenage girls consisted of laboratory experiments. This study suggests that the negative effects have little long-term impact."
Because the findings indicate that the only at-risk individuals are those who already have body-image problems, why the continued correlation between magazine models and eating disorders among teenage girls? "Perhaps high-risk individuals seek out thin-ideal media messages to learn more effective weight control techniques," said Dr. Stice.
However, Dr. Stice cautions that previous studies should not be discounted. "Forty-one percent of adolescent females report that magazines are their most important source of information on dieting and health, and 61 percent of adolescent females read at least one fashion magazine regularly," said the authors. "I think the media reflects a larger cultural pressure for an ultra-slender body," said Dr. Stice. "Parents, peers and dating partners may play a somewhat more important role than the mass media because feedback from these sources about body size is more personal."
Presentation: "Effects of Long Term Exposure to Fashion Magazines on Adolescent Girls (Effects of Media-Portrayed Thin-Ideal Images)" by Eric Stice, Ph.D., University of Texas at Austin; Diane Spangler, Ph.D., of Brigham Young University; and W. Stewart Agras, MD, of Stanford University, Session 4220, 2:00 PM - 3:50 PM, August 23, 1999.
Full text of the article is available from the APA Public Affairs Office.
Eric Stice can be reached by e-mail at stice@psy.utexas.edu or at 512-232-4627.
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