The current study investigated the effects of brief exposure to appearance-related media on female preschoolers' body image. Results indicated that exposure did not affect body dissatisfaction or engagement in appearance-related play behaviors. Surprisingly, participants' self-reported frequency of weight concerns decreased at posttest. In contrast to older populations, it is possible that young children may adopt the persona of attractive characters with whom they identify rather than comparing themselves to the characters. This level of identification temporarily may alleviate weight concerns. This is the first empirical study to provide support for previous findings that suggest media exposure does not affect body image in young children. Also presented are data regarding familial influences and other media consumption (e.g., television viewing) on girls' body dissatisfaction.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ucf.edu/oai:stars.library.ucf.edu:etd-4747 |
| Date | 01 January 2008 |
| Creators | Hayes, Sharon |
| Publisher | STARS |
| Source Sets | University of Central Florida |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | Electronic Theses and Dissertations |
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