2023 Undergraduate Research Showcase

Document Type

Student Presentation

Presentation Date

4-21-2023

Faculty Sponsor

Dr. Mary Pritchard

Abstract

Previous literature shows that family pressure leads to drive for thinness (Green & Pritchard, 2003). Given the growth of social media, the intent of our current study was to find which sociocultural pressure: family, peers, or media relates the strongest with body shame, body surveillance, and drive for thinness. A sample of 1,049 undergraduate students, ages 18-29 (770 females and 279 males) were surveyed to better understand what predicts body dissatisfaction in young adults. Results revealed a moderate correlation between all variables, with media pressure being the main predictor of drive for thinness. In addition, our results suggest young adults feel body shame and body surveillance, with an increase in media exposure. The increase in online appearance conversations that develop into body shame support this correlation (Wang et al., 2020). Furthermore, this study highlights the imperativeness of young adults being more aware of online appearance conversations that may develop into body dissatisfaction.

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