Swedish adolescents’ experiences of cybervictimization and body-related concerns

The aim of this study was to examine the relationships between cybervictimization and three body-related concerns: body-esteem, self-objectification, and internalization of body ideals. The aim was also to examine these relationships not only to cybervictimization in general but also to appearance-related cybervictimization more specifically. The sample comprised 482 adolescents (233 girls and 247 boys aged 13–15; two participants did not answer the question about gender) from four Swedish schools. The results showed that victims of appearance-related cyberbullying suffered from more body-related concerns: they had a poorer view of their general appearance and of their weight. They also reported more body shame, thin-ideal internalization, and appearance-related pressure from the media. This study shows that cyberbullying that focuses on the victim's appearance is associated with several body-related concerns that have not previously been studied. A novel finding was also that body-related concerns were not related to cyberbullying in general, as has been implied in earlier research, but specifically related to cyberbullying directed at the victim's appearance. The findings suggest that there is a need to include attention to the specific relationships between appearance-related cyberbullying and body-related concerns in future prevention and intervention work.     

被动性社交网站使用与青少年体像烦恼的关系:体像比较和体像自我差异的中介作用

为探讨被动性社交网站使用和青少年体像烦恼的关系,基于社会比较理论和自我差异理论,采用被动性社交网站使用问卷、社交网站体像比较量表、理想体像问卷和体像烦恼量表,对789名初、高中生进行调查。结果表明：（1）被动性社交网站使用对青少年体像烦恼具有显著的正向预测作用;（2）体像比较和体像自我差异能在被动性社交网站使用和体像烦恼的关系中起中介作用;（3）在被动性社交网站使用与体像烦恼的关系中,女生的体像比较和体像自我差异起并行中介作用,而对男生而言,体像比较和体像自我差异起链式中介作用。研究结果表明被动性社交网站使用不仅能直接影响青少年的体像烦恼,还可通过体像比较和体像自我差异的间接作用对青少年体像烦恼产生影响,且中介路径存在性别差异。     

被动性社交网站使用与青少年体像烦恼的关系:体像比较和体像自我差异的中介作用

为探讨被动性社交网站使用和青少年体像烦恼的关系,基于社会比较理论和自我差异理论,采用被动性社交网站使用问卷、社交网站体像比较量表、理想体像问卷和体像烦恼量表,对789名初、高中生进行调查。结果表明：（1）被动性社交网站使用对青少年体像烦恼具有显著的正向预测作用;（2）体像比较和体像自我差异能在被动性社交网站使用和体像烦恼的关系中起中介作用;（3）在被动性社交网站使用与体像烦恼的关系中,女生的体像比较和体像自我差异起并行中介作用,而对男生而言,体像比较和体像自我差异起链式中介作用。研究结果表明被动性社交网站使用不仅能直接影响青少年的体像烦恼,还可通过体像比较和体像自我差异的间接作用对青少年体像烦恼产生影响,且中介路径存在性别差异。     

Acceptance of cosmetic surgery,body appreciation,body ideal internalization,and fashion blog reading among late adolescents in Sweden

This study examined adolescents’ attitudes of cosmetic surgery, as well as the relationships between these attitudes, body appreciation, body ideal internalization, and fashion blog reading. The sample comprised 110 (60 boys, 50 girls) late adolescents (mean age 16.9 years) from a Swedish high school. The results indicated that younger adolescents seem somewhat more accepting of cosmetic surgery. This was especially the case for boys’ acceptance of social motives for obtaining cosmetic surgery (boys’ M = 2.3 ± 1.55 vs. girls’ M = 1.7 ± 0.89). Girls’, and to a limited extent boys’, internalization of the thin ideal was related to more favorable cosmetic surgery attitudes. Athletic ideal internalization and body appreciation were unrelated to these attitudes. Finally, girls who frequently read fashion blogs reported higher thin ideal internalization, and also demonstrated a slight tendency of more cosmetic surgery consideration.     

“Who Thinks I Need a Perfect Body?” Perceptions and Internal Dialogue among Adolescents about Their Bodies

The main aim of this study was to provide a detailed examination of the nature of the messages that adolescent boys and girls receive about their bodies. Forty adolescent boys and 40 adolescent girls participated in an in-depth interview to gain an understanding of the range of potential ‘sources’ of body-related messages. Messages were organized around the source of these messages (self, mother, father, brother, sister, female friends, male friends, media). There were consistent gender differences in the way that adolescents received and interpreted messages about their bodies. Overall girls received more positive and more negative messages than boys did. Boys reported having received virtually no negative messages from most people. The content of internal dialogue among adolescents revealed that messages about the body could be interpreted, distorted, and deflected. The implications of these findings for preventing body image-related problems and disordered eating among adolescents are discussed.     

Gender and Age Group Differences in Mass Media and Interpersonal Influences on Body Dissatisfaction Among Chinese Adolescents

Despite evidence that middle adolescent girls (ages 14–17) experience more body dissatisfaction than early adolescent girls (ages 10–13) or boys at these ages, researchers have rarely considered whether such differences are observed regarding factors related to body dissatisfaction, particularly within non-Western samples. To address this issue, gender and age group differences in media and interpersonal influences on body dissatisfaction were assessed among early and middle adolescents living in Chongqing, China. In Study 1, 595 boys and 648 girls completed self report measures of demographics, public self-consciousness and appearance-based social pressure, comparisons, and conversations. Compared to boys, girls reported more appearance pressure from mass media and close interpersonal networks (friends, family), appearance comparisons with peers, and appearance conversations with friends; these effects were qualified by interactions with age group, indicating media and interpersonal factors were more prominent in the lives of middle adolescent girls than other groups. Effects were observed independent of body mass index (BMI) and public self-consciousness. In Study 2, 738 girls and 661 boys completed the same measures and a body dissatisfaction scale. By and large, gender and age differences were replicated. Middle adolescent girls also reported more body dissatisfaction than peers did. Perceived appearance pressure from mass media and interpersonal ties were both implicated in mediation analyses to explain this gender × age group effect.     

MATERIALISM, SOCIOCULTURAL APPEARANCE MESSAGES, AND PATERNAL ATTITUDES PREDICT COLLEGE WOMEN'S ATTITUDES ABOUT COSMETIC SURGERY

Rates of cosmetic surgery procedures have increased dramatically over the past several decades, but only recently have studies of cosmetic surgery attitudes among the general population begun to appear in the literature. The vast majority of those who undergo cosmetic surgery are women. We examined cosmetic surgery attitudes among 218 undergraduate women, most of whom were White. Specifically, we examined their acceptance of cosmetic surgery and expressed desire to undergo cosmetic surgery procedures, and several potential predictors: appearance attitudes of mothers, fathers, and friends; awareness and internalization of sociocultural appearance messages; and materialism. Multiple regression analyses indicated that materialism and internalization of sociocultural messages consistently emerged as significant predictors of acceptance of cosmetic surgery and desire for cosmetic surgery procedures. Paternal attitudes positively predicted acceptance of cosmetic surgery for social reasons and desire for cosmetic surgery; nonmaterialism negatively predicted considering cosmetic surgery and the desire for cosmetic surgery procedures.     

Gender matters, too: the influences of school racial discrimination and racial identity on academic engagement outcomes among African American adolescents

The authors examined relationships among racial identity, school-based racial discrimination experiences, and academic engagement outcomes for adolescent boys and girls in Grades 8 and 11 (n = 204 boys and n = 206 girls). The authors found gender differences in peer and classroom discrimination and in the impact of earlier and later discrimination experiences on academic outcomes. Racial centrality related positively to school performance and school importance attitudes for boys. Also, centrality moderated the relationship between discrimination and academic outcomes in ways that differed across gender. For boys, higher racial centrality related to diminished risk for lower school importance attitudes and grades from experiencing classroom discrimination relative to boys lower in centrality, and girls with higher centrality were protected against the negative impact of peer discrimination on school importance and academic self-concept. However, among lower race-central girls, peer discrimination related positively to academic self-concept. Finally, socioeconomic background moderated the relationship of discrimination with academic outcomes differently for girls and boys. The authors discuss the need to consider interactions of individual- and contextual-level factors in better understanding African American youths' academic and social development.     

Social cognitive predictors of peer acceptance at age 5 and the moderating effects of gender

In this study we examined the effects of social intelligence, empathy, verbal ability and appearance‐reality distinction on the level of peer acceptance, as well as the moderating role of gender. Participants were 98 five‐year‐old children (43 boys and 55 girls; mean age 5 years 3 months for boys and girls). Our results showed a main effect of social intelligence on peer acceptance, as well as several other effects that were moderated by gender: a significant and positive effect of verbal ability on social acceptance was found for boys; appearance‐reality distinction was found to have a positive effect on social acceptance in the case of girls; and although empathy had a significant positive effect on social acceptance for both boys and girls, this effect was more pronounced among boys. Our results suggest that abilities promoting peer acceptance are different for boys and girls.     

Media Internalization and Social Comparison as Predictors of Eating Pathology Among Latino Adolescents: The Moderating Effect of Gender and Generational Status

Using a sociocultural framework, this cross-sectional study examined eating pathology among 235 Latino adolescents from the Southwestern U.S. who differed in generational status. Participants completed self-report measures of media pressures, internalization, social comparison, and eating pathology. Overall, results revealed stronger relationships between these sociocultural variables and eating pathology for girls. Girls reported greater social comparison, thin-ideal pressure and internalization, and eating pathology than boys. Generational status was positively correlated with these sociocultural variables and eating pathology for girls only. Moderated hierarchical regression analyses indicated that athletic-ideal internalization was a key predictor of eating pathology for girls but not boys. Discussion highlights gender, more than generational status, as critical to a sociocultural framework for eating pathology among adolescent Latino Americans.     

Subjective family socio-economic status,school social capital,and positive youth development among young adolescents in China: A multiple mediation model

Previous research has demonstrated that subjective socio-economic status (SES) and school social capital are associated with a wide range of socio-emotional outcomes for children. Less is known about whether subjective SES is linked to overall child development and whether school social capital is a mediator in developing countries. The current study aimed to examine the association between subjective SES and positive youth development (PYD) among young adolescents in China, explore whether student–teacher relationships and student–student relationships mediated this association, and test whether there were gender differences in these associations. The analytical sample included a total of 1011 seventh-graders (mean age = 13.24, SD = .69; 53.70% boys) recruited from Beijing and Anhui Provinces. The results showed that subjective SES was positively and significantly associated with PYD and that student–teacher relationships and student–student relationships played independent and joint mediating roles in the link between the two constructs. In addition, girls benefited more than boys from having closer relationships with teachers. Our findings highlight the importance of promoting school social capital in reducing PYD disparities across subjective SES levels, and suggest that school should be an effective venue for interventions to promote PYD among young adolescents in China.     

The Relationship Between Narcissism and Friendship Qualities in Adolescents: Gender as a Moderator

The present study explored the gender characteristics of narcissism as well as its relationship with friendship quality dimensions (i.e., trust & support, validation, and disclosure & communication) among 485 (197 boys and 288 girls) junior high and high school adolescents in a Southwest province in China. Significant gender differences were found, such that boys were more narcissistic than girls,while girls reported higher levels of friendship qualities, including validation and disclosure & communication. To examine gender moderations in the relationships between narcissism and friendship quality dimensions, multiple-group (by boys and girls) structural equation modeling were conducted. The results revealed the significant gender moderations in the associations between narcissism and friendship quality dimensions, while controlling for adolescent grade level. Specifically, narcissism significantly and positively related to the three aspects of friendship qualities (i.e., trust & support, validation, and disclosure & communication) among boys, but was not related to friendship quality among girls. Discussions are provided for an understanding of the current findings in the Chinese cultural context.     

Gender differences in coping and daily stress in conduct-disordered and non-conduct-disordered adolescents

Research shows that conduct disorder (CD) manifests differently in boys and girls, yet little is known about specific characteristics of girls with CD. This study examined gender differences in stress and coping in both CD (n = 69) and non-conduct-disordered (NCD) adolescents (n = 64). Results indicated similar patterns of gender differences in stress and coping, although CD adolescents reported a higher frequency of stress and maladaptive coping strategies than NCDs. Girls reported more daily stress and greater use of coping associated with both social relationships and emotional venting. A significant interaction effect distinguished girls with CD from other groups by their higher level of daily stress, more frequent use of self-injurious behavior and emotion-focused coping, and deficits in active coping.     

Sociocultural Experiences of Bulimic and Non-Bulimic Adolescents in a School-Based Chinese Sample

From a large school-based sample (N?=?3,084), 49 Mainland Chinese adolescents (31 girls, 18 boys) who endorsed all DSM-IV criteria for bulimia nervosa (BN) or sub-threshold BN and 49 matched controls (31 girls, 18 boys) completed measures of demographics and sociocultural experiences related to body image. Compared to less symptomatic peers, those in the BN group reported higher levels of appearance pressure from their network of close relationships and mass media, appearance comparisons and conversations, and fear of negative appearance evaluation. A hierarchical logistic regression analysis based seven predictors resulted in the correct identification of 82.7% of respondents, including 83.7% of the BN group and 81.7% of controls. Responses on sociocultural measures, especially those reflecting appearance pressure, added to the classification rate, after controlling for body mass index and household socioeconomic status. When repeated within each sex, classification accuracy was 90.3% for girls and 86.1% for boys. This study establishes clear links between sociocultural influences and BN among urban adolescent girls and boys living in the People’s Republic of China.     

The relationships among parental psychological control/autonomy support,self‐trouble,and internalizing problems across adolescent genders

This study aimed to explore the relationships among early adolescents’ perceived parental psychological control/autonomy support, self‐trouble, and internalizing problems as well as the potential gender differences in these relationships. Multiple‐group path analysis was performed on the data collected from 1,089 adolescents in Beijing junior high schools. Results revealed that parental psychological control (autonomy support) was associated with adolescents’ more (fewer) internalizing problems, and self‐trouble acted as a mediator in these two relationships. Moreover, only the indirect relationship between parental autonomy support and internalizing problems via self‐trouble was moderated by gender, with girls showing a little stronger indirect effect than boys, and specifically, it was the relationship between autonomy support and self‐trouble that existed gender differences, with girls showing higher coefficient than boys. The relationship between parental psychological control/autonomy support and early adolescents’ internalizing problems was discussed with regard to self‐trouble and gender differences.     

Violence Exposure and Psychopathology in Urban Youth: The Mediating Role of Posttraumatic Stress

Understanding the mechanisms underlying the development of violence exposure sequelae is essential to providing effective treatments for traumatized youth. This longitudinal study examined the mediating role of posttraumatic stress in the relationship between violence exposure and psychopathology, and compared the mediated models by gender. Urban adolescents (n=1,358) were surveyed using the Social and Health Assessment. The proposed relationships were examined using Structural Equation Modeling. Posttraumatic stress fully mediated the relationships between victimization and depression and anxiety in girls, and partially so in boys. In addition, posttraumatic stress partially mediated the relationships between violence exposure and commission of violence in boys. Current findings support the longitudinal effects of violence exposure on adolescent mental health. Posttraumatic stress represents a unique mechanism for the development of psychopathology in girls and is also related to negative outcomes in boys. These findings have direct implications for prevention and rehabilitation efforts among violence exposed youth.     

Problematic Facebook Use in Adolescents: Associations with Parental Attachment and Alienation to Peers

Facebook is, nowadays, the most used social networking site worldwide and adolescents are increasingly engaging in this form of communication. Despite increasing attention of researchers to computer-mediated communication, there are few studies using an interpersonal and family relationships perspective on how adolescents relate to the Internet, and particularly to Facebook use. The aim of the present study was to test whether peer alienation mediates the link between parental attachment and problematic Facebook use. To this purpose we used a sample of 761 adolescents (53.7% boys, mean age?=?15.8), from the North region of Portugal. We also tested if the mediational model was invariant for boys and girls. The results showed that peer alienation plays a mediating role in the relationship between parental attachment and problematic Facebook use. The mediational models were, however, not invariant for boys and girls. Considering parental attachment, quality of emotional bond directly predicted problematic Facebook use only for boys. These results provide relevant clues for understanding predictors of problematic Facebook use in adolescents and also enlighten psychological intervention, particularly in parental education and school intervention programs.     

Religiosity,Prosocial Values,and Adjustment among Students in Catholic High Schools in Canada

The present study explored the facilitating function of religious commitment in the lives of adolescents. A total of 369 boys and 372 girls attending Catholic high schools in Canada completed measures of family religion, religiosity, prosocial values, social adjustment (school attitudes and family satisfaction), and personal adjustment (life satisfaction and self-esteem). There were no significant gender differences in family religion, religiosity, social adjustment or personal adjustment. However, girls endorsed prosocial values much more than did boys. Religiosity had strong positive correlations with prosocial values and lesser significant correlations with social adjustment. Religiosity had much higher correlations with prosocial values and social adjustment among boys than among girls. Structural-equation analyses of the total sample, of boys, and of girls supported a path model where family religion fosters adolescents's religiosity, religiosity fosters prosocial values, prosocial values promote social adjustment and social adjustment promotes personal adjustment.     

Predicting changes in children's self‐perceptions from playground social activities and interactions

The general aim of this study was to examine the concurrent and longitudinal (6 month) associations between 8‐ to 9‐year‐old children's (N=75) social activities and interactions during recess and their self‐perceptions, and to test for gender differences in those associations. The underlying rationale was that recess provides an important, and hitherto unstudied, context in which children's experiences can impact on their views of themselves. Consistent with this proposition, several of the playground variables were significantly correlated concurrently with participants' self‐perceptions regarding social acceptance, and, particularly, athletic competence. Even stronger evidence came from the longitudinal analyses which indicated that group size positively predicted changes in social acceptance and global self‐worth scores; network positively predicted changes in physical appearance and global self‐worth scores; rule games positively predicted changes in athletic competence, physical appearance and global self‐worth scores; conversation negatively predicted changes in athletic competence, and alone negatively predicted changes in physical appearance and global self‐worth scores. Several significant gender differences were obtained: the association between rule games and changes in social acceptance was negative for girls but positive for boys; a positive association between conversation and social acceptance was evident among girls but not boys; and a negative association between conversation and changes in athletic competence was evident among boys but not girls. The theoretical and practical implications of these results are discussed.     

Mental health, life stress and social support among young Norwegian adolescents with immigrant and host national background

The first aim of the study was to investigate differences in level of mental health, life stress and social support among adolescents with immigrant and domestic background. A second aim was to identify culture group and gender specific sources of risk and protective factors and their relation to mental health. Questionnaire data were collected from 633 students, aged 13, in Oslo, Norway. Immigrant adolescents reported higher level of psychological distress and lower social support than host students. Of the four gender-culture groups, immigrant boys reported the highest level of problems, with a 28% prevalence of anxiety/depression. There were no significant differences in prevalence among the girls. Specific patterns of relationships between life stress, support, and mental health were found across gender and culture. The results were discussed within a framework of culture differences in values and gender role expectancies, underscoring the importance of studying each gender/culture group separately.