The effect of body image goes beyond the occasional self-deprecating thoughts, I am sure we have all been in a situation where we mentally compare ourselves to others. These self-invasive thoughts, especially in growing adolescents, ages, have become a big issue, primarily due to the constant usage of social media. These adolescents are constantly saturated with images of thin “perfect” individuals and compare their normally healthy selves, as being overweight and flawed. The ideal beauty standard is constituted of having a thin, toned body, and unblemished faces for females, and a tall, muscular body, with an attractive face for males (Chang, et al., 2013). This ideal beauty standard leads to body image dissatisfaction which can result in unhealthy eating habits and fluctuations in weight control behaviors in growing adolescents (Latiff, et al., 2018). Social stigma encountered by individuals who self-identify as obese or overweight can exacerbate problems with distorted body image issues.
Studies have shown that excessive smartphone usage has risen in adolescents compared to adults, the increase in smartphone usage has resulted in negative consequences such as depression, anxiety, increased stress, a decline in general health, and a decrease in academic performance but an increase in procrastination. These problems led to lower levels of physical activity, sleep deprivation, low social interactions, and a decline in overall life satisfaction (Emirtekin, et al., 2019). It all begins at home with the treatment of these children as they are growing up. In recent studies, childhood emotional maltreatment, the most prevalent form of child maltreatment among adolescents, is defined as children not receiving proper emotional and psychological support while growing up, or becoming the victim of verbal abuse leading to an impairment of the child’s sense of worth and wellbeing (Schimmenti, et al., 2017). Therefore, adolescents who were emotionally maltreated whilst growing up develop feelings of being unloved, flawed, and worthless, they are also more likely to grow up experiencing social, emotional, and developmental delays leading to an increase in smartphone usage and reliance (Lyedecker, et al., 2020). With an increase in smartphone usage, adolescents of today have a warped view of body image perception and common factors that lead to these perceptions include socioeconomic status, weight, age, sex, and eating/weight advice that they receive from peers, friends, and family members (Latiff, et al., 2018).
What can we do as a society to help reduce the want for the “ideal body,” and start promoting healthy, self-sustaining behaviors beginning at a young age?
References:
Chang, F.-C., Lee, C.-M., Chen, P.-H., Chiu, C.-H., Pan, Y.-C., & Huang, T.-F. (2013). Association of thin-ideal media exposure, body dissatisfaction and disordered eating behaviors among adolescents in Taiwan. Eating Behaviors, 14(3), 382–385. https://doi-org.dml.regis.edu/10.1016/j.eatbeh.2013.05.002
Emirtekin, E., Balta, S., Sural, İ., Kircaburun, K., Griffiths, M. D., & Billieux, J. (2019). The role of childhood emotional maltreatment and body image dissatisfaction in problematic smartphone use among adolescents. Psychiatry Research, 271, 634–639. https://doi-org.dml.regis.edu/10.1016/j.psychres.2018.12.059
Latiff, A. A., Muhamad, J., & Rahman, R. A. (2018). Body image dissatisfaction and its determinants among young primary-school adolescents. Journal of Taibah University Medical Sciences, 13(1), 34–41. https://doi-org.dml.regis.edu/10.1016/j.jtumed.2017.07.003
Lydecker, J. A., Cunningham, P. M., O’Brien, E., & Grilo, C. M. (2020). Parents’ perceptions of parent-child interactions related to eating and body image: an experimental vignette study. Eating Disorders, 28(3), 272–288. https://doi.org/10.1080/10640266.2019.1598767
Schimmenti, A., Passanisi, A., Caretti, V., La Marca, L., Granieri, A., Iacolino, C., Gervasi, A. M., Maganuco, N. R., & Billieux, J. (2017). Traumatic experiences, alexithymia, and Internet addiction symptoms among late adolescents: A moderated mediation analysis. Addictive Behaviors, 64, 314–320. https://doi-org.dml.regis.edu/10.1016/j.addbeh.2015.11.002
I wanted to, first, commend you on including the ideal beauty standards of men in your discussion, in addition to those of women, as men are just as likely to be exposed to the factors that lead to negative body image. In fact, I personally appreciated this inclusion, for I have struggled myself in aligning the perceptions of my appearance with reality. Much to the vexation of others, I was often criticized for being too thin in my youth, and as such, I grew up over-idealizing muscular figures. That said, I am curious, as well, what we can do as a society to reduce the desire for the “ideal body” and start promoting healthy thoughts and behaviors at a young age. In a recent review on the matter, researchers agreed that body image is crucial in the development of adolescent health (Hartman-Munick et al., 2020). Those same researchers were also able to identify possible influencing factors that included the media, athletics, and personal relationships, with corresponding targets of intervention being the healthcare setting, the patient--provider interaction, the school or community, and social groups (Hartman-Munick et al., 2020). From there, just based on previous research and volunteer work with school-aged children, I would imagine that a Cognitive Behavioral Therapy-based approach would be the most successful.
ReplyDeleteHartman-Munick SM, Gordon AR, Guss C. Adolescent body image: influencing factors and the clinician's role. Curr Opin Pediatr. 2020 Aug;32(4):455-460. doi: 10.1097/MOP.0000000000000910. PMID: 32487854.