Keywords
body image, children, media
Abstract
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.
Notes
If this is your thesis or dissertation, and want to learn how to access it or for more information about readership statistics, contact us at STARS@ucf.edu
Graduation Date
2008
Advisor
Tantleff-Dunn, Stacey
Degree
Master of Science (M.S.)
College
College of Sciences
Department
Psychology
Degree Program
Psychology Clinical
Format
application/pdf
Identifier
CFE0002039
URL
http://purl.fcla.edu/fcla/etd/CFE0002039
Language
English
Release Date
April 2009
Length of Campus-only Access
None
Access Status
Masters Thesis (Open Access)
STARS Citation
Hayes, Sharon, "Am I Too Fat To Be A Princess? Examining The Effects Of Popular Children's Media On Preschoolers' Body Image" (2008). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 3747.
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/etd/3747