Mirror, Mirror on the Wall: Peer Competition, Television Influences, and Body Image Dissatisfaction

Abstract

The current paper reports on two studies of body dissatisfaction with Hispanic majority samples. Both studies seek to examine the relative importance of peer and media influences on body dissatisfaction. In the first experimental study, 150 young women were randomized to watch television shows with or without thin-ideal actresses, and to be exposed to peers who either were or were not dressed to advertise sexual competitiveness. Results indicated that body dissatisfaction increased in the presence of competitive females, particularly when a desirable male was present. Television exposure did not influence body dissatisfaction. In an accompanying correlational study of 383 teenage girls, body dissatisfaction was found to relate primarily to Body Mass Index, depression, and anxiety. Television exposure did not predict body dissatisfaction, nor did peer influences. However, both competition with unfriendly girls and television exposure predicted feelings of inferiority response to other girls, although the effects for television were comparatively small.