Examining how sociocultural appearance pressures relate to positive and negative facets of body image and eating behaviors in adolescents: An exploratory person-centered approach.

Abstract

The present study explored how patterns of sociocultural appearance pressures were linked to positive and negative facets of body image and eating behaviors in an adolescent sample (N = 438). Latent profile analyses indicated three distinct subgroups of perceived sociocultural appearance-related pressures: a Generalized-Pressure profile (28.8%) (moderate pressure from mother, father, and peers, and relatively high pressure from the media), a High-Media-Pressure profile (38.8%) (low pressure from mother, father, peers, and relatively high pressure from the media), and a Low-Pressure profile (32.4%) (low pressure from all sources). Overall, adolescents in the Generalized-Pressure profile reported a less positive relationship with food and their bodies (i.e., higher internalization of the thin ideal, body dissatisfaction, and bulimia symptoms, and lower body esteem and intuitive eating) than adolescents in the High-Media-Pressure profile, who exhibited poorer outcomes than those in the Low-Pressure profile. These findings highlight the importance of exploring how sociocultural appearance pressures from various sources combine in distinct ways, and how these configurations relate to different aspects of body image and eating behaviors in adolescents.