Behind the mirror: An exploration of the Tripartite Influence Model among Italian adolescent boys and girls

Abstract

Body image concerns and eating disorder (ED) symptoms are increasingly common among adolescents, highlighting the importance of discerning their risk factors. One of the main frameworks explaining the development of body image and eating-related issues is the Tripartite Influence Model (TIM); however, adolescent research examining this model remains scarce and mainly limited to female individuals. Therefore, this study aimed to test the original TIM in a sample of 788 Italian students (59 % girls) aged 13–19 years. They completed self-report tools assessing appearance-related sociocultural pressures, general attractiveness-ideal internalization, appearance comparison frequency, body shame, and ED symptoms. Path analysis was employed to test the TIM in the overall sample, followed by a multigroup analysis by biological sex. The results showed that, in both groups, family pressure was linked to body shame directly and to ED symptoms via body shame; however, neither internalization nor appearance comparisons mediated these relations. Peer pressure was associated with body shame via appearance comparisons but not via internalization. Media pressure was related to body shame both directly and via appearance comparisons and indirectly linked to ED symptoms through body shame. In girls, significant relations between family pressure and ED symptoms, as well as between media pressure and internalization, also emerged. The practical implications are discussed, especially regarding culturally sensitive prevention programs.