Mental Health 531Concerns about thinness also come
from sources other than the media, such as
family and friends, who are often dieting
themselves. Girls receive more pressure from
family and friends to lose weight than boys,
whereas boys receive more pressure from
family and friends to gain muscle (Ata et al.,
2007). These kinds of pressure have been as-
sociated with disturbed eating behavior in
both females and males (Ata et al., 2007).
Eating disorders are associated with families
who express concerns about weight and with
families in which parents are overly critical
of weight and appearance (American Psy-
chological Association, 2007).
Peers also can influence eating behav-
ior. One study showed an association between
peers dieting and eating disturbances in both
women and men (Gravener et al., 2008). The
previously mentioned study of eighth and
ninth graders showed girls engage in “fat
talk” with one another (Nichter, 2000). Fat
talk begins with one girl stating, “I’m so fat!”
and may be followed up with a friend reply-
ing, “No, you’re not fat.” A dialogue begins in
which body weight is the focus of attention.
When one person begins engaging in un-
healthy eating behavior, friends may follow.
A study of female college students showed
that exposure to two female confederates
who complained about their bodies led to a
decrease in body satisfaction (Shomaker &
Furman, 2007). However, these effects were
only observed among women who tended to
compare themselves to others and were highly
invested in their appearance.Psychological Factors. A general psycho-
logical theory of eating disorders is that they
stem from feelings of a lack of autonomy, a
lack of control, and a lack of a sense of self in
combination with a striving for perfection and
achievement. Weight loss is one way to fulfillmagazines and television, which undoubt-
edly influence their body image and their eat-
ing behavior (Harrison & Hefner, 2008). The
media normalizes dieting and excessive thin-
ness and also encourages people to evaluate
their bodies and to use extreme measures to
improve them. A longitudinal study showed
that frequent magazine reading was associated
with an increase in unhealthy weight control
measures (e.g., fasting, skipping meals, smok-
ing cigarettes) among female adolescents five
years later (van den Berg et al., 2007). Even
among men, media exposure has been related
to greater body concerns. College men who
read more magazines about fitness and mus-
cularity spent more time thinking about their
appearance and seemed to be more dissatis-
fied with their bodies (Hatoum & Belle, 2004).
However, much of the research in this area is
correlational, meaning that cause and effect
cannot be determined.
Laboratory studies can disentangle
cause from effect by observing the effects of
brief media exposure on body image. A meta-
analysis of these kinds of studies showed a
clear adverse effect of exposure to slender
female body image ideals on body satisfaction
(d= −.31; Groesz, Levine, & Murnen, 2002).
After exposure to these images, females esti-
mated their bodies to be larger, wished they
were thinner, and were unhappy with their
bodies. Effects were stronger for adolescents
than adults. An experimental field study ran-
domly assigned adolescent girls to receive a
15-month subscription to a fashion maga-
zine or not (Stice, Spangler, & Agras, 2001).
Although the magazine subscription did not
have an overall adverse effect on girls, the
subscription affected girls who were more
vulnerable to body image problems. Among
those who started the study with more body
image concerns, magazine exposure was as-
sociated with an increase in negative affect.M13_HELG0185_04_SE_C13.indd 531 6/21/11 12:55 PM