Abstract
Previous research has shown that media messages affect body image in emerging adults. Furthermore, parental body image messages and parent–child relationship quality have also been shown to affect emerging adult body image. However, little research has examined the relationships among these variables collectively. Thus, the current study examined the indirect effects of media body image messages and parent–child relationship quality on emerging adult body esteem through parental body image messages. Participants included 555 college-attending emerging adults (72.1% female) who completed online surveys assessing media messages, parental messages, parent–child relationship quality, and body esteem. Results indicated a significant indirect effect of maternal parent–child relationship quality and negative media body image messages on male and female emerging adult body esteem via negative parental body image messages.
Highlights
-
Negative media messages affected emerging adult body esteem and parental messages across genders.
-
Parent–child relationship quality was positively associated with emerging adult body esteem.
-
Maternal parent–child relationship quality and media indirectly affected emerging adult body esteem via parental messages.
-
Media and parents might be useful to include when conducting body esteem interventions in emerging adults.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abraczinskas, M., Fisak, B., & Barnes, R. D. (2012). The relation between parental influence, body image, and eating behaviors in a nonclinical female sample. Body Image, 9(1), 93–100. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2011.10.005.
Agliata, D., & Tantleff-Dunn, S. (2004). The impact of media exposure on males’ body image. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 23(1), 7–22. https://doi.org/10.1521/jscp.23.1.7.26988.
Almenara, C. A., Umemura, T., & Macek, P. (2016). Parent-daughter relationships and disordered eating among emerging adult women from the Czech Republic. Studia Psychologica, 58(3), 216–230. https://doi.org/10.21909/sp.2016.03.718.
Archibald, A. B., Graber, J. A., & Brooks-Gunn, J. (1999). Associations among parent-adolescent relationships, pubertal growth, dieting, and body image in young adolescent girls: a short-term longitudinal study. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 9(4), 395–415. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327795jra0904_2.
Ata, R. N., Thompson, J. K., & Small, B. J. (2013). Effects of exposure to thin-ideal media images on body dissatisfaction: testing the inclusion of a disclaimer versus warning label. Body Image, 10(4), 472–480. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2013.04.004.
Austin, E. W., Pinkleton, B. E., Radanielina-Hita, M. L., & Ran, W. (2015). The role of parents’ critical thinking about media in shaping expectancies, efficacy and nutrition behaviors for families. Health Communication, 30(12), 1256–1268. https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2014.930550.
Bäck, E. A. (2011). Effects of parental relations and upbringing in troubled adolescent eating behaviors. Eating Disorders, 19(5), 403–424. https://doi.org/10.1080/10640266.2011.609091.
Biolcati, R., Mancini, G., & Villano, P. (2020). And yet I’m an adult now’. The influence of parental criticism on women’s body satisfaction/dissatisfaction during emerging adulthood. International Journal of Adolescence and Youth, 25(1), 599–608. https://doi.org/10.1080/02673843.2019.1699433.
Boersma, K. E., & Jarry, J. L. (2013). The paradoxical moderating effect of body image investment on the impact of weight-based derogatory media. Body Image, 10(2), 200–209. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2012.11.002.
Brown, Z., & Tiggemann, M. (2016). Attractive celebrity and peer images on Instagram: effect on women’s mood and body image. Body Image, 19, 37–43. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2016.08.007.
Butler, R., & Shalit-Naggar, R. (2008). Gender and patterns of concerned responsiveness in representations of the mother-daughter and mother-son relationship. Child Development, 79(4), 836–851. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2008.01162.x.
Byrne, B. M. (2013). Structural equation modeling with AMOS: Basic concepts, applications, and programming (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group
Carter, J. S., Smith, S., Bostick, S., & Grant, K. E. (2014). Mediating effects of parent–child relationships and body image in the prediction of internalizing symptoms in urban youth. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 43(4), 554–567. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-013-9985-6.
Chng, S. C., & Fassnacht, D. B. (2016). Parental comments: relationship with gender, body dissatisfaction, and disordered eating in Asian young adults. Body Image, 16, 93–99. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2015.12.001.
Choukas-Bradley, S., Nesi, J., Widman, L., & Higgins, M. K. (2019). Camera-ready: young women’s appearance-related social media consciousness. Psychology of Popular Media Culture, 8(4), 473 https://doi.org/10.1037/ppm0000196.
Cohen, R., & Blaszczynski, A. (2015). Comparative effects of Facebook and conventional media on body image dissatisfaction. Journal of Eating Disorders, 3(1), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40337-015-0061-3.
de Carvalho, P. H. B., Alvarenga, M., dos, S., & Ferreira, M. E. C. (2017). An etiological model of disordered eating behaviors among Brazilian women. Appetite, 116, 164–172. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2017.04.037.
De Jesus, A. Y., Ricciardelli, L. A., Frisén, A., Smolak, L., Yager, Z., Fuller-Tyszkiewicz, M., Diedrichs, P. C., Franko, D., & Gattario, K. H. (2015). Media internalization and conformity to traditional masculine norms in relation to body image concerns among men. Eating Behaviors, 18, 137–142. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eatbeh.2015.04.004.
De Vries, D. A., & Vossen, H. G. (2019). Social media and body dissatisfaction: investigating the attenuating role of positive parent–adolescent relationships. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 48(3), 527–536. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-018-0956-9.
Drew, B., & Matthews, J. (2019). The prevalence of depressive and anxiety symptoms in student-athletes and the relationship with resilience and help-seeking behavior. Journal of Clinical Sport Psychology, 13(3), 421–439. https://doi.org/10.1123/jcsp.2017-0043.
Egbert, N., & Belcher, J. D. (2012). Reality bites: an investigation of the genre of reality television and its relationship to viewers’. body image. Mass Communication & Society, 15(3), 407–431. https://doi.org/10.1080/15205436.2011.583545.
Elkins, I., McGue, M., & Iacono, W. (1997). Genetic and environmental influences on parent-son relationships: evidence for increasing genetic influence during adolescence. Developmental Psychology, 33(2), 351–363. https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.33.2.351.
Esnaola, I., Rodríguez, A., & Goñi, A. (2010). Body dissatisfaction and perceived sociocultural pressures: gender and age differences. Salud Mental, 33(1), 21–29. https://www.medigraphic.com/cgi-bin/new/resumen.cgi?IDARTICULO=24238.
Fallon, E. A., Harris, B. S., & Johnson, P. (2014). Prevalence of body dissatisfaction among a United States adult sample. Eating Behaviors, 15(1), 151–158. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eatbeh.2013.11.007.
Ferguson, C. J., Munoz, M. E., Contreras, S., & Velasquez, K. (2011). Mirror, mirror on the wall: peer competition, television influences, and body image dissatisfaction. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 30(5), 458–483. https://doi.org/10.1521/jscp.2011.30.5.458.
Fingerman, K. L., Cheng, Y.-P., Kim, K., Fung, H. H., Han, G., Lang, F. R., Lee, W., & Wagner, J. (2016). Parental involvement with college students in Germany, Hong Kong, Korea, and the United States. Journal of Family Issues, 37(10), 1384–1411. https://doi.org/10.1177/0192513X14541444.
Frank, S. J., Avery, C. B., & Laman, M. S. (1988). Young adults’ perceptions of their relationships with their parents: individual differences in connectedness, competence, and emotional autonomy. Developmental Psychology, 24(5), 729–737. https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.24.5.729.
Franz, A. O., & McKinney, C. (2018). Parental and child psychopathology: Moderated mediation by gender and parent–child relationship quality. Child Psychiatry and Human Development, 49(6), 843–852. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-018-0801-0.
Girard, M., Chabrol, H., & Rodgers, R. F. (2018). Support for a modified tripartite dual pathway model of body image concerns and risky body change behaviors in French young men. Sex Roles: A Journal of Research, 78(11–12), 799–809. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-017-0850-z.
Grenon, R., Tasca, G. A., Maxwell, H., Balfour, L., Proulx, G., & Bissada, H. (2016). Parental bonds and body dissatisfaction in a clinical sample: the mediating roles of attachment anxiety and media internalization. Body Image, 19, 49–56. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2016.08.005.
Hatoum, I. J., & Belle, D. (2004). Mags and abs: Media consumption and bodily concerns in men. Sex Roles, 51(7-8), 397–407. https://doi.org/10.1023/B:SERS.0000049229.93256.48.
Hayes, A. F. (2009). Beyond Baron and Kenny: statistical mediation analysis in the new millennium. Communication Monographs, 76(4), 408–420. https://doi.org/10.1080/03637750903310360.
Helgeson, V. S., Palladino, D. K., Reynolds, K. A., Becker, D., Escobar, O., & Siminerio, L. (2014). Early adolescent relationship predictors of emerging adult outcomes: youth with and without type 1 diabetes. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 47(3), 270–279. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12160-013-9552-0.
Homan, K., McHugh, E., Wells, D., Watson, C., & King, C. (2012). The effect of viewing ultra-fit images on college women’s body dissatisfaction. Body Image, 9(1), 50–56. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2011.07.006.
Jackson, T., & Chen, H. (2015). Features of objectified body consciousness and sociocultural perspectives as risk factors for disordered eating among late-adolescent women and men. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 62(4), 741–752. https://doi.org/10.1037/cou0000096.
Johnson, S. M., Edwards, K. M., & Gidycz, C. A. (2015). Interpersonal weight-related pressure and disordered eating in college women: a test of an expanded tripartite influence model. Sex Roles, 72(1), 15–24. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-014-0442-0.
Jones, M. E., Salafia, E. H. B., & Hill, B. D. (2019). The effect of parental warmth on girls’ drive for thinness: do both parents matter? Journal of Child and Family Studies, 28(1), 182–191. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-018-1243-9.
Kerbs, A. F., & El-Alayli, A. (2016). Parenting dynamics in childhood as they relate to body dissatisfaction in adult women: an exploration of parental attachment, acceptance, teasing, and body-related comments. Journal of Integrated Social Sciences, 6(1), 75–103. https://www.jiss.org/documents/volume_6/JISS%202016%206(1)%2075-103%20Parenting%20Dynamics.pdf.
Krug, I., King, R. M., Youssef, G. J., Sorabji, A., Wertheim, E. H., Le Grange, D., Hughes, E. K., Letcher, P., & Olsson, C. A. (2016). The effect of low parental warmth and low monitoring on disordered eating in mid-adolescence: findings from the Australian Temperament Project. Appetite, 105, 232–241. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2016.05.015.
Lease, H. J., Doley, J. R., & Bond, M. J. (2016). My mother told me: the roles of maternal messages, body image, and disordered eating in maladaptive exercise. Eating and Weight Disorders-Studies on Anorexia, Bulimia and Obesity, 21(3), 469–476. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40519-015-0238-4.
Lindell, A. K., Campione-Barr, N., & Killoren, S. E. (2017). Implications of parent-child relationships for emerging adults’ subjective feelings about adulthood. Journal of Family Psychology, 31(7), 810–820. https://doi.org/10.1037/fam0000328.
Luevorasirikul, K., Boardman, H., & Anderson, C. (2012). An investigation of body image concern and the effects of sociocultural factors among UK first year university students. Public Health, 126(4), 365–367. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2012.01.011.
MacKinnon, D. P. (2008). Introduction to statistical mediation analysis. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum
Matsunaga, M. (2010). How to factor-analyze your data right: do’s, don’ts, and how-to’s. International Journal of Psychological Research, 3(1), 97–110
Mendelson, B., White, D., & Mendelson, M. (1997). Manual for the body-esteem scale for adolescents and adults. (Res. Bull. 16, No. 2). Montreal: Concordia University
Mitchell, J. M., & Abraham, K. M. (2018). Parental mental illness and the transition to college: coping, psychological adjustment, and parent–child relationships. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 27(9), 2966–2977. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-018-1133-1.
Moilanen, K. L., Shaw, D. S., & Fitzpatrick, A. (2010). Self-regulation in early adolescence: relations with mother–son relationship quality and maternal regulatory support and antagonism. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 39(11), 1357–1367. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-009-9485-x.
Monro, F., & Huon, G. (2005). Media‐portrayed idealized images, body shame, and appearance anxiety. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 38(1), 85–90. https://doi.org/10.1002/eat.20153.
Moreira, H., Gouveia, M. J., & Canavarro, M. C. (2018). Is mindful parenting associated with adolescents’ well-being in early and middle/late adolescence? The mediating role of adolescents’ attachment representations, self-compassion and mindfulness. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 47(8), 1771–1788. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-018-0808-7.
Mulgrew, K. E., & Volcevski-Kostas, D. (2012). Short term exposure to attractive and muscular singers in music video clips negatively affects men’s body image and mood. Body Image, 9(4), 543–546. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2012.05.001.
Muñoz‐Suazo, M. D., Navarro‐Muñoz, J., Díaz‐Román, A., Coronilla‐García, M., Porcel‐Gálvez, A. M., & Gil‐García, E. (2020). Parenting practices among parents of children with attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder: gender‐related differences. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 76(1), 239–245. https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.22873.
Nathanson, A. I., & Botta, R. A. (2003). Shaping the effects of television on adolescents’ body image disturbance: the role of parental mediation. Communication Research, 30(3), 304–331. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093650203030003003.
Perloff, R. M. (2014). Social media effects on young women’s body image concerns: theoretical perspectives and an agenda for research. Sex Roles, 71(11-12), 363–377. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-014-0384-6.
Putnick, D. L., & Bornstein, M. H. (2016). Measurement invariance conventions and reporting: the state of the art and future directions for psychological research. Developmental Review, 41, 71–90. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dr.2016.06.004.
Putnick, D. L., Bornstein, M. H., Lansford, J. E., Chang, L., Deater-Deckard, K., Di Giunta, L., Gurdal, S., Dodge, K. A., Malone, P. S., Oburu, P. O., Pastorelli, C., Skinner, A. T., Sorbring, E., Tapanya, S., Uribe Tirado, L. M., Zelli, Almapay, L. P., Al-Hassan, S. M., Bacchini, D., & Anna Silvia Bombi (2012). Agreement in mother and father acceptance-rejection, warmth, and hostility/rejection/neglect of children across nine countries. Cross-Cultural Research, 46(3), 191–223. https://doi.org/10.1177/1069397112440931.
Robinson, L., Prichard, I., Nikolaidis, A., Drummond, C., Drummond, M., & Tiggemann, M. (2017). Idealised media images: the effect of fitspiration imagery on body satisfaction and exercise behavior. Body Image, 22, 65–71. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2017.06.001.
Rodgers, R., & Chabrol, H. (2009). Parental attitudes, body image disturbance and disordered eating amongst adolescents and young adults: a review. European Eating Disorders Review: The Professional Journal of the Eating Disorders Association, 17(2), 137–151. https://doi.org/10.1002/erv.907.
Rodgers, R. F., Paxton, S. J., & Chabrol, H. (2009). Effects of parental comments on body dissatisfaction and eating disturbance in young adults: a sociocultural model. Body Image, 6(3), 171–177. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2009.04.004.
Schaefer, M. K., & Salafia, E. H. B. (2014). The connection of teasing by parents, siblings, and peers with girls’ body dissatisfaction and boys’ drive for muscularity: the role of social comparison as a mediator. Eating Behaviors, 15(4), 599–608. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eatbeh.2014.08.018.
Schafer, J. L. (1999). Multiple imputation: a primer. Statistical Methods in Medicine, 8, 3–15. https://doi.org/10.1177/096228029900800102.
Seiffge-Krenke, I., Persike, M., & Shulman, S. (2015). Gendered pathways to romantic attachment in emerging adults: the role of body image and parental support. European Journal of Developmental Psychology, 12(5), 533–548. https://doi.org/10.1080/17405629.2015.1044963.
Seo, J., Lee, J., & Wesbecher, K. (2020). Parental and media influence on body image and depression: the mediational role of self-concept clarity. Journal of American College Health, 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1080/07448481.2020.1799802.
Sharpe, H., Patalay, P., Choo, T.-H., Wall, M., Mason, S. M., Goldschmidt, A. B., & Neumark-Sztainer, D. (2018). Bidirectional associations between body dissatisfaction and depressive symptoms from adolescence through early adulthood. Development and Psychopathology, 30(4), 1447–1458. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954579417001663.
Sillars, A., Koerner, A., & Fitzpatrick, M. A. (2005). Communication and understanding in parent-adolescent relationships. Human Communication Research, 31(1), 102–128. https://doi.org/10.1093/hcr/31.1.102.
Sira, N., & White, C. P. (2010). Individual and familial correlates of body satisfaction in male and female college students. Journal of American College Health, 58(6), 507–514. https://doi.org/10.1080/07448481003621742.
Slater, A., Varsani, N., & Diedrichs, P. C. (2017). #fitspo or #loveyourself? The impact of fitspiration and self-compassion Instagram images on women’s body image, self-compassion, and mood. Body Image, 22, 87–96. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2017.06.004.
Smith, J. E., Erickson, S. J., Austin, J. L., Winn, J. L., Lash, D. N., & Amrhein, P. C. (2016). Mother–daughter relationship quality and body image in preadolescent girls. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 25(9), 2683–2694. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-016-0452-3.
Steele, E. H., & McKinney, C. (2020). Relationships among emerging adult psychological problems, maltreatment, and parental psychopathology: moderation by parent–child relationship quality. Family Process, 59(1), 257–272. https://doi.org/10.1111/famp.12407.
Stefanone, M. A., Yue, Z., & Toh, Z. (2019). A social cognitive approach to traditional media content and social media use: selfie-related behavior as competitive strategy. New Media & Society, 21(2), 317–335. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444818795488.
Szalai, T. D., Czeglédi, E., Vargha, A., & Grezsa, F. (2017). Parental attachment and body satisfaction in adolescents. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 26(4), 1007–1017. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-016-0626-z.
Taniguchi, E. (2018). Mediating role of social competence: family communication and body satisfaction among male college students. Health Communication, 33(10), 1199–1210. https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2017.1350905.
Taniguchi, E., & Thompson, C. M. (2015). Family communication and body dissatisfaction among young adult females: mediating effects of social competence. Journal of Family Communication, 15(4), 410–427. https://doi.org/10.1080/15267431.2015.1076823.
Temel, M., & Atalay, A. A. (2020). The relationship between perceived maternal parenting and psychological distress: mediator role of self-compassion. Current Psychology, 39(6), 2203–2210. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-018-9904-9.
Thompson, J. K., Heinberg, L. J., Altabe, M., & Tantleff-Dunn, S. (1999). Exacting beauty: Theory, assessment, and treatment of body image disturbance. American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/10312-000.
Thompson, J., van den Berg, P., Roehrig, M., Guarda, A., & Heinberg, L. (2004). The sociocultural attitudes toward appearance scale-3: development and validation. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 35, 293–304. https://doi.org/10.1002/eat.10257.
Wansink, B., Latimer, L. A., & Pope, L. (2017). “Don’t eat so much:” how parent comments relate to female weight satisfaction. Eating and Weight Disorders-Studies on Anorexia, Bulimia and Obesity, 22(3), 475–481. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40519-016-0292-6.
Watson, A., Murnen, S. K., & College, K. (2019). Gender differences in responses to thin, athletic, and hyper-muscular idealized bodies. Body Image, 30, 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2019.03.010.
Webb, J. B., Rogers, C. B., Etzel, L., & Padro, M. P. (2018). “Mom, quit fat talking—I’m trying to eat (mindfully) here!”: evaluating a sociocultural model of family fat talk, positive body image, and mindful eating in college women. Appetite, 126, 169–175. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2018.04.003.
Yu, Y., Liu, S., Song, M., Fan, H., & Zhang, L. (2020). Effect of parent–child attachment on college students’ social anxiety: a moderated mediation model. Psychological Reports, 123(6), 2196–2214. https://doi.org/10.1177/0033294119862981.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of Interest
The authors declare no competing interests.
Additional information
Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Story, A., McClelland, E. & McKinney, C. Indirect Effects of Parent–Child Relationship Quality and Media on Emerging Adult Body Esteem. J Child Fam Stud 31, 2387–2400 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-022-02309-x
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-022-02309-x