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Body image flexibility moderates the association between photo-related activities on WeChat moments and the body dissatisfaction of female adolescents in China

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Abstract

Based on the background of current information era and the important role of body image in the health and well-being of female adolescents, this study aimed to investigate the moderating role of body image flexibility on the association between photo-related activities on SNS (social networking site) and body dissatisfaction among female adolescents in China. A total of 646 female adolescents were recruited to complete a set of questionnaires concerning the photo-related activities on WeChat Moments (the most widely used SNS in China), body image flexibility, and body dissatisfaction. The results showed that photo-related activities were positively associated with body dissatisfaction, and body image flexibility could significantly moderate this association, with a more significant effect for individuals with low levels of body image flexibility. This study not only contributes Chinese data and findings to this research theme, but also deepens our understanding by investigating the moderating mechanism; the results were also discussed in terms of limitations and implications.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Social Science Fund of China (2015BSH023), MOE (Ministry of Education in China) Project of Humanities and Social Sciences (19YJC190019), the Open Fund from the Key Laboratory of Adolescent Cyberpsychology and Behavior (CCNU) (2018B02), and the China PostdoctoralScience Foundation (2018M631131). No competing interests existed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Psychology, Central China Normal University, Wuhan, 430079, China

    Li Wu & Gengfeng Niu

  2. Key Laboratory of Adolescent Cyberpsychology and Behavior(CCNU), Ministry of Education, Wuhan, 430079, China

    Li Wu & Gengfeng Niu

  3. Institute of Social Psychology, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, 710049, China

    Gengfeng Niu, Xiaoli Ni & Xiaoyi Shao

  4. School of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China

    Yijun Luo

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  1. Li Wu
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  2. Gengfeng Niu
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  3. Xiaoli Ni
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Correspondence to Gengfeng Niu or Xiaoli Ni.

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Wu, L., Niu, G., Ni, X. et al. Body image flexibility moderates the association between photo-related activities on WeChat moments and the body dissatisfaction of female adolescents in China. Curr Psychol 41, 99–104 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-019-00553-x

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