La Trobe

The impact of completing body image assessments on adolescents’ body image and engagement in body change strategies: Harmful or harmless?

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posted on 2025-01-23, 01:29 authored by Hannah JarmanHannah Jarman, A Slater, Sian McLeanSian McLean, Mathew MarquesMathew Marques, Susan PaxtonSusan Paxton
Parents and educators have raised concerns that participating in body image research may cause or increase poor body image and engagement in body change strategies. This quasi-experimental study compared body image and body change strategy outcomes among adolescents who had, and had not, previously been exposed to the same assessment questions 6-months prior (twice- vs once-completers). Comparison was also made between groups who completed an assessment containing only positively worded items or both positive and negative items (positive vs mixed valence). Boys and girls (N = 1,532, Mage = 13.83, SD = 1.18) completed online measures of body dissatisfaction, body appreciation, overvaluation of weight and shape, appearance esteem, and body change strategies. In regression analyses, neither body image nor body change strategies were predicted by group (completion or valence groups), except lower body dissatisfaction and higher body appreciation among twice-completers. Most participants did not experience individual-level change in body image or body change strategies over 6-months. Findings suggest that body image assessments may not put adolescents at risk of poor body image or engagement with body change strategies, however; experimental research is needed. Some improvement in body image may have implications for prospective and prevention research.

Funding

DP170100709

This research was also supported by La Trobe University, Melbourne.

History

Publication Date

2021-12-01

Journal

Body Image

Volume

39

Pagination

8p. (p. 131-138)

Publisher

Elsevier

ISSN

1740-1445

Rights Statement

© 2021. This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

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