The Relationships among Self-Worth Contingency on Others' Approval, Appearance Comparisons on Facebook, and Adolescent Girls' Body Esteem: A Cross-Cultural Study.

Publisher: MDPI Country of Publication: Switzerland NLM ID: 101238455 Publication Model: Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1660-4601 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 16604601 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Int J Environ Res Public Health Subsets: MEDLINE

Original Publication: Basel : MDPI, c2004-

Cross-Cultural Comparison* ; Social Media*; Adolescent ; Asia ; Austria ; Belgium ; Body Image ; Europe ; Female ; Humans ; Republic of Korea ; Self Concept ; Spain

The present study examined the relationship between appearance-related social comparison on social networking services (SNSs) and body esteem in a cross-cultural context (three European countries, i.e., Austria, Belgium, and Spain, versus one Asian country, i.e., South Korea). The role of self-worth contingency on others' approval was considered to be a psychological and cultural factor. Utilizing a large-scale cross-national survey of early and middle adolescents in 2017, the responses of female adolescents ( N = 981) were analyzed. The results generally support the findings from previous studies but also reveal cultural differences. Appearance comparison on Facebook negatively influenced girls' body esteem in all European countries, but not in South Korea. Self-worth contingency on others' approval negatively influenced girls' body esteem across all four countries. Finally, a positive relationship between self-worth contingency on others' approval and appearance comparison on Facebook was found in all European countries, but not among Korean girls. These findings suggest the importance of self-worth contingency on others' approval and cultural contexts can be used to study the effects of body image-related SNS use.

J Pers Assess. 2001 Feb;76(1):90-106. (PMID: 11206302)
Eat Behav. 2010 Apr;11(2):107-12. (PMID: 20188294)
J Pers Soc Psychol. 2003 Nov;85(5):894-908. (PMID: 14599252)
Int J Eat Disord. 2015 Dec;48(8):1132-40. (PMID: 26311205)
Body Image. 2019 Jun;29:17-30. (PMID: 30818160)
Body Image. 2016 Jun;17:100-10. (PMID: 26995158)
Psychol Bull. 2008 May;134(3):460-76. (PMID: 18444705)
Adolescence. 2004 Fall;39(155):571-92. (PMID: 15673231)
Body Image. 2018 Sep;26:29-37. (PMID: 29807299)
J Youth Adolesc. 2010 Aug;39(8):927-39. (PMID: 20596819)
Pers Soc Psychol Bull. 2011 Jan;37(1):120-35. (PMID: 21177878)
Body Image. 2015 Sep;15:1-7. (PMID: 25978272)
Int J Eat Disord. 2002 Jan;31(1):1-16. (PMID: 11835293)
Body Image. 2008 Sep;5(3):244-50. (PMID: 18424245)
Body Image. 2019 Jun;29:90-99. (PMID: 30884385)
Pers Soc Psychol Bull. 2005 Feb;31(2):232-42. (PMID: 15619595)
J Adolesc Health. 2015 Aug;57(2):157-63. (PMID: 26206436)
J Eat Disord. 2015 Jul 02;3:23. (PMID: 26140215)
Cyberpsychol Behav Soc Netw. 2014 Apr;17(4):199-206. (PMID: 24237288)
J Youth Adolesc. 2014 Jan;43(1):1-14. (PMID: 23344652)
Cyberpsychol Behav Soc Netw. 2012 Feb;15(2):91-8. (PMID: 22132897)
Body Image. 2014 Mar;11(2):119-25. (PMID: 24374074)
Pers Soc Psychol Bull. 2004 Apr;30(4):501-14. (PMID: 15070478)
Body Image. 2004 Dec;1(4):351-61. (PMID: 18089166)
Body Image. 2018 Jun;25:14-22. (PMID: 29428332)

Keywords: body esteem; culture; female adolescents; self-worth contingency on others’ approval; social networking sites

Date Created: 20210126 Date Completed: 20210423 Latest Revision: 20210423

20221213

PMC7908083

10.3390/ijerph18030901

33494228