Media influence and body image in 8-11-year-old boys and girls: A preliminary report on the multidimensional media influence scale

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To develop a scale for the assessment of multiple components of a media-based influence on body image. METHOD: Seventy-five boys and 107 girls, ranging in age from 8 to 11, completed a measure designed to assess five facets of a media influence previously conceptualized by researchers. RESULTS: Three distinct scales emerged, which appeared to focus on concepts defined as internalization, awareness, and pressure. Correlations between subscales of the Multidimensional Media Influence Scale (MMIS) and the Eating Disorder Inventory-Body Dissatisfaction subscale were significant for both boys and girls. Girls had higher levels on all three subscales and regression analyses indicated that the MMIS scores predicted 30% of the variance associated with body dissatisfaction for girls, but an R(2) of only 0.10 emerged for boys. Internalization levels predicted significant variance beyond that explained by awareness and pressures, but only for the female sample. DISCUSSION: The findings are discussed with regard to the usefulness of the MMIS for future research and the role of internalization as a risk factor for the development of body image disturbances and eating disorders.