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Eating disordered behaviors and media exposure.
1Dept. of Psychology, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, South Africa. carney_tara@hotmail.com
Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology
|October 3, 2006
Summary
Media exposure is linked to disordered eating behaviors in South African university students. Women with higher media exposure showed greater risk for anorexia nervosa, interacting with other factors.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Media Studies
- Public Health
Background:
- Investigated the link between eating disordered behaviors and media exposure in South African university students.
- Explored underlying factors contributing to this complex relationship.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the relationship between eating disordered behaviors and exposure to ideal-type media.
- To understand the mechanisms underlying this association in a high media-exposure population.
Main Methods:
- Employed quantitative methods using a questionnaire (including EAT-26 and media composite variable).
- Utilized qualitative methods through interviews and grounded theory analysis.
Main Results:
- Higher media exposure and female sex significantly predicted higher scores on the Eating Attitudes Test-26 (EAT-26).
- Qualitative data revealed media interacts with other factors, predisposing women to disordered eating and reinforcing behaviors through heavy media use.
- Participants attempted appearance modifications to emulate media ideals.
Conclusions:
- Media is not solely causative of pathological eating but interacts with other factors in developing anorexia nervosa symptoms.
- A model was developed illustrating the interplay of media and other influences on disordered eating in women.
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