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Testing the Identity Disruption Model among Adolescents: Pathways Connecting Adverse Childhood Experiences to Body
Lenny R Vartanian1, Kate Nicholls2, Jasmine Fardouly2,3
1School of Psychology, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia. l.vartanian@unsw.edu.au.
Journal of Youth and Adolescence
|October 15, 2022
Summary
Early adversity impacts adolescent self-concept clarity, increasing vulnerability to body dissatisfaction through sociocultural appearance pressures. This research highlights early life processes as potential intervention targets.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Developmental Psychology
- Sociocultural Psychology
Background:
- The Identity Disruption Model links early adversity to body dissatisfaction via self-concept clarity and sociocultural factors.
- Adolescence is a critical period for identity formation and the development of body dissatisfaction.
- Previous research has not tested this model specifically within adolescent populations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To test the Identity Disruption Model in adolescent samples.
- To examine the mediating roles of self-concept clarity, appearance internalization, and appearance comparisons.
- To identify early life processes contributing to body dissatisfaction in adolescence.
Main Methods:
- Two studies were conducted with adolescents recruited via social media (Study 1) and high schools (Study 2).
- Participants completed self-report measures assessing early adversity, self-concept clarity, appearance internalization, appearance comparisons, and body dissatisfaction.
- Statistical analyses examined the proposed mediational pathways within the Identity Disruption Model.
Main Results:
- Self-reported early adversity was significantly associated with lower self-concept clarity in both studies.
- Lower self-concept clarity predicted greater internalization of appearance ideals and more frequent appearance comparisons.
- Internalization and appearance comparisons were subsequently linked to increased body dissatisfaction.
Conclusions:
- The findings support the Identity Disruption Model among adolescents, demonstrating its applicability to this developmental stage.
- Early life adversity influences adolescent body dissatisfaction through a cascade of psychological and sociocultural mechanisms.
- Identifying these early-life processes offers potential targets for intervention and prevention strategies aimed at mitigating body dissatisfaction.
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