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Self-Objectification and Adolescent Depressive Symptoms: A Three-Wave Moderated Indirect-Effects Model Involving Body
Liming Yue1, Yang Cui1, Xiangping Gao1
1Department of Psychology, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai 200234, China.
Behavioral Sciences (Basel, Switzerland)
|July 28, 2026
Summary
Self-objectification links to adolescent depression through body shame and self-disgust. Peer support may offer a buffer against these negative self-perceptions, impacting mental well-being.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Adolescent Mental Health
- Social Psychology
Background:
- Self-objectification is linked to adolescent depression.
- The psychological pathways between appearance concerns and negative self-views are not fully understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate body shame and self-disgust as mediators in the longitudinal relationship between self-objectification and depressive symptoms.
- To examine perceived peer connectedness as a moderator of this association.
- To explore item-level associations between body shame and self-disgust using network analysis.
Main Methods:
- A three-wave study with 1181 Chinese adolescents.
- Measures included self-objectification, perceived peer connectedness, body shame, self-disgust, and depressive symptoms.
- Path analysis and network analysis were employed.
Main Results:
- Self-objectification predicted depressive symptoms directly and indirectly via body shame and self-disgust.
- Perceived peer connectedness partially reduced the link between self-objectification and body shame.
- Network analysis revealed item-level connections between body shame and self-disgust.
Conclusions:
- Self-objectification may lead to depressive symptoms through appearance-based shame and general self-criticism.
- Peer connectedness may buffer against these negative effects.
- Item-level analysis provides insights into the interplay of body shame and self-disgust in adolescents.
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