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A Biopsychosocial Model of Social Media Use and Body Image Concerns, Disordered Eating, and Muscle-Building Behaviors among Adolescent Girls and Boys

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Abstract

Social media use is associated with body image concerns, disordered eating and body change behaviors in adolescents. This study aimed to examine these relationships within a biopsychosocial framework and test an integrated model. A sample of 681 adolescents (49% female), mean age = 12.76 years (SD = 0.74), completed a questionnaire assessing social media use, depression, self-esteem, body mass index, social media and muscular ideal internalization, appearance comparison, body dissatisfaction, disordered eating, and muscle-building behaviors. Path analysis was used to test the hypothetical model, which after modification revealed good fit to the data, although gender differences emerged. The findings suggest that biopsychosocial frameworks are useful for conceptualizing relationships between social media use and body image, eating, and muscle building outcomes.

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Author Contributions

RFR conceived of the study, participated in its design, conducted the analysis, and drafted the manuscript; SJP participated in the design and interpretation of the data, and helped to draft the manuscript; CG participated in the design and coordination of the study and performed the measurement; HKJ participated in the design of the study coordination; AS and SAM participated in the study design and interpretation of the data. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Funding

The study was funded by the Australian Research Council Discovery Grant [DP170100709].

Data Sharing and Declaration

This manuscript’s data will not be deposited.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Applied Psychology, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA

    Rachel F. Rodgers

  2. Department of Psychiatric Emergency & Acute Care, Lapeyronie Hospital, CHRU Montpellier, France

    Rachel F. Rodgers

  3. School of Psychology and Public Health, La Trobe University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

    Rachel F. Rodgers, Chloe S. Gordon, Siân A. McLean, Hannah K. Jarman & Susan J. Paxton

  4. University of the West of England, Centre for Appearance Research, University of the West of England, Bristol, UK

    Amy Slater

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  1. Rachel F. Rodgers
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  2. Amy Slater
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Correspondence to Rachel F. Rodgers.

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All participants’s parents provided consent, and participants provided assent.

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Preregistration The study is registered with the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ACTRN12617000137392; www.anzctr.org.au).

Research involving Human Participants and/or Animals The research involved Human Participants and was approved by the appropriate Institutional Review Board for ethical compliance.

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Rodgers, R.F., Slater, A., Gordon, C.S. et al. A Biopsychosocial Model of Social Media Use and Body Image Concerns, Disordered Eating, and Muscle-Building Behaviors among Adolescent Girls and Boys. J Youth Adolescence 49, 399–409 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-019-01190-0

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