Having a daughter about to reach the teen years I can already see it starting. Her friends get together before even the most minor event to discuss what they will wear, how they will do their hair, and so on. Girls want to look their best whether they are going to the movies or going on a run. They love to spend their time trying on all different outfits to find just the right one to wear. This is simply a harmless part of being a teen girl, right? It remains harmless unless the girl has an issue with body image. The focus on looks is emphasized and maddening at this stage of life. In a world where a pimple can cause a girl not leave the house and a bad hair day can make her cry, fitting in reference to body image is of the utmost importance. If it goes too far it can cause low self esteem, feelings of worthlessness, and feelings of ugliness. These feelings can lead to serious issues. Cutting this off at the pass is not as easy as you may think. If you are considering throwing away Barbie dolls too limit harmful effects years later, think again.
What contributing factor has the most influence on a teen girl’s body image?
When this question was posed many responded with the usual suspects:
TV
Fashion Magazines
Pop Stars
Celebrities
Barbie Dolls and other fashion dolls when played with at an early age
Would it surprise you to learn that the biggest influence on body image for a teenage girl was the comparison for themselves to their peers not Katy Perry or Barbie. Using research from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, found that girls would respond to weight in the same manner as their peers would react. If a girl is surrounded by thin girls who insist they need to diet then a girl would take on this mindset as well.
“What our findings showed was that girls were more aware of what others like them were doing,” said researcher, Anna Mueller. “Underweight girls were not likely to be trying to lose weight, unless they were in schools where underweight girls regularly reported trying to lose weight,” she revealed.
So if a school had a majority of underweight girls then girls of average weight would desire to lose weight. However, if the majority of girls had a higher BMI then the pressure to lose weight was not as great.
Jeanie Alter, lead evaluator of the Indiana Prevention Resource Center at Indiana University’ s School or Health, Physical Education, and Recreation states:
“It is not surprising that girls’ behaviour would be influenced by the behaviours of their peers, whether they be perceived or real,” Alter said. “This is true for many types of behaviours including risky behaviours, such as substance use. Perceptions that ”everyone is doing it” are powerful motivators,” she added.
This makes raising our girls a bit more difficult as we are not fighting against items we can remove like Barbie dolls and fashion magazines but the peers they see on a daily basis.
Related Articles:
How Much Should a Child Exercise?