Body Image Perception and Internalization Problems Indicators in Mexican Adolescents

Abstract

The aim of the study was to determine the existing differences by gender in the indicators of internalizing problems regarding the body image perception of Mexican adolescents. A descriptive and transversal study was developed. The participants were students from four public middle schools in Guadalajara Mexico. The instrument used was an online survey constituted by a sociodemographic section, an internalizing problems indicators scale (α = .85) and a body image perception scale (α = .70). Parental consent was obtained using a waiver of active consent. The survey was applied online, during school hours at the computer labs. Descriptive statistics were calculated for the sociodemographic data and the body perception scale. Zscores were determined for the internalizing problems scale, being categorized into a three level rank. Statistical differences were estimated by gender using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). The sample included 2080 adolescents with a mean age of 13.6 years (SD 1), of which 51% (1059) were female and 49% (1021) male. 18.1% of the participants that describe themselves as about the right weight, followed by 13.9% that do it as slightly overweight, indicating that they are trying to lose weight. Regarding the differences by gender, 16% of the males and 17.9% of the females have high indicators of internalizing problems. Taking into consideration the body image, the males that describe themselves as very overweight and the females that do it as very underweight are the groups with higher indicators of internalizing problems. In summary, there are important differences between males and females in the internalizing problems indicators regarding the body image.How to cite this paper: Colunga-Rodríguez, C., Orozco-Solis, M. G., Flores-Villavicencio, M. E., de-la-Roca-Chiapas, J. M., Gómez-Martínez, R., Mercado, A., Vázquez-Colunga,

Highly-visual social media and internalizing symptoms in adolescence: The mediating role of body image concerns

“…Comparisons with the models presented by the mass media and with their peers are likely to increase body image concerns in the young who perceive a gap between their own body image and the aesthetic ideal internalized. Internalizing symptoms may correlate with body dissatisfaction due to the sense of inadequacy experienced by adolescents with negative body image and because of the difficulty in social interaction and concerns about SOCIAL MEDIA AND THE MEDIATING ROLE OF BODY IMAGE CONCERNS peer acceptance often experienced by adolescents (Colunga-Rodríguez et al, 2016). As a result, adolescents trying to cope with these negative feelings are more at risk of being involved in unhealthy behaviors such as restrictive diet, excessive exercise, steroid or illicit drug consumption, excessive tanning etc.…”

“Spilling the tea” on generation Z social media use and body image

“…Body image dissatisfaction can be very different for males and females but is conceptually defined as a desire to change the appearance of one's body in any way, meaning the person may want to gain or lose weight (Kostanski et al., 2004). These body image problems are not only relevant during adolescence, but can also carry into adulthood (Colunga‐Rodríguez et al., 2016). Investigating how social media impacts the body image of children of different ages is an important topic which demands further attention.…”

“…Although there are positive outcomes associated with social media use such as enhanced communication, the bridging of subcultures, and friendship maintenance (Siddiqui & Singh, 2016), exposure to social media content that promotes idealized appearances or body shapes can negatively impact adolescents. Indeed, research has shown that youth who spend more time on social media are also more likely to have body image concerns, disordered eating, lower self-esteem, and greater anxiety (Colunga-Rodríguez et al, 2016;Marengo et al, 2018).…”

“…Social media use can have a lasting impact on child users’ self‐esteem and the impacts often affect females more so than males (Knauss et al., 2007; Steinsbekk et al., 2021). Poor body image is a risk factor for suicide, substance use, bullying, and school dropout (Colunga‐Rodríguez et al., 2016). Body image dissatisfaction can be very different for males and females but is conceptually defined as a desire to change the appearance of one's body in any way, meaning the person may want to gain or lose weight (Kostanski et al., 2004).…”

Validación del Perfil de Estrés de Nowack en estudiantes universitarios mexicanos

“…Diferentes estudios indican una relación del estrés con diversos problemas de salud física y en general con una mayor probabilidad a enfermarse debido a que el estrés disminuye la eficacia del sistema inmunológico, así como también implica efectos en el individuo desde el aspecto emocional (10)(11)(12).…”