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Sad and lonely: body dissatisfaction among adolescent girls

  • Renata Forste EMAIL logo , Marina Potter and Lance Erickson
Published/Copyright: June 21, 2017

Abstract

Purpose

To further understand the association between body dissatisfaction and sadness/loneliness among adolescent girls, we examine how this association, as reported by pre-teen and adolescent girls, is mediated or moderated by the quality of peer and family relationships.

Methods

Our data are from the Health Behavior of School-Aged Children 2009–2010, a nationally representative survey of school-aged children in the US. We analyze a sample of 5658 girls in Grades 5 through 10. We utilize ordinary least squares (OLS) regression techniques and adjust for the complex sampling design. We explore how the link between body dissatisfaction and sadness/loneliness is mediated or moderated by family and peer relationships and also include controls for age, race, media exposure, and physical health.

Results

We find that body dissatisfaction is predictive of sadness/loneliness for girls at all grade levels and that the quality of peer and family relationships mediates 27%–38% of this association, particularly among early adolescent girls. Positive peer relationships also moderate or help mitigate the association between body dissatisfaction and sadness/loneliness among pre-teens.

Conclusion

Our findings underscore the association between body dissatisfaction and sadness/loneliness among early adolescent girls. In addition, our results highlight the importance of quality peer and family relationships in terms of how girls think about their bodies and respond emotionally to them. To evaluate feelings of sadness and loneliness among early adolescent girls, health care professionals need to consider not only body dissatisfaction but also the context of peer and family relationships.

  1. Funding source: None.

  2. Financial disclosure: The authors have no financial relationships relevant to this article to disclose.

  3. Conflict of interest: The authors have no conflicts of interest relevant to this article to disclose.

  4. Clinical trial registration: None.

  5. Implications and contributions: Using a representative sample of adolescent girls in the US, we model the association between body dissatisfaction and sadness/loneliness, and examine the mediating and moderating influence of peer and family relationships. To address adolescent sadness/loneliness, body dissatisfaction and the context of peer and family relationships should be considered.

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Received: 2016-12-15
Accepted: 2017-02-12
Published Online: 2017-06-21

©2019 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

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