Hostname: page-component-7b9c58cd5d-7g5wt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-03-16T15:18:17.783Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

One size does not fit all: Trajectories of body image development and their predictors in early adolescence

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 September 2020

Emilie Lacroix Open the ORCID record for Emilie Lacroix [Opens in a new window] ,
Melissa J. Atkinson ,
Kirsty M. Garbett  and
Phillippa C. Diedrichs
Emilie Lacroix*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
Melissa J. Atkinson
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, UK
Kirsty M. Garbett
Affiliation:
Centre for Appearance Research, University of the West of England, Bristol, UK
Phillippa C. Diedrichs
Affiliation:
Centre for Appearance Research, University of the West of England, Bristol, UK
*
Author for Correspondence: Emilie Lacroix, Department of Psychology, University of Calgary, 2500 University Dr. NW, Calgary, AB, T2N 1N4, Canada; E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Background: Negative body image predicts many adverse outcomes. The current study prospectively examined patterns of body esteem development in early adolescence and identified predictors of developmental subtypes. Methods: 328 girls and 429 boys reported annually across a 4-year period (Mage at baseline = 11.14, SD = 0.35) on body esteem, appearance ideal internalization, perceived sociocultural pressures, appearance comparisons, appearance-related teasing, self-esteem, positive and negative affect, and dietary restraint. We performed latent class growth analyses to identify the most common trajectories of body esteem development and examine risk and protective factors for body image development. Results: Three developmental subgroups were identified: (a) high body esteem (39.1%); (b) moderate body esteem (46.1%); and (c) low body esteem (14.8%). Body esteem was stable within the low trajectory and there were minor fluctuations in the high and moderate trajectories. Greater appearance-related teasing, lower self-esteem, less positive affect, and higher dietary restraint predicted the low trajectory, whereas higher self-esteem and lower dietary restraint best predicted the high trajectory. Conclusions: Low body esteem appears to be largely stable from age 11 years. Prevention programming may be enhanced by incorporating components to address transdiagnostic resilience factors such as self-esteem and positive affect.

Keywords

adolescencebody imagedisordered eatinglongitudinalnegative affectself-esteem
Type
Regular Article
Information
Development and Psychopathology , Volume 34 , Issue 1 , February 2022 , pp. 285 - 294
Check for updates
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Alberga, A. S., Sigal, R. J., Goldfield, G., Prud'homme, D., & Kenny, G. P. (2012). Overweight and obese teenagers: Why is adolescence a critical period? Pediatric Obesity, 7, 261–273. doi:10.1111/j.2047-6310.2011.00046.xCrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Alleva, J. M., Sheeran, P., Webb, T. L., Martijn, C., & Miles, E. (2015). A meta-analytic review of stand-alone interventions to improve body image. PloS One, 10, e0139177. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0139177CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Andrew, R., Tiggemann, M., & Clark, L. (2016). Predictors and health-related outcomes of positive body image in adolescent girls: A prospective study. Developmental Psychology, 52, 463. doi:10.1037/dev0000095CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Atkinson, M. J., Stock, N. M., Alleva, J. M., Jankowski, G. S., Piran, N., Riley, S., … Williamson, H. (2020). Looking to the future: Priorities for translating research to impact in the field of appearance and body image. Body Image, 32, 53–61. doi:10.1016/j.bodyim.2019.10.006CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barker, E. T., & Galambos, N. L. (2003). Body dissatisfaction of adolescent girls and boys: Risk and resource factors. Journal of Early Adolescence, 23, 141–165. doi:10.1177/0272431603023002002CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bearman, S. K., Martinez, E., Stice, E., & Presnell, K. (2006). The skinny on body dissatisfaction: A longitudinal study of adolescent girls and boys. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 35, 217–229. doi:10.1007/s10964-005-9010-9CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Beato-Fernandez, L., Rodriguez-Cano, T., Belmonte-Llario, A., & Martinez-Delgado, C. (2004). Risk factors for eating disorders in adolescents: A Spanish community-based longitudinal study. European Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 13, 287–294. doi:10.1007/s00787-004-0407-xCrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bornioli, A., Lewis-Smith, H., Smith, A., Slater, A., & Bray, I. (2019). Adolescent body dissatisfaction and disordered eating: Predictors of later risky health behaviours. Social Science and Medicine, 238, 112458. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2019.112458CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bucchianeri, M. M., Arikian, A. J., Hannan, P. J., Eisenberg, M. E., & Neumark-Sztainer, D. (2013). Body dissatisfaction from adolescence to young adulthood: Findings from a 10-year longitudinal study. Body Image, 10, 1–7. doi:10.1016/j.bodyim.2012.09.001CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Canadian Paediatric Society. (2004). Dieting in adolescence. Paediatrics and Child Health, 9, 487–503. doi:10.1093/pch/9.7.487CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cash, T. F., & Pruzinsky, T. (1990). Body images: Development, deviance, and change. New York, NY: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Cohane, G. H., & Pope, H. G. Jr. (2001). Body image in boys: A review of the literature. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 29, 373–379. doi:10.1002/eat.1033CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Davis, M., & Suveg, C. (2014). Focusing on the positive: A review of the role of child positive affect in developmental psychopathology. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 17, 97–124. doi:10.1007/s10567-013-0162-yCrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Delucchi, K. L., Matzger, H., & Weisner, C. (2004). Dependent and problem drinking over 5 years: A latent class growth analysis. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 74, 235–244. doi:10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2003.12.014CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ebesutani, C., Regan, J., Smith, A., Reise, S., Higa-McMillan, C., & Chorpita, B. F. (2012). The 10-Item positive and negative affect schedule for children, child and parent shortened versions: Application of item response theory for more efficient assessment. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 34, 191–203. doi:10.1007/s10862-011-9273-2CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Field, A. E., Camargo, C. A., Taylor, C. B., Berkey, C. S., Roberts, S. B., & Colditz, G. A. (2001). Peer, parent, and media influences on the development of weight concerns and frequent dieting among preadolescent and adolescent girls and boys. Pediatrics, 107(1), 54–60.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Frisen, A., Lunde, C., & Berg, A. I. (2015). Developmental patterns in body esteem from late childhood to young adulthood: A growth curve analysis. European Journal of Developmental Psychology, 12, 99–115. doi:10.1080/17405629.2014.951033CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gattario, K. H., & Frisen, A. (2019). From negative to positive body image: Men's and women's journeys from early adolescence to emerging adulthood. Body Image, 28, 53–65. doi:10.1016/j.bodyim.2018.12.002CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gilbert, K. E. (2012). The neglected role of positive emotion in adolescent psychopathology. Clinical Psychology Review, 32, 467–481. doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2012.05.005CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Holt, K. E., & Ricciardelli, L. A. (2008). Weight concerns among elementary school children: A review of prevention programs. Body Image, 5, 233–243. doi:10.1016/j.bodyim.2008.02.002CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jones, D. C. (2001). Social comparison and body image: Attractiveness comparisons to models and peers among adolescent girls and boys. Sex Roles, 45, 645–664. doi:10.1023/A:1014815725852CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jung, T., & Wickrama, K. A. S. (2008). An introduction to latent class growth analysis and growth mixture modeling. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 2, 302–317. doi:10.1111/j.1751-9004.2007.00054.xCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Karazsia, B. T., Murnen, S. K., & Tylka, T. L. (2017). Is body dissatisfaction changing across time? A cross-temporal meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 143, 293. doi:10.1037/bul0000081CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Klesges, R. C., Isbell, T. R., & Klesges, L. M. (1992). Relationship between dietary restraint, energy-intake, physical-activity, and body-weight: A prospective analysis. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 101, 668–674. doi:10.1037/0021-843x.101.4.668CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kling, J., Kwakkenbos, L., Diedrichs, P. C., Rumsey, N., Frisén, A., Brandão, M. P., … Fitzgerald, A. (2019). Systematic review of body image measures. Body Image, 30, 170–211. doi: 10.1016/j.bodyim.2019.06.006CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Little, R. J. A. (1988). A test of missing completely at random for multivariate data with missing values. Journal of the American Statistical Association, 83, 1198–1202. doi:10.2307/2290157CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lo, Y., Mendell, N. R., & Rubin, D. B. (2001). Testing the number of components in a normal mixture. iometrika, 88(3), 767–778. doi:10.1093/biomet/88.3.767.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marsh, H. W., Richards, G. E., Johnson, S., Roche, L., & Tremayne, P. (1994). Physical self-description questionnaire: Psychometric properties and a miltitrait-multimethod analysis of relations to existing instruments. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 16, 270. doi:10.1123/jsep.16.3.270CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McCabe, M. P., & Ricciardelli, L. A. (2003). Sociocultural influences on body image and body changes among adolescent boys and girls. Journal of Social Psychology, 143, 5–26. doi:10.1080/00224540309598428CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mendelson, B. K., Mendelson, M. J., & White, D. R. (2001). Body-esteem scale for adolescents and adults. Journal of Personality Assessment, 76, 90–106. doi:10.1207/S15327752JPA7601_6CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Morin, A. J. S., Maiano, C., Scalas, L. F., Janosz, M., & Litalien, D. (2017). Adolescents’ body image trajectories: A further test of the self-equilibrium hypothesis. Developmental Psychology, 53, 1501–1521. doi:10.1037/dev0000355CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Murnen, S. K. (2011). Gender and body images. In Cash, T. F. & Smolak, L. (Eds.), Body image: A handbook of science, practice, and prevention (2nd ed., pp. 173–179). New York, NY: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Muthén, L. K., & Muthén, B. O. (2007). Mplus. Statistical analysis with latent variables. Version, 3.Google Scholar
Nelson, S. C., Kling, J., Wangqvist, M., Frisen, A., & Syed, M. (2018). Identity and the body: Trajectories of body esteem from adolescence to emerging adulthood. Developmental Psychology, 54, 1159–1171. doi:10.1037/dev0000435CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Neumark-Sztainer, D. R., Paxton, S. J., Hannan, P. J., Haines, J., & Story, M. (2006). Does body satisfaction matter? Five-year longitudinal associations between body satisfaction and health behaviors in adolescent females and males. Journal of Adolescent Health, 39, 244–251. doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2005.12.001CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Neumark-Sztainer, D. R., Wall, M. M., Haines, J. I., Story, M. T., Sherwood, N. E., & van den Berg, P. A. (2007). Shared risk and protective factors for overweight and disordered eating in adolescents. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 33, 359–369. doi:10.1016/j.amepre.2007.07.031CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nylund, K. L., Asparoutiov, T., & Muthen, B. O. (2007). Deciding on the number of classes in latent class analysis and growth mixture modeling: A Monte Carlo simulation study. Structural Equation Modeling-a Multidisciplinary Journal, 14, 535–569. doi:10.1080/10705510701575396CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Oldehinkel, A. J., Verhulst, F. C., & Ormel, J. (2011). Mental health problems during puberty: Tanner stage-related differences in specific symptoms. The TRAILS study. Journal of Adolescence, 34, 73–85. doi:10.1016/j.adolescence.2010.01.010CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Paxton, S. J., Eisenberg, M. E., & Neumark-Sztainer, D. (2006). Prospective predictors of body dissatisfaction in adolescent girls and boys: A five-year longitudinal study. Developmental Psychology, 42, 888–899. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.42.5.888CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rodgers, R. F., McLean, S. A., Marques, M., Dunstan, C. J., & Paxton, S. J. (2016). Trajectories of body dissatisfaction and dietary restriction in early adolescent girls: A latent class growth analysis. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 45, 1664–1677. doi:10.1007/s10964-015-0356-3CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rodgers, R. F., Paxton, S. J., & McLean, S. A. (2014). A biopsychosocial model of body image concerns and disordered eating in early adolescent girls. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 43, 814–823. doi:10.1007/s10964-013-0013-7CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rodriguez-Cano, T., Beato-Fernandez, L., & Llario, A. B. (2006). Body dissatisfaction as a predictor of self-reported suicide attempts in adolescents: A Spanish community prospective study. Journal of Adolescent Health, 38, 684–688. doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2005.08.003CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rosenberg, M. (1965). Society and the adolescent self-image. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.10.1515/9781400876136CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sonuga-Barke, E. J. (2019). “It's a family affair’–the social drivers of child and adolescent resilience. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 60, 1–3. doi:10.1111/jcpp.13011CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Stice, E., & Agras, W. S. (1998). Predicting onset and cessation of bulimic behaviors during adolescence: A longitudinal grouping analysis. Behavior Therapy, 29, 257–276.10.1016/S0005-7894(98)80006-3CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stice, E., & Bearman, S. K. (2001). Body-image and eating disturbances prospectively predict increases in depressive symptoms in adolescent girls: A growth curve analysis. Developmental Psychology, 37, 597–607. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.37.5.597CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Stice, E., & Whitenton, K. (2002). Risk factors for body dissatisfaction in adolescent girls: A longitudinal investigation. Developmental Psychology, 38, 669–678. doi:10.1037//0012-1649.38.5.669CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Thompson, J. K., Heinberg, L. J., Altabe, M., & Tantleff-Dunn, S. (1999). Exacting beauty: Theory, assessment, and treatment of body image disturbance. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.10.1037/10312-000CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thompson, J. K., van den Berg, P., Roehrig, M., Guarda, A. S., & Heinberg, L. J. (2004). The sociocultural attitudes towards appearance scale-3 (SATAQ-3): Development and validation. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 35, 293–304. doi:10.1002/eat.10257CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tiggemann, M. (2011). Sociocultural perspectives on human appearance and body image. In Cash, T. F. & Smolak, L. (Eds.), Body image: A handbook of science, practice, and prevention (2nd ed, pp. 12–19). New York, NY: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
van Strien, T., Frijters, J. E. R., Bergers, G. P. A., & Defares, P. B. (1986). The Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire (DEBQ) for assessment of restrained, emotional, and external eating behavior. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 5, 295–315. doi:10.1002/1098-108x(198602)5:2<295::Aid-eat2260050209>3.0.Co;2-t3.0.CO;2-T>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vaske, J. J., Beaman, J., & Sponarski, C. C. (2017). Rethinking internal consistency in Cronbach's Alpha. Leisure Sciences, 39, 163–173. doi:10.1080/01490400.2016.1127189CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wang, S. B., Haynos, A. F., Wall, M. M., Chen, C., Eisenberg, M. E., & Newmark-Sztainer, D. (2019). Fifteen-year prevalence, trajectories, and predictors of body dissatisfaction from adolescence to middle adulthood. Clinical Psychological Science, 7, 1403–1415. doi:10.1177/2167702619859331CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wertheim, E. H., & Paxton, S. J. (2011). Body image development in adolescent girls. In Cash, T. F. & Smolak, L. (Eds.), Body image: A handbook of science, practice, and prevention (2nd ed, pp. 76–84). New York, NY: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Yager, Z., Diedrichs, P. C., Ricciardelli, L. A., & Halliwell, E. (2013). What works in secondary schools? A systematic review of classroom-based body image programs. Body Image, 10, 271–281. doi:10.1016/j.bodyim.2013.04.001CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Supplementary material: File

Lacroix et al. supplementary material

Table S1

Download Lacroix et al. supplementary material(File)
File 16.1 KB