The appearance culture between friends and adolescent appearance-based rejection sensitivity

Appearance-based rejection sensitivity (appearance-RS) is the tendency to anxiously expect, readily perceive, and overreact to signs of rejection based on one's appearance, and is associated with a number of psychological and social problems (Park, 2007). This study of 380 adolescents (Mage = 13.84) examined a model linking the appearance culture between friends with appearance-RS in adolescent boys and girls, via internalisation of appearance ideals, social comparison, and body dissatisfaction. Gender differences were also tested. Consistent with expectations, appearance-focused characteristics of the friendship context were associated with heightened appearance-RS via internalization of appearance ideals, social comparison, and body dissatisfaction. The appearance-focused friend characteristics that were associated with appearance-RS included exposure to friends' appearance conversations, appearance teasing that caused distress, and perceived pressure to be attractive. Notably, associations rarely differed for boys and girls, with one exception: the association between BMI and body dissatisfaction was stronger in girls than in boys.