A prospective study on the impact of peer and parental pressure on body dissatisfaction in adolescent girls and boys

The current study explores the role of appearance-related social pressure regarding changes in body image in adolescent girls (n = 236) and boys (n = 193) over a 1-year-period. High school students aged 11–16 completed measures of body dissatisfaction (i.e., weight and muscle concerns) and appearance-related social pressure from peers and parents. Three aspects proved to be particularly crucial: Parental encouragement to control weight and shape was a strong predictor of weight concerns in boys and girls alike; influences of friends affected gender-specific body image concerns by leading to weight concerns in girls and muscle concerns in boys; finally appearance-based exclusion was a predictor of weight concerns in boys. The findings provide longitudinal evidence for the crucial impact of appearance-related social pressure and suggest that a detailed assessment of different types of social impacts can identify concrete targets for effective prevention and therapy for weight-related problems among adolescents.

Research highlights
► Longitudinal impact of peer and parental pressure on body image in girls and boys.
► Gender-specific assessment of body image.
► Modeling by friends leads to weight concerns in girls and muscle concerns in boys.
► Parental encouragement is a strong predictor of weight concern in boys and girls.
► Appearance-based exclusion predicts weight concern in boys.