TY - JOUR
T1 - Emerging adults' perceptions of messages about physical appearance
AU - Gillen, Meghan M.
AU - Lefkowitz, Eva S.
N1 - Funding Information:
Earlier versions of this paper were presented at the 2005 and 2007 Biennial Meetings of the Society for Research in Child Development, Atlanta, GA (2005), and Boston, MA (2007). This research was supported by grant R01 HD 41720 from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development to Eva S. Lefkowitz, and the Joachim Wohlwill Endowment in Human Development and Family Studies to Meghan M. Gillen.
PY - 2009/6
Y1 - 2009/6
N2 - Emerging adults receive messages about physical appearance from a range of sources, but few studies have examined the content of these messages. Undergraduates (N = 154) who identified as African American, Latino American, and European American answered 4 open-ended questions about messages they perceived about physical appearance from family, peers, school, and media. Raters coded responses for content and affect. The most common messages perceived were the importance/non-importance of appearance, positive comments about appearance, and the link between attractiveness and success. The perception of these messages frequently differed by gender and source, but rarely by ethnicity. Women perceived more frequent and more negative messages than did men. Individuals perceived the media as transmitting more negative messages and the family more healthful and positive ones.
AB - Emerging adults receive messages about physical appearance from a range of sources, but few studies have examined the content of these messages. Undergraduates (N = 154) who identified as African American, Latino American, and European American answered 4 open-ended questions about messages they perceived about physical appearance from family, peers, school, and media. Raters coded responses for content and affect. The most common messages perceived were the importance/non-importance of appearance, positive comments about appearance, and the link between attractiveness and success. The perception of these messages frequently differed by gender and source, but rarely by ethnicity. Women perceived more frequent and more negative messages than did men. Individuals perceived the media as transmitting more negative messages and the family more healthful and positive ones.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.bodyim.2009.02.002
DO - 10.1016/j.bodyim.2009.02.002
M3 - Article
C2 - 19410527
AN - SCOPUS:67349185548
SN - 1740-1445
VL - 6
SP - 178
EP - 185
JO - Body Image
JF - Body Image
IS - 3
ER -