One purpose of a scholarly paper is to investigate a current problem in a field. Scholars typically do this by surveying recent research conducted on the problem. What issues do you see in the human services field—on the job, or through articles you have read? What is one problem you would like to solve as an advanced human services professional practitioner? That problem could be related to gaps in services, legislation, diverse populations in need, or an ongoing societal challenge such as addiction or trauma.

Now that you have begun developing your library search, APA, and scholarly writing skills, it is time to bring them all together into a scholarly paper.

To Prepare

• Identify a human services problem based on your professional experience and the issues you have explored thus far in your program.
• Conduct a new search of the Walden Library databases for peer-reviewed, scholarly articles on that problem.
• Download the APA Course Paper Template, linked in the Learning Resources, and type directly into it for this assignment.

Develop a 3- to 4-page, APA-style paper that examines a human services–related problem and how to address it. You must include evidence from at least three peer-reviewed empirical studies that you accessed in the library.

Be sure to:

• Identify and describe the problem.
• Explain how the empirical studies apply to or are relevant to the problem.
• Explain how the studies address or provide solutions to the problem.   

This scholarly paper should demonstrate all of the skills you have built throughout this course, including library literacy, critical thinking, critical reading, and scholarly writing.

Journal of Youth and Adolescence (2019) 48:527–536
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-018-0956-9

EMPIRICAL RESEARCH

Social Media and Body Dissatisfaction: Investigating the Attenuating
Role of Positive Parent–Adolescent Relationships

Dian A. de Vries1 ● Helen G. M. Vossen2 ● Paulien van der Kolk – van der Boom

3

Received: 24 July 2018 / Accepted: 31 October 2018 / Published online: 26 November 2018
© The Author(s) 2018

Abstract
Previous research has shown that adolescents´ social media use predicts increased body dissatisfaction. However, little is
known about social environmental factors that may attenuate this relationship. This study examines one such potential
moderating social environmental factor: positive parent–adolescent relationships. A school-based survey was conducted
among 440 adolescents aged 12 to 19 (M = 14.9, SD = 1.8, 47% female). On average, social media use was positively
associated with body dissatisfaction, but this relationship was weaker among adolescents who reported a more positive
mother–adolescent relationship. Positive father–adolescent relationship did not moderate the association between social
media use and body dissatisfaction. These findings may indicate that adolescents’ social environment, notably the
relationship they have with their mothers, can protect them against the detrimental effects of social media use on body
dissatisfaction. However, longitudinal and experimental studies are needed to examine the direction of effects and test the
validity of this interpretation.

Keywords Social networking sites ● Adolescence ● Body image ● Socio-cultural influences ● Parenting ● Relationships

Introducti

on

Body dissatisfaction, a negative attitude towards the own
physical appearance, is one aspect of the broader concept of
body image (i.e., the views that individuals have of their
physical appearance) (Heider et al. 2018). Body dis-
satisfaction increases during adolescence and particularly
adolescent girls report high levels of body dissatisfaction
(Bucchianeri et al. 2013). As body dissatisfaction is detri-
mental to wellbeing (Stice and Bearman 2001), it is
important to identify its correlates. One activity shown to
contribute to body dissatisfaction is social media use
(Holland and Tiggemann 2016). However, not all adoles-
cents are susceptible to the effects of social media on body

dissatisfaction to the same extent. Research has shown that
individual factors, such as the tendency to engage in social
comparison (Kleemans et al. 2018) and level of media lit-
eracy (McLean et al. 2016), moderate social media effects
on body dissatisfaction. However, the potential attenuating
role of social environmental factors, such as positive par-
ent–adolescent relationships, has not received much atten-
tion in research on social media and body image. The
current study examines if positive parent–adolescent rela-
tionships moderate the association between social media use
and body dissatisfaction.

A Sociocultural Approach to Body Dissatisfaction

A useful framework to study influences on body dis-
satisfaction is the sociocultural model (Thompson et al.
1999). According to the sociocultural model, adolescents
receive messages about what their bodies should look like
from different sources, such as their parents, peers, and the
media (Thompson et al. 1999). These messages can, for
example, include that it is important to be thin or that you
should be muscular. If adolescents internalize these
appearance ideals as the standards for their own body, they
will compare their body against these ideals (Thompson
et al. 1999). When their appearance does not match the

* Dian A. de Vries
d.a.devries@uu.nl

1 Department of Youth and Family, Utrecht University,
Heidelberglaan 1, 3584 CS Utrecht, The Netherlands

2 Department of Child and Adolescent Studies, Utrecht University,
Heidelberglaan 1, 3584 CS Utrecht, The Netherlands

3 Danita Supervised Living, Timon Youth Care, Adriaan Kluitstraat
38, 3052 RD Rotterdam, The Netherlands

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http://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.1007/s10964-018-0956-9&domain=pdf

http://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.1007/s10964-018-0956-9&domain=pdf

http://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.1007/s10964-018-0956-9&domain=pdf

mailto:d.a.devries@uu.nl

internalized ideals this will result in body dissatisfaction
(Thompson et al. 1999). The validity of the sociocultural
model is underscored by a large number of studies. For
example, research shows that the pressure to lose weight or
gain muscle that adolescents experience from parents, peers,
and the media is positively related to their body dis-
satisfaction (Xu et al. 2010). Furthermore, internalization of
appearance ideals and comparison with these ideals was
shown to mediate the effects of sociocultural messages
about appearance on body dissatisfaction (Shroff and
Thompson 2006).

Social Media and Body Dissatisfaction

Although the sociocultural model originally focused on
face-to-face communication and traditional media (e.g.,
magazines and TV) (Thompson et al. 1999), messages
about appearance ideals are now also communicated
through social media. On social media, adolescents post
photographs of themselves and view photos of others
(Espinoza and Juvonen 2011). Physical appearance plays an
important role in these activities (Siibak 2009). Adolescents
report that they experience pressure to “look perfect” on
social media and carefully select and edit their posts to do
so (Chua and Chang 2016). Moreover, adolescent boys and
girls who spend more time on social media receive more
feedback about their appearance (de Vries et al. 2016). In
addition to receiving messages about their own bodies on
social media, adolescents see carefully selected and edited
pictures of their social media connections (i.e., friends,
friends of friends, and celebrities) and the comments they
receive. Thus, social media use exposes adolescents to
appearance-related messages both in the form of comments
about their own body and through viewing what their social
media connections find attractive about themselves and
others.

In line with the sociocultural model, several studies show
that adolescents internalize the appearance ideals conveyed
to them through social media and compare themselves with
these ideals. For example, in a cross-sectional study ado-
lescents girls who used social media more frequently
reported greater internalization of beauty ideals (Vanden-
bosch and Eggermont 2012). In addition, a longitudinal
survey study showed that viewing others’ social media
posts was related to social comparison concurrently among
adolescent boys and girls and over time among adolescent
boys (Rousseau et al. 2017).

As also predicted by the sociocultural model, research
shows that the internalization of and comparison with the
appearance ideals conveyed through social media results in
body dissatisfaction. For instance, social media use was
positively related to body dissatisfaction through the

internalization of thin ideals and appearance comparison in
a cross-sectional survey among adolescent girls (Tiggemann
and Miller 2010). Another study found that viewing others’
social media posts was indirectly related to increased body
dissatisfaction through social comparison concurrently
among adolescent girls and concurrently and longitudinally
among adolescent boys (Rousseau et al. 2017). Moreover,
an experimental study showed that viewing edited photos of
other girls on social media increased body dissatisfaction
among adolescent girls, especially those who said they often
compared themselves to others (Kleemans et al. 2018).
Although most research has focused on girls because girls
report higher levels of body dissatisfaction on average,
more frequent social media use predicts increased body
dissatisfaction among boys and girls to the same extent (de
Vries et al. 2016). Overall, the sociocultural model
(Thompson et al. 1999) and cross-sectional (Tiggemann and
Miller 2010), longitudinal (Rousseau et al. 2017), and
experimental (Kleemans et al. 2018) studies thus suggest
that social media use is positively related to adolescent
boys’ and girls’ body dissatisfaction.

Parent–Adolescent Relationships and Body
Dissatisfaction

Adolescents’ body dissatisfaction is also subject to parental
influences (Bearman et al. 2006). Parents not only convey
messages about appearance ideals to their children, but the
parent–adolescent relationship itself also plays a role in the
development of adolescents’ body dissatisfaction (Bearman
et al. 2006). Researchers argue that when individuals feel
secure in their relationships they are less likely to think that
they have to conform to appearance ideals in order to gain
others’ acceptance (Holsen et al. 2012). In line with this
idea, research has shown that adolescents who experience
better parent–adolescent relationships are less dissatisfied
with their bodies cross-sectionally (Holsen et al. 2012) and
become less dissatisfied with their bodies over time (Bear-
man et al. 2006). Gender has not been shown to moderate
these associations: parent–adolescent relationships con-
tributed to the body dissatisfaction of boys and girls to the
same extent (Bearman et al. 2006).

Although gender did not moderate the effects of parent–
adolescent relationships on body dissatisfaction when par-
ent–adolescent relationships was measured as a composite
of both parents combined (Bearman et al. 2006), there is an
indication that relationships between adolescents and their
mothers and between adolescents and their fathers may
affect daughters and sons differently. For example, experi-
encing fewer difficulties in talking with their fathers was
related to lower body weight dissatisfaction both among
male and female adolescents (Al Sabbah et al. 2009).

528 Journal of Youth and Adolescence (2019) 48:527–536

However, difficulties in talking with their mother was only
associated with body weight dissatisfaction among girls (Al
Sabbah et al. 2009). In another study, maternal intimacy and
knowledge were negatively associated and negative mater-
nal conflict was positively associated with increases in
weight concern only among adolescent girls (May et al.
2006). However, with respect to father–adolescent rela-
tionships, only conflict was positively related to increases in
weight concern, both among girls and boys (May et al.
2006). So, although the exact differences are unclear, pre-
vious research suggests that mother–adolescent relation-
ships and father–adolescent relationships are differentially
associated with adolescents’ body dissatisfaction and this
association also depends on the adolescent’s gender.

Aside from the promotive influence of positive parent–
adolescent relationships on body image, positive parent–
adolescent relationships may also have a protective influ-
ence. According to ecological perspectives, social envir-
onmental factors (i.e., parents, peers, the community, and
the media) not only have unique effects but also shape each
other’s influence on developing youth (Jordan 2004). In line
with this view, media can have different effects on ado-
lescents depending on their family context (Fikkers et al.
2013). These differential effects of media are attributed to
differential processing of media (Fikkers et al. 2016). Spe-
cifically to the current topic, positive parent–adolescent
relationships may protect adolescents against deleterious
sociocultural influences on body dissatisfaction by influen-
cing how they process messages about appearance (Stein
and Corte 2003).

Researchers argue that individuals who have good bonds
with their parents while they are growing up have a more
stable sense of self, which makes their self-worth less
dependent on social validation and comparison with others
(Stein and Corte 2003). As a result, individuals who
experience good relationships with their parents are less
likely to internalize and compare themselves with appear-
ance ideals and therefore protected against unwanted
sociocultural influences on body dissatisfaction (Cheng and
Mallinckrodt 2009). If positive parent–adolescent relation-
ships also result in less internalization of and comparison
with the appearance ideals encountered on social media,
positive parent–adolescent relationships should attenuate
the association between social media use and body
dissatisfaction.

The Current Study

The current cross-sectional survey study examines the
associations between social media use, positive parent–

adolescent relationships, and body dissatisfaction among
adolescents. According to the sociocultural model
(Thompson et al. 1999) and previous research (Holland and
Tiggemann 2016), adolescents internalize the appearance
ideals that are conveyed on social media and compare
themselves to these ideals, which results in body dis-
satisfaction. Therefore, it is hypothesized that adolescents
who use social media more frequently will be more dis-
satisfied with their bodies than adolescents who use social
media less frequently (Hypothesis 1).

Previous research also indicates that individuals who
have more positive relationships with their parents are less
likely to internalize the appearance ideals that they
encounter and are therefore less dissatisfied with their
bodies (Cheng and Mallinckrodt 2009). In line with pre-
vious research (Bearman et al. 2006), it is thus hypothesized
that adolescents who have more positive relationships with
their mothers and fathers will be less dissatisfied with their
bodies (Hypothesis 2). Furthermore, because adolescents
who have more positive relationships with their parents
process messages about physical appearance in a less
negative way (Cheng and Mallinckrodt 2009), they are
expected to be less susceptible to the appearance messages
on social media. Therefore, it is hypothesized that the
positive association between social media use and body
dissatisfaction will be attenuated among adolescents who
have more positive relationships with their mothers and
fathers (Hypothesis 3).

Most research on the relationship between social media
use and body dissatisfaction has exclusively focused on
females (Holland and Tiggemann 2016). However, in
research that included both boys and girls, social media use
was positively related to body dissatisfaction to the same
extent among both genders (de Vries et al. 2016). Similarly,
parent–adolescent relationships were correlated with body
dissatisfaction among both boys and girls (Bearman et al.
2006). However, when examined separately, mother–ado-
lescent and father–adolescent relationships may relate to
body dissatisfaction of adolescent sons and daughters in
different ways (Al Sabbah et al. 2009). This study therefore
includes both boys and girls, examines positive mother–
adolescent and positive father–adolescent relationships
separately, and investigates if gender moderates the asso-
ciations between body dissatisfaction and a) social media
use, b) positive mother–adolescent relationship and
positive-father relationship, and c) the interaction between
social media use and positive mother–adolescent relation-
ship and positive father–adolescent relationship. Because
girls and older adolescents report more body dissatisfaction
on average (Bucchianeri et al. 2013), gender and age will be
controlled for in all analyses.

Journal of Youth and Adolescence (2019) 48:527–536 529

Methods

Participants and Procedure

The sample was a convenience sample recruited by eight
graduate students in 2016. These students recruited ado-
lescents through high schools in the Netherlands. A total of
440 adolescents, aged 12 to 19 years, participated in the
study. Of these 440 participants, six did not complete the
measure of body dissatisfaction, eight did not report on their
social media use, eight did not report on their relationship
with their mother, twelve did not report on their relationship
with their father, three did not report their gender, and six
did not report their age. The mean age of the sample was
14.86 years (SD = 1.79). Of the participants who reported
their age, 12.0% was twelve (N = 52), 18.2% was thirteen
(N = 79), 11.8% was fourteen (N = 51), 13.4% was fifteen
(N = 58), 22.6% was sixteen (N = 98), 18.7% was seven-
teen (N = 81), 3.2% was eighteen (N = 14), and 0.2% was
19 (N = 1). Gender distribution of the sample was about
equal with 232 boys (53.1%) and 205 girls. The distribution
of the level of education of the participants was: 50.9%
higher level of education, 33.9% middle level of education,
and 15.1% lower level of education. Concerning ethnicity,
87.6% of the mothers and 87.2% of the fathers of the
adolescents in this sample were born in the Netherlands.
This means that the majority of adolescents did not have,
what in the Netherlands is referred to as a “migration
background.” In the general Dutch population 19.6% of
fourteen-year-olds has a migration background (Statline
2018). Therefore, the sample is somewhat less ethnically
diverse than the average Dutch population of adolescents.

Before the adolescents participated in the study, their
parents were informed about the purpose and procedure of
the study and given the opportunity to retract participation
of their child. Adolescents were also informed about the
purpose and procedure of the study and provided active
informed consent. After consent was provided, adolescents
completed a paper-pencil questionnaire that took approxi-
mately 30 min to fill out.

Measures

Body dissatisfaction

The body dissatisfaction subscale of the Body Attitude Test
(BAT; Probst et al. 1995) was used to measure body dis-
satisfaction. This subscale consists of four items with a
seven-point Likert scale ranging from completely disagree
(1) to completely agree (7). An example item is: “When I
compare my body to that of my peers, I am dissatisfied with
my body.” The reliability of this subscale was good

(α = .87). A mean score was calculated for which higher
scores indicted greater body dissatisfaction (M = 2.81, SD
= 1.43).

Social media use

An adapted version of the Multidimensional Scale of
Facebook Use (MSFU; Frison and Eggermont 2016) was
used to measure social media use. The MSFU asks about
three types of Facebook use: passive Facebook use (e.g.,
“How often do you visit the profile of a Facebook friend?”),
active private Facebook use (e.g., “How often do you send a
private message to a Facebook friend?”) and active public
Facebook use (e.g., “How often do you post a message on
your Facebook timeline?”) Items were rephrased so they
would not specifically refer to Facebook but to social net-
work sites in general (e.g., also Instagram). For example,
the item “How often do you post a photo on your own
Facebook timeline” was rephrased to “How often do you
post a photo on social network sites.” Originally the MSFU
has seven response options: (1) never, (2) less than once a
month, (3) one to three times a month, (4) once per week,
(5) multiple times a week, (6) daily, and (7) multiple times a
day. Because recent statistics show that adolescents often
use social media constantly throughout the day (Wennekers
et al. 2016) an additional category: (8) all day long was
included. A total social media score was calculated by
averaging all items. A higher score indicated more frequent
social media use (M = 3.92, SD = 1.41, α = 0.88).

Positive parent–adolescent relationships

The Network of Relationships Questionnaire – Relationship
Qualities Version (NRI-RQV; Buhrmester and Furman
2008), was used to measure positive parent–adolescent
relationships. This questionnaire consists of ten subscales:
five measuring positive qualities of the parent–adolescent
relationship (i.e., companionship, intimate disclosure,
emotional support, approval, and satisfaction) and five
measuring negative qualities of the parent–adolescent rela-
tionship (i.e., conflict/quarreling, criticism, pressure, dom-
inance, and exclusion). This study only includes the positive
subscales. Participants indicated how often the positive
qualities occurred on a five-point scale ranging from never
or hardly at all (1) to always or extremely much (5). All
items were asked for mother and father separately. A mean
score was calculated to represent a positive father–adoles-
cent relationship measure (M = 3.40, SD = 0.64, α = 0.91)
and a positive mother–adolescent relationship measure (M
= 3.72, SD = 0.63, α = 0. 92). Higher scores on these
composites indicated more positive parent–adolescent
relationships.

530 Journal of Youth and Adolescence (2019) 48:527–536

Statistical Analyses

First, bivariate correlations were calculated to explore the
relation between all model variables. However, as these
correlations do not control for confounding influences,
regression analyses were used to test the hypotheses. A
three stage hierarchical multiple regression analysis was
conducted with body dissatisfaction as the dependent vari-
able. Model 1 included social media use as well as the
covariates age and gender. In Model 2 positive father–
adolescent relationship and positive mother–adolescent
relationship were added and in Model 3 the interactions
between social media use and positive father–adolescent
relationship and positive mother–adolescent relationship
were added. Predictors were centered prior to computing
interaction terms (Cohen et al. 2003). Bootstrap confidence
intervals were calculated to deal with the slightly skewed
distribution of body dissatisfaction (Desharnais et al. 2015).

Results

Descriptive Statistics

Table 1 demonstrates the bivariate correlations between all
model variables.

Social Media Use as a Predictor of Body
Dissatisfaction

Model 1, R2 = 0.244, tested the hypothesis that social media
use was positively related to body dissatisfaction (H1). The
results demonstrate a significant positive relation between
social media use and body dissatisfaction, β = 0.187, B =
0.189, SE = 0.045, p < 0.001 (Table 2, Model 1). This indicates that adolescents who report more frequent social media use also report higher levels of body dissatisfaction. Therefore, the first hypothesis is supported.

Table 1 Bivariate correlations between all model variables

1 2 3 4 5

1. Body dissatisfaction 1

2. Social media use .026** 1

3. Positive father–
adolescent relationship

−0.11* 0.04 1

4. Positive mother–
adolescent relationship

−0.07 0.08 0.32** 1

5. Gender (0 = boys, 1
= girls)

0.39** 0.28** 0.05 0.23** 1

6. Age 0.20** −0.06 −16** −0.14** −0.02

Note.

*p < 0.05, ** p < 0.001 Ta b le

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Journal of Youth and Adolescence (2019) 48:527–536 531

Positive Parent–Adolescent Relationships as
Predictors of Body Dissatisfaction

In Model 2, R2 = 0.268, positive father–adolescent rela-
tionship and positive mother–adolescent relationship were
added as predictors in order to test whether positive parent–
adolescent relationships were associated with lower levels
of body dissatisfaction (H2). The results show that adoles-
cents who reported a more positive mother–adolescent
relationship experienced lower levels of body dissatisfac-
tion, β = −0.132, B = −0.297, SE = 0.103, p = 0.004
(Table 2, Model 2). Positive father–adolescent relationship
was unrelated to body dissatisfaction, β = −0.059, B =
−0.131, SE = 0.100, p = 0.192. Thus, the second hypoth-
esis was partially supported.

Interaction Between Social Media Use and Positive
Parent–Adolescent Relationships

In Model 3, R2 = 0.281, two interaction terms were inclu-
ded to test whether the relation between social media use
and body dissatisfaction was attenuated by positive parent–
adolescent relationships (H3). The results (Table 2, Model
3) demonstrate that only the interaction between social
media use and positive mother–adolescent relationship was
significant, β = −0.122, B = −0.200, SE = 0.076, p =
0.009. Figure 1 illustrates that as the level of positive
mother–adolescent relationship increases, the relation
between social media use and body dissatisfaction becomes
weaker. The Johnson-Neyman technique indicated that the
significant relation between social media use and body
dissatisfaction disappeared when the positive mother–

adolescents relationship score was 4.08 or higher. Since
only the interaction with positive mother–adolescent rela-
tionship was significant, H3 was partially supported.

Gender Differences

To explore whether the associations of interest were dif-
ferent for boys and girls, two-way interactions between
gender and positive father–adolescent and mother–adoles-
cent relationships were added in Model 2 and three-way
interactions between gender, social media use, and both
positive parent–adolescent relationships were added in
Model 3. No significant two-way or three-way interactions
with gender appeared. Social media use and positive father–
adolescent and mother–adolescent relationships were thus
related to body dissatisfaction in similar ways among boys
and girls. Likewise, the moderating role of positive father–
adolescent and mother–adolescent relationships in the
association between social media use and body dis-
satisfaction is equal for both genders.

Discussion

Body dissatisfaction poses a significant threat to adoles-
cents’ wellbeing (Stice and Bearman 2001). In order to
combat body dissatisfaction, it is important to know what
factors are associated with adolescents’ body dissatisfac-
tion. Previous research has shown that adolescents who use
social media more frequently report increased body dis-
satisfaction (Holland and Tiggemann 2016). However, the
relationship between social media use and body dis-
satisfaction is stronger among some adolescents than others
(Kleemans et al. 2018). To date, research on individual
susceptibility to social media effects on body dissatisfaction
has focused on individual traits, leaving the moderating role
of social environmental factors under examined. The current
study therefore investigated the moderating role of a social
environmental factor: positive parent–adolescent relation-
ships. More specifically, the current study tested if positive
mother–adolescent and father–adolescent relationships
attenuate the association between adolescent boys’ and
girls’ social media use and their body dissatisfaction.

As hypothesized based on previous research (Holland
and Tiggemann 2016) and the sociocultural model
(Thompson et al. 1999), adolescents who used social media
more frequently were more dissatisfied with their bodies in
the current study. Similar to earlier studies (de Vries et al.
2016), gender did not moderate this relationship. It was also
expected, based on previous studies (Bearman et al. 2006),
that adolescents who report more positive relationships with
their parents would report less body dissatisfaction. In
addition, because adolescents who have more positive

2

2.2

2.4

2.6

2.8

3

3.2

3.4

3.6

3.8

2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 5 5.5

Bo
dy

d
is

sa
�s

fa
c�

on
Social media use

low posi�ve mother-adolescent rela�onship
(β = .30***)

mean posi�ve mother-adolescent
rela�onship (β = .18***)

high posi�ve mother-adolescent rela�onship
(β = .06)

Fig. 1 Simple slopes for the relation between social media use and
body dissatisfaction calculated at one SD below the mean (low-posi-
tive mother–adolescent relationship), the mean (average-positive
mother–adolescent relationship), and one SD above the mean (high-
positive mother–adolescent relationship) of positive mother–adoles-
cent relationship. Note. Low, mean, and high positive mother–ado-
lescent relationship represent values of respectively 3.08, 3.72, and
4.35. * p < 0.05, ** p < .01, *** p < .001

532 Journal of Youth and Adolescence (2019) 48:527–536

relationships are less susceptible to sociocultural influences
on their body image (Cheng and Mallinckrodt 2009), it was
hypothesized that the association between social media use
and body dissatisfaction would be weakened by positive
parent–adolescent relationships. However, the hypotheses
concerning parent–adolescent relationships were only sup-
ported for mother–adolescent relationship and not for
father–adolescent relationship. Among adolescents who
reported more positive relationships with their mothers, the
association between social media use and body dis-
satisfaction was weaker and these adolescents also reported
lower body dissatisfaction overall. However, father–ado-
lescent relationship was not connected to body dissatisfac-
tion directly and did not moderate the association between
social media use and body dissatisfaction. Gender did not
moderate any of the relationships that were examined.

The findings of this study add to the body of research
showing somewhat contrasting outcomes regarding the
distinctive roles of mother–adolescent and father–adoles-
cent relationships in adolescents’ body dissatisfaction and
adolescent gender differences herein. In two previous stu-
dies, both positive aspects, namely intimacy and knowledge
(May et al. 2006), and negative aspects, namely conflict
(May et al. 2006) and communication difficulties (Al Sab-
bah et al. 2009), of the mother–adolescent relationship were
only related to girls’ but not boys’ weight concern (May
et al. 2006) and weight dissatisfaction (Al Sabbah et al.
2009). In the current study, positive mother–adolescent
relationship was negatively related to body dissatisfaction
among both boys and girls. So in contrast with previous
research, the current study suggests that mother–adolescent
relationships are not only related to the body image of
daughters but also of sons.

In the present study, positive father–adolescent rela-
tionship was not related to girls’ or boys’ body dis-
satisfaction. At first glance this contradicts earlier research
in which difficulties in communication with father were
positively related to body weight dissatisfaction among both
boys and girls (Al Sabbah et al. 2009) and conflict with
father was associated with increased weight concern among
both boys and girls (May et al. 2006). However, the present
finding is in line with research that showed no relationship
between father–adolescent knowledge and intimacy and
girls’ and boys’ weight concern (May et al. 2006). Toge-
ther, these findings tentatively suggest that, on average,
positive aspects of the father–adolescent relationship (e.g.,
intimacy, knowledge) do not play a role in adolescent body
image, but negative aspects of father–adolescent relation-
ships might be related to the body image of both genders.
However, the current study did not take negative aspects of
parent–adolescent relationships into account as it focused
specifically on potential beneficial relationships. Also, it is
difficult to make sound comparisons between these studies

as both the aspects of parent–adolescent relationships and of
body image that were examined differ between the studies.
Therefore, further research is needed to fully understand the
role different positive and negative aspects of mother–
adolescent and father–adolescent relationships play in
adolescent boys’ and girls’ body dissatisfaction and other
aspects of body image.

An explanation for the discrepancies in the findings for
fathers and mothers in the current study could be related to
cultural factors. In the country where this study was con-
ducted, mothers are generally more involved in the lives of
their sons and daughters than fathers are. Mothers tend to
work less and spend more time with their children than
fathers do in the Netherlands. Furthermore, if their parents
are divorced, children are more likely to live with their
mothers. Potentially as a result, mothers may influence the
body dissatisfaction of their sons and daughters more than
fathers do. This may be different in other cultures, and
could explain the different findings across studies in dif-
ferent countries (Al Sabbah et al. 2009).

Theoretical and Practical Implications

The current study advances knowledge about how different
social environmental factors interact in their relationships
with body dissatisfaction and increases the understanding of
how and why media affect different individuals in dissimilar
ways. The finding that positive mother–adolescent rela-
tionship moderated the association between social media
use and body dissatisfaction is in line with the differential
susceptibility approach to media effects (Valkenburg and
Peter 2013). As also shown in previous research, the effects
of social media differ from person to person and depend on
how individuals process their social media experiences (de
Vries et al. 2018). Moreover, the results extend knowledge
about individual susceptibility to social media effects on
body image by showing that not only individual traits but
also social environmental factors, such as mother–adoles-
cent relationship, can moderate the associations between
social media use and body dissatisfaction. This is in line
with the ecological approach to youth development (Bron-
fenbrenner and Morris 1998) and the role of media herein
(Jordan 2004) and converges with findings in other areas of
media effects research (Fikkers et al. 2013).

The current findings support the idea that positive rela-
tionships can protect adolescents against the detrimental
effects of sociocultural messages about appearance on their
body image (Cheng and Mallinckrodt 2009). If longitudinal
and experimental research confirm that positive social
relationships can indeed have such protective effects, efforts
to improve adolescents’ relationships may have a desirable
impact on their body dissatisfaction. Randomized control
trials have shown that family-based approaches are effective

Journal of Youth and Adolescence (2019) 48:527–536 533

in the treatment of body image related problems (Lock et al.
2010). Based on the current findings, interventions aimed at
the family environment, particularly adolescents’ relation-
ships with their mothers, may also have preventive effects
by reducing the risk that appearance messages on social
media increase adolescents’ body dissatisfaction. However,
further research is needed before such recommendations can
be made confidently.

Limitations and Suggestions for Future Research

The current study is subject to some limitations that future
research can improve on. First, the cross-sectional nature of
the current study prevents drawing any conclusions about
the direction of the effects. However, longitudinal research
has indicated that social media use predicts body dis-
satisfaction over time and not vice-versa (de Vries et al.
2016). Furthermore, experimental research has shown cau-
sal effects of social media activities on adolescents’ body
dissatisfaction (Kleemans et al. 2018). Although previous
research supports the interpretation that it is the effect of
social media on body dissatisfaction that is attenuated
among adolescents with more positive mother–adolescent
relationships, further experimental and prospective studies
are needed to preclude other explanations.

Similar to the previous point, the current design cannot
rule out alternative explanations and confounding factors
regarding the relationships that were found. For example,
BMI, an important predictor of body dissatisfaction (Holsen
et al. 2012), was not measured in this study. Furthermore,
other potential individual and social factors, such as level of
puberty, peer and sibling influences, and mass media mes-
sages (Shroff and Thompson 2006), were not taken into
account. Considering the small effect sizes found in the
current study, many other factors likely also explain the
differences in body dissatisfaction between adolescents.
Future research should not only control for these influences
but also investigate how different social and individual
factors influence adolescents’ body dissatisfaction sepa-
rately and in interaction with each other.

As the current sample is only from one (Western Eur-
opean) country and ethnically rather homogenous, the
question is if the results generalize to samples from other
countries and with other ethnicities. Similarly, adolescents
with higher levels of education were overrepresented in the
current study. Therefore, research in other countries and
with more diversity in terms of ethnicity and education are
needed to test if the findings of this study generalize to other
populations.

More research is also needed to understand the
mechanisms behind the attenuating role of positive mother–
adolescent relationships. The current study indicates that a
positive mother–adolescent relationship attenuates the

deleterious connection between social media use and body
dissatisfaction, but not why this is the case. Further research
should therefore examine how adolescents who have a more
positive relationship with their mother process social media
experiences differently than adolescents who have a less
positive mother–adolescent relationship. Studies may want
to test the notion that adolescents with more positive
mother–adolescent relationships indeed internalize and
compare themselves less with appearance ideals on social
media.

Another explanation worth investigating could be that a
positive mother–adolescent relationship increases the
quantity, quality, or the effectiveness of parental mediation
regarding social media use. For example, research could test
if mothers who have more positive relationships with their
adolescent children are more likely to have conversations
about the messages about physical appearance encountered
on social media. Such forms of active parental mediation
may protect adolescents against unwanted effects of social
media on body dissatisfaction. Such research will not only
further increase the theoretical understanding of (social)
media effects on body dissatisfaction but also of the
development of body dissatisfaction and of media effects
more generally. Future research in this area should not
exclusively focus on adolescent girls but also include boys
in the investigation, as the findings applied to boys and girls
to the same extent.

Conclusion

Although on average social media use has undesirable
effects on adolescents’ body dissatisfaction, not all adoles-
cents are equally susceptible to this negative influence. The
current study suggests that advantageous social environ-
mental factors may attenuate the relationship between social
media use and body dissatisfaction. More specifically, the
relationship between social media use and body dis-
satisfaction was weaker among adolescent boys and girls
who reported a more positive relationship with their mother.
Furthermore, adolescents with more positive mother–ado-
lescent relationships also reported less body dissatisfaction
overall. Pending further experimental and longitudinal
research, positive mother–adolescent relationships may thus
have both a protective and a promotive impact on adoles-
cents’ body image. If this is the case, improving the
mother–adolescent relationship may be a promising way to
combat body dissatisfaction and related problems. How-
ever, before such a recommendation can be confidently
made, more research is needed to better understand if, how,
and why positive and other aspects of parent–adolescent
relationships impact adolescent body dissatisfaction and the
effects of social media.

534 Journal of Youth and Adolescence (2019) 48:527–536

Acknowledgements The authors would like to thank all adolescents
who took part in this study, and also their teachers. In addition, we
thank the students who helped collect the data for this study.

Authors’ Contributions DdV contributed to the interpretation of the
data, drafted the introduction and discussion sections, and helped draft
the other sections of the manuscript. HV participated in the design and
coordination of the study, interpreted the data, drafted the methods and
results sections, and helped to draft the other sections of the manu-
script. PvdK conceived of the study, participated in the design and
coordination of the measurement, performed the measurement, and
helped to draft the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final
manuscript.

Funding No funding was secured for this study.

Data Sharing and Declaration The datasets generated and/or analyzed
during the current study are not publicly available but are available
from the second author (HV) upon reasonable request.

Compliance with ethical standards

Conflict of interest The authors declare that they have no conflict of
interest.

Ethical Approval All procedures performed in this study were in
accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional research
committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later
amendments.

Informed Consent Active informed consent was obtained from all
participants. Passive informed consent was obtained from the parents
of the participants.

Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative
Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://crea
tivecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits use, duplication,
adaptation, distribution, and reproduction in any medium or format, as
long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the
source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if
changes were made.

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Dian A. de Vries is assistant professor of Youth and Family at Utrecht
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Helen G. M. Vossen is assistant professor at the Department of Child
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Journal of Youth & Adolescence is a copyright of Springer, 2019. All Rights Reserved.

• Social Media and Body Dissatisfaction: Investigating the Attenuating Role of Positive Parent–nobreakAdolescent Relationships

Abstract
Introduction
A Sociocultural Approach to Body Dissatisfaction
Social Media and Body Dissatisfaction
Parent–nobreakAdolescent Relationships and Body Dissatisfaction
The Current Study
Methods
Participants and Procedure
Measures
Body dissatisfaction
Social media use
Positive parent–nobreakadolescent relationships
Statistical Analyses
Results
Descriptive Statistics
Social Media Use as a Predictor of Body Dissatisfaction
Positive Parent–nobreakAdolescent Relationships as Predictors of Body Dissatisfaction
Interaction Between Social Media Use and Positive Parent–nobreakAdolescent Relationships
Gender Differences
Discussion
Theoretical and Practical Implications
Limitations and Suggestions for Future Research
Conclusion
Compliance with ethical standards
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
References
A9
A10
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Student Name

Program Name or Degree Name (e.g., Master of Science in Nursing), Walden University

COURSE XX: Title of Course

Instructor Name

Month XX, 202X

Title of the Paper in Full

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https://doi.org/10.1525/cmr.2016.58.3.66

Burgess, R. (2019). Rethinking global health: Frameworks of Power. Routledge.​

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https://doi.org/10.1037/0278-6133.24.2.225

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https://doi.org/10.1037.0000136-000

​

Lindley, L. C., & Slayter, E. M. (2018). Prior trauma exposure and serious illness at end of life: A national study of children in the U.S. foster care system from 2005 to 2015. Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, 56(3), 309–317.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2018.06.001

Osman, M. A. (2016, December 15). 5 do’s and don’ts for staying motivated. Mayo Clinic.

https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/adult-health/in-depth/5-dos-and-donts-for-staying-motivated/art-20270835

Sue, D. W., & Sue, D. (2016). Counseling the culturally diverse: Theory and practice (7th ed.). Wiley.

Walden University Library. (n.d.). Anatomy of a research article [Video].

https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/library/instructionalmedia/tutorials#s-lg-box-7955524

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https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/webinars/graduate#s-lg-box-18447417

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