Zimmer-Gembeck, Melanie J, Rudolph, Julia ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4878-3537, Webb, Haley, Henderson, Leah and Hawes, Tanya (2021) Face-to-face and cyber-victimization: a longitudinal study of offline appearance anxiety and online appearance preoccupation. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 50. pp. 2311-2323. ISSN 0047-2891 (Print), 1573-6601 (Online) (doi:10.1007/s10964-020-01367-y)

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Abstract

Most adolescents and young adults navigate seamlessly between offline and online social environments, and interactions in each environment brings with it opportunities for appearance concerns and preoccupation, as well as victimization and teasing about appearance. Yet, research has concentrated primarily on face-to-face victimization and its role in offline appearance anxiety symptoms in adolescents and young adults. To extend this to include cyber-victimization and online behaviors indicative of appearance anxiety, the present longitudinal study investigated the risk of face-to-face and cyber-victimization for offline appearance anxiety and online appearance preoccupation. Participants were 650 adolescents age 15 to 19 years (Mage = 17.3 years, 59% female) who completed two surveys over one-year. Correlations identified both forms of victimization as associated with offline appearance anxiety and online appearance preoccupation. Yet, in a structural equation model, face-to-face peer victimization, but not cyber-victimization, was uniquely associated with increased offline appearance anxiety and online appearance preoccupation from T1 to T2. Offline appearance anxiety and online appearance preoccupation strongly covaried and were bidirectionally associated over time. Female gender and age were associated with more anxiety and preoccupation. When gender moderation was tested, only the stability in appearance anxiety was moderated, with greater stability in females than males. Overall, offline and online appearance anxieties are highly interrelated and share a common risk factor in face-to-face appearance-related victimization by peers.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	victimization; appearance anxiety; body image; social media use
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology R Medicine > RJ Pediatrics > RJ101 Child Health. Child health services
Faculty / School / Research Centre / Research Group:	Faculty of Education, Health & Human Sciences Faculty of Education, Health & Human Sciences > School of Human Sciences (HUM)
Last Modified:	21 Jul 2022 08:50
URI:	http://gala.gre.ac.uk/id/eprint/37017

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