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Aspiring to have the looks of a celebrity: young girls’ engagement in appearance management behaviors

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Abstract

Research suggests that sexualizing media messages are present in teen media and negatively affect young girls’ body image. Yet, it is unknown whether exposure to teen television programs is associated with girls’ engagement in appearance management behaviors. Two-wave longitudinal data among 785 girls (Mage = 11.65 years) were collected. Results show that teen television exposure was longitudinally related to appearance management, while the reverse relation was not supported. Approximately half of the girls indicated to manage their appearance to some extent, and 13- to 14-year-old girls were more likely to invest in their appearance than younger girls. Thirty percent of those who did not manage their appearance at the start of the study indicated to have initiated appearance management 6 months later. Frequent viewers were four times, three times, and twice as more likely to style their hair, wear heels, and apply make-up compared to non-viewers.

Conclusion: The current study showed that teen media exposure plays a role in young girls’ appearance management. The findings point to a need to teach young girls about stereotypical messages in media content directed towards them. Prevention efforts should focus on girls who frequently watch teen media.

What is Known:

• Sexualizing media messages are present in teen media.

• Gender identity development is one of the key tasks during adolescence.

What is New:

• Tween television exposure predicts 9- to 14-year-old girls’ engagement in appearance management over time.

• Engagement in appearance management behaviors did not predict 9- to 14-year-old girls’ exposure to tween television programs.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge and thank the Special Research Fund (BOF), KU Leuven for their financial support to the study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School for Mass Communication Research, Faculty of Social Sciences, KU Leuven, Parkstraat 45, 3000, Leuven, Belgium

    Jolien Trekels & Steven Eggermont

Authors
  1. Jolien Trekels
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  2. Steven Eggermont
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Contributions

Jolien Trekels conceived of the study, participated in its design andcoordination, collected data, performed the statistical analyses, interpreted the results, and drafted the manuscript; Steven Eggermont participated in the design and coordination of the study, interpreted the results, and critically revised the manuscript. Both authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jolien Trekels.

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Financial disclosure

The authors have no financial relationships relevant to this article to disclose.

Funding source

All phases of this study were supported by the Special Research Fund (BOF), KU Leuven.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Communicated by Peter de Winter

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Trekels, J., Eggermont, S. Aspiring to have the looks of a celebrity: young girls’ engagement in appearance management behaviors. Eur J Pediatr 176, 857–863 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00431-017-2918-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00431-017-2918-8

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