guilt and insecurity (Stice, Schupak-Neuberg, Shaw, & Stein, 1994). Body image dissatisfaction and concern about weight gain and body shape are some of the symptoms related to anorexia and bulimia nervosa. It has been estimated that the prevalence rate for eating disorders is 3% to 10% for females between the ages 15 to 29. For men though, the prevalence rate is 0.02% to 0.03% (Polivy & Herman, 2002).
In order to answer the question of how magazines can contribute to the development of a negative body image leading to eating disorders the essay examines several theories that have attempted to describe the ways media (magazines) influence the development of a negative body image which is related to eating disorders. Social comparison theory, cultivation theory and self schema theory are presented. In the conclusion the theories are evaluated as to how they can answer the research question.
Theoretical explanations of why women are influenced by magazine models Throughout the years, researchers have pointed out the fact that the way women are portrayed to the media negatively
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It claims that individuals assess themselves in relation to their peers or to groups that are similar to them (Milkie, 1999). Depending with which group they compare themselves people can feel that they are better or worse off on a particular aspect. After this comparison, if the individual feels that he or she is better off than the group this is an upward comparison. Contrary, downward comparisons happen when the individual compares himself or herself to someone who is not as good as them on a specific aspect. It has been found that upward comparisons correlate with depression, whereas downward comparisons are likely to lead to mood enhancement (Lin & Kulik, 2002; Schooler et al., 2004; Tiggemann & Slater, 2003; Tiggemann & Mcgill,