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Magazine Consumption and Dieting
Beauty and Fashion Magazine Reading and Anorectic Cognitions
As Predictors of Dieting Behavior in College-Age Women
Steven R. Thomsen, Ph.D.
Department of Communication
Brigham Young University
Provo, Utah 84602
(801) 378-2078
[log in to unmask]
Robert L. Gustafson
Department of Journalism
Ball State University
J. Kelly McCoy, Ph.D.
Department of Family Sciences
Brigham Young University
Marleen Williams, Ph.D.
Counseling Services
Brigham Young University
A paper submitted to the Magazine Division of the Association for Education in
Journalism and Mass Communication, April 1998 Abstract
The study was conducted to explore the relationship between the reading of
women's beauty and fashion magazines, dieting behavior, and the existence of
anorectic cognitions in college-age women. Unlike past studies, which have
examined the relationship between the quantity of beauty and fashion magazines
read and eating disorders, this study assesses the impact of reading frequency,
preferences for articles, photos, or ads, and motivation for reading on dieting
behavior, which is considered to be precursor to the development of eating
disorders. Surveys were administered to 540 women enrolled in general studies
courses at two universities. Moderate, statistically significant correlations
were found between the consumption variables and dieting behaviors as well as
the anorectic cognitions measures. Discriminant analysis was used to determine
what variables, related to magazine reading and use, body anxiety, weight
assessment, and anorectic cognitions (using the Mizes Anorectic Cognition
Scale), best predict dieting behavior. Results indicate that of the media
consumption variables, frequency of reading, a motivation to read for self
improvement, and reading because of a desire to lose weight and look like the
models made the largest relative contributions to predicting current dieting
behavior.
Introduction
Anorexia nervosa has been characterized as a biopsychosocial disorder resulting
in distortions in self-image and self-perception that lead a substantial number
of women to develop an intense fear of food and weight gain to the point that
many literally starve themselves to death.
Dieting has been identified as a precursor to the development of most eating
disorders, including anorexia nervosa (Smolak and Striegel-Moore, 1996; Connors,
1996; Levine, Smolak, & Hayden, 1994). Ironically, dieting has become so
commonplace among adolescent and college-age women that researchers who study
this behavior often must distinguish between "normative" dieting practices and
"maladaptive" dieting and eating (Polivy & Herman, 1987). Estimates are that as
many as 40 to 60 percent of all high school girls are on a diet, with
indications that significant numbers of pre-adolescent, elementary-age school
girls also have now become frequent dieters (Smolak and Striegel-Moore, 1996;
American School Health Association, 1989; Rosen & Gross, 1987; Wadden, Brown,
Foster, & Linowitz, 1991).
Recent research has identified a number of social, cultural, familial, and
biological forces that, when combined with the presence of maladaptive eating
practices, can contribute to the pathogenesis of anorexia nervosa, which may
affect as many as 4 percent to 22 percent of all college age women (Harrison &
Cantor, 1997; Connors, 1996). A growing number of scholars have suggested that
the mass media may be an important sociocultural force in the cultivation of
unrealistic standards of beauty and the development of eating disorder
symptomatology (Levine & Smolak, 1996; Stice, Schupak-Neuberg, Shaw & Stein,
1994; Silverstein, Perdue, Peterson & Kelley, 1986; Harrison & Cantor, 1997).
The media, it has been argued, inundates women with a steady stream of
messages--both visual and editorial--that suggest to be attractive and
successful one must be "ultraslender." This emphasis on appearance and
attractiveness is believed to lead many women to internalize and unrealistic and
unattainable thin "ideal-body stereotype." This, in turn, leads to the
development of body size dissatisfaction and, potentially, to eating disorder
symptomatology (Myers & Biocca, 1992; Stice, et al., 1994).
Television and magazines, particularly those whose content has been described
as "thinness-depicting" and "thinness-promoting," have been identified as having
the strongest influence of all media formats in perpetuating unrealistic beliefs
about the importance of thinness (Harrison & Cantor, 1997; Stice et al., 1994;
Silverstein et al., 1986). Of the two, magazines may have the most powerful
effect. In their study of 422 female and male college students, Harrison and
Cantor (1997) reported that magazine reading, compared to television viewing,
was the most consistent predictor of eating disordered thinking. They found that
readership of fitness and beauty magazines, in particular, produced the
strongest association with eating disorder symptoms, particularly the "body
dissatisfaction" and "drive for thinness."
While a number of recent studies have reported the relationship between media
exposure and eating disordered thinking, few have looked specifically at the
relationship between media use and dieting. The study explores the relationship
between the reading of women's beauty and fashion magazines, dieting behavior,
and the existence of anorectic cognitions that might serve as a warning signal
that a woman is at risk to develop an eating disorder. Specifically, the study
examines the relationship that exists between magazine consumption patterns and
dieting behavior, with the specific purpose of determining if the consumption
variables can be used to distinguish between dieters and non-dieters. The
authors believe that this relationship may be significant in increasing our
understanding of the role of the media in the etiology of eating disorders.
Relevant Literature
Because it functions within a broad social and cultural context, the mass
media is recognized as one of the strongest mediating influences in the etiology
of anorexia nervosa. Much of the research on mass media influences on eating
disorder symptomatology has focused on the frequency and nature of messages and
images that perpetuate a "thin-ideal" as part of the female gender role. A
number of studies using content analysis, for example, have reported that
models, actors, and centerfolds have become less "curvaceous" over the past
several decades, suggesting that a trend toward a much thinner "ideal" is being
presented to women (Garner, Garfinkel, Schwartz & Thompson, 1980; Silverstein,
et al., 1986; Czajka-Narins & Parham, 1990).
It is believed that this "thin ideal" is particularly amplified in advertising,
fashion and beauty magazines, and television programming where body image and
attractiveness are heavily emphasized in message images and content (Myers &
Biocca, 1992; Harrison & Cantor, 1997; Levine, Smolak, & Hayden, 1994). Downs
and Harrison (1985) noted that 25 percent of network television commercials used
"attractiveness-based messages," which they defined as those which make explicit
or indirect promises of beauty or thinness as a result of the audience taking
the desired action or using the promoted product.
More of this emphasis on attractiveness appears to be directed at women than at
men. Silverstein et al. (1986), for example, reported that women in television
shows, magazine advertisements, and movies were much more likely to be "thin"
than their male counterparts. They also reported that women's magazines were
much more likely to run ads for diet food and figure-enhancing products than
men's magazines.
Evans, Rutberg, Sather, and Turner (1991) also have argued that magazines have
a significant role in the perpetuation of the stereotypical "thin ideal,"
particularly among teenage readers. Evans et al. suggest that magazines play an
important role in adolescent socialization, more specifically, in the
development of values and "identity achievement." They analyzed the content a
year's worth of issues of Sassy, Seventeen, and Young Miss, three leading
magazines, based on 1988 circulation figures, targeted to teenage girls.
Articles were coded by content topic: beauty, fashion, entertainment, celebrity,
health, and recurrent columns (i.e., horoscope, advice). Advertisements were
coded by product or service orientations, which included beauty care and
cosmetic use, clothes and fashion accessories, feminine hygiene, education or
career advisement services, health (i.e., nutrition and exercise), sundry
personal services, and entertainment. They reported that these magazines
typically approach the topic of "self improvement" by focusing on fashion
dressing and physical beautification. The advertisements, they suggested, also
reinforce this pattern:
Articles and advertisements mutually reinforced an underlying value that the
road to
happiness is attracting males for successful heterosexual life by way of
physical
beautification (p. 110).
In their analysis of the content of certain women's magazines, Nemeroff, Stein,
Diehl, and Smilack (1994) reported that fashion magazines contained more health
and fitness articles than "traditional" and "modern" women's magazines, although
"traditional" magazines did show a strong focus on weight loss. While health and
fitness and exercise articles appear to be increasing as "weight loss" articles
decline, they note that the distinction between the two types of articles has
not been methodologically "clean" in other research. Wiseman et al. (1992), for
example, have argued that exercise articles could easily be interpreted as
weight loss articles in disguise.
The hypothesized link between exposure to magazine content and internalization
of the "thin ideal" becomes all the more important given Smith's (1985) findings
that anorectics are significantly more media conscious and more influenced by
media on body images than non anorectics. When asked to rank the top three
institutions that influence their knowledge of an ideal body shape, anorectics
ranked media in general first, friends second, and magazines third. The
non-anorectics ranked peers first, followed by magazines, and then by general
media. Levine and Smolak (1996) also confirm this:
. . .it is quite common for patients with anorexia nervosa (AN) or bulimia
nervosa (BN) to recall that models in fashion magazines have been a source
of motivation and guidance in their quest for slenderness and self control.
(p. 237-238)
It is generally believed that adolescent women, anorectics in particular, use
these media and sociocultural messages to create an internalized "ideal body,"
and then make it their goal to match this shape. "It is reasonable to imagine,"
write Myers and Biocca (1992), "that each of these body messages is just one
strike of a chisel in sculpting the ideal body image inside a young women's mind
(p. 111)."
Several recent studies have attempted to create and map the theoretical links
between exposure to images and messages about the "thin ideal" and eating
disordered behavior. The goal has been to provide empirical evidence that
exposure contributes to anorexia nervosa. Anderson and DiDomenico (1992), for
example, have suggested a "dose-response" relationship. They found that greater
exposure to thinness promoting media images and content is associated with
greater levels of disordered thinking. Harrison and Cantor (1997), as previously
mentioned, reported statistically significant relationships between reading
fashion magazines and reported "body dissatisfaction" as well as between
reading health and fitness magazines and a "drive for thinness," as measured by
the Eating Disorder Inventory (EDI). They conclude:
historical trends, content analyses, and effects studies all suggest that media
trends may indeed be linked to the idealization of thinness and, thus, to the
development of eating disorders in media consumers.
These findings all support the cognitive model developed by Stice et al.
(1994). Stice and his colleagues tested a path-analysis model which postulates
that media exposure leads to gender role endorsement and, in turn, to the
internalization of a "thin ideal" body stereotype. They found that this
internalization had a modest, but significant correlation with the development
of "body dissatisfaction." This dissatisfaction occurs as the individual
compares her perception of her actual body size with the internalized ideal. As
the dissatisfaction mounts, eating disorder symptoms are believed to follow.
They, in fact, reported a substantial and statistically significant (.57)
correlation between body dissatisfaction and eating disorder symptoms.
Dieting, AN and Media. Smolak and Striegel-Moore (1996) have suggested that
dieting serves as the starting point that initiates a number of other
maladaptive eating practices that can continue throughout the lifetime of many
women. The onset of an eating disorder typically occurs during the period of
early adolescence or early adulthood, when these young women are likely to be
heavily involved with, and influenced by the mass media and highly susceptible
to cultural pressures to be thin (Smolak & Striegel-Moore, 1996; Heatherton,
Mahamedi, Striepe, & Field, 1997; Polivy & Herman, 1987; Levine & Smolak, 1996).
The effects of that influence can persist for a long time. In their longitudinal
study of college-age women dieters, for example, Heatherton, Mahamedi, Striepe,
and Field (1997) found that one in five of the women who met the clinical
criteria for an eating disorder in college continued to meet that criteria 10
years later.
Polivy and Herman (1987) have argued that the cultural preference for thinness
has led to a reconstruction of what constitutes "normal" eating practices.
Women whose weight is close to the mean for their age and height are now likely
to see themselves as overweight and are likely to engage eating practices that
are actually severely restrictive. They argue that, "societally normal eating
may not be normal or appropriate by physiological standards. . .and may itself
be regarded as disordered or pathological" (p. 635). Noting the role of the
media in this reconceptualization of "normal" eating, they continue:
Society's current preference for slimness has affected eating behavior
and attitudes toward food. As this preference has evolved and has become
more strongly entrenched, the media has propagated information on how
to achieve a slim physique, mainly by means of weight-reducing diets. (p. 636)
The Current Study
This study seeks to investigate the relationship between the consumption of
beauty and fashion magazines, dieting, and anorectic cognitions in college-age
women. Several key research questions will be explored:
RQ1: Does a relationship exist between frequency of reading, preferences
for text, photos, and ads, and dieting behavior?
RQ2: Does a relationship exist between frequency of reading, preferences
for text, photos, and ads, and the presence of anorectic cognitions,
as measured by the Mizes Anorectic Cognition Scale and its
subscales?
RQ3: Which motivations for reading beauty and fashion magazines are most
associated with dieting behavior and anorectic thinking?
RQ4: What variables, related to magazine consumption, body anxiety, weight
assessment, and anorectic cognitions best predict dieting behavior in
college-age women?
Methodology
Data for this study was collected via a multiple-section survey administered to
female undergraduate students enrolled in general studies mass communication
classes at a mid-sized Midwestern university and in communication and general
studies religion classes at a large Western university in the fall of 1997.
College-age women have been identified as one of the highest at-risk groups for
the development of eating disorders (Conners, 1996).
Variables
In previous research on media use and the development of anorectic and bulimic
thinking, magazine "consumption" has been measured by asking subjects to
indicate how many issues they read of a particular magazine or category of
magazines. This approach to measuring consumption, however, may provide only a
limited understanding of how the use of a particular medium affects the
cultivation and internalization of particular ideas and beliefs. For this study,
we reconstructed "magazine consumption" to include three separate, but related,
factors or categories: "frequency," "consumption preferences," and "motivation
for reading."
Frequency. In the first section of the survey, a list of eight magazine
categories was presented (news and current events, beauty and fashion,
entertainment and music, health and fitness, religious, science and nature,
literary, and sports). Using a 7-point scale (0 = "never," 1 = "once a year," 2
= "2 to 5 times a year," 3 = "6 to 11 times a year," 4 = "once a month," 5 = "2
to 4 times a month," and 6 = "5 or more times a month"), the respondents were
asked to indicate the general frequency with which they read or looked at
magazines in each of the categories.
Consumption Preferences. The next section asked respondents specifically about
the way in which they "consume" or read beauty and fashion magazines. The
purpose was to assess the frequency with which they looked at the pictures or
read the articles and advertisements. Using a 5-point scale (0 = "0 percent," 1
= "25 percent," 2 = "50 percent," 3 = "75 percent," 4 = "100 percent") each
respondent was asked to indicate the approximate percentage of articles they
typically read in an issue, the percentage of photographs they typically look
at, and the percentage of advertisements they usually read when they look at
beauty and fashion magazines.
Motivation for Reading. The third "consumption" measure was designed to assess
the respondents' motivations for reading women's beauty and fashion magazines.
The authors, as part of an ongoing project on the role of the media in the
etiology of anorexia nervosa, have conducted qualitative, semi-structured
interviews with 20 outpatients at an eating disorder treatment facility in a
Western state. In the interviews, the authors have probed and explored the way
in which these outpatients consumed, and continue to use, beauty and fashion
magazines, both before and during their treatment. Using insights obtained from
these interviews, the authors developed a 17-item, Likert-type scale to assess
reading motivation. The items in that scale, and the results of the factor
analysis applied to the scale, are presented and discussed in the results
section of this article.
Body Anxiety and Weight Assessment. Body anxiety for this study was measured by
listing seven body areas (bust, thighs, buttocks, hips, abdomen, legs and waist)
and overall weight, and then asking the respondents to indicate by using a
5-point scale (0 = "never," 1 = "rarely," 2 = "sometimes," 3 = "often," and 4 =
"almost always") how anxious, tense or nervous they feel, in general, about that
specific body area/part. The final body anxiety score was produced by summing
the scores of the eight individual items. This approach was adapted from the
Physical Trait Anxiety Scale, a fairly standard and widely-used measure of how
an individual feels about specific parts of her appearance. To obtain an overall
weight assessment, each respondent was asked to respond to 6-point scale (1 =
"underweight," 2 = "just about right," 3 = "less than 5 pounds overweight," 4 =
"5 to 10 pounds overweight," 5 = "10 to 15 pounds overweight," 6 = "15 or more
pounds overweight") that indicated her perception of her overall body weight.
Given that even the most emaciated anorectics claim they feel fat, we were
interested only in the respondents' perceptions of their weight, and not the
actual weights.
Anorectic Cognitions. The survey instrument included the 33-item Mizes
Anorectic Cognitions Scales (MAC). Permission was obtained from its author to
use this scale, which assess cognitions relevant to anorexia nervosa and bulimia
nervosa. According to its author, the MAC scale assess three areas: rigid weight
and eating regulation, weight and eating behavior as the basis of approval from
others, and excessive self-control as a component of self-esteem (Mizes, 1990,
1992). Mizes (1990) has reported that high MAC scorers have a greater general
emphasis on weight regulation, were more likely than control groups to rate
higher various benefits of losing or maintaining weight, use more calorie
restriction strategies, and, to a lesser extent, use more strategies to increase
real or presumed calorie expenditure.
Dieting Behavior. Finally, each respondent was asked to indicate whether she
had dieted "at least once in the past six months" and whether she was currently
on a diet.
Results
In all, 540 usable surveys were obtained from the female students at the two
universities. The students ranged in age from 18 to 26. The respondents were
fairly equally distributed in terms of class standing, with the largest
concentrations indicating they were sophomores or juniors. Two respondents
indicated they were graduate students. The data was analyzed using the SPSS 6.1
statistical package for Windows 95 systems.
Consumption Measures. As indicated in Table 1, the respondents typically read
women's beauty and fashion magazines about once a month (M = 3.828, SD = 1.578).
Slightly more than 60 percent of the respondents, in fact, said they read beauty
and fashion magazines at least once a month and 16.9 percent read them more than
once a week. As indicated by Table 2, beauty and fashion magazines, not
surprisingly, are the most frequently read category of magazines by the
college-age women in this study, followed closely by news and current events
magazines (M = 3.761, SD = 1.601) and entertainment and music magazines (M =
3.352, SD = 1.732). The respondents also indicated that they prefer to look at
the photographs (M = 3.335, SD = .933) more than they tend to read the articles
(M = 2.234, SD = .986) or the advertisements (M = 2.117, SD = 1.037)
(see Table 3).
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Table 4 lists the 17 items in the scale developed to assess motivation for
reading and presents the results of a principal components factor analysis using
a varimax rotation method. The scale, based on interviews with anorectic
outpatients, is being developed and tested by the authors. A reliability test
for the scale produced a Cronbach's alpha of .83. The analysis produced a
five-factor solution. Primary factor loadings are reported for each factor.
Factor 1 (Loselbs), measures the degree to which the respondents are motivated
to diet and look like the models in the magazines. Factor 2 (Popular) indicates
the degree to which the respondents believe that reading beauty and fashion
magazines will help them be happier and more popular with family and friends.
Factor 3 (Improve) measures the degree to which the respondents use the
magazines for self-improvement purposes. Factor 4 (Bored) measures the degree to
which respondents read only when they are bored, and Factor 5 (Models) measures
the respondent's recognition that the models' appearances do not reflect what is
normal for most women.
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Anorectic Cognitions. The Mizes Anorectic Cognition Scale produces scores that
range from 33 to 165. Higher scores indicate a greater presence of anorectic
cognitions and a greater potential risk for the development of an eating
disorder. In attempts to validate his anorectic cognitions scale, Mizes has
reported that the mean score for test groups, whose members were previously
diagnosed as having anorexia nervosa according to American Psychological
Association DSM-III-R criteria, was 115.6 (SD = 14.7). Control groups,
consisting of healthy populations, have produced a baseline mean score of 65.1
(SD = 12.3) (See Table 5).
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Respondents to our study produced a group mean score of 74.9 (SD = 22.3).
Twenty-four respondents (4.4 percent) scored 116 or higher on the MAC, which is
consistent with estimates that at least 4 percent of college-age women are
likely to suffer from an eating disorder. Table 5 presents the scores for the
test group for the total MAC (TotMac) scale as well as the rigid weight and
eating regulation (Rigid), weight and eating behavior as the basis of approval
from others (Approve), and excessive self control as a component of self-esteem
(Control) subscales.[1]
Dieting Behavior. As indicated by Table 6, 47.6 percent of the women surveyed
indicated that they had dieted at least once in the past 6 months. Table 7
reports that nearly one in four (22.4 percent) were currently on a diet.
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Relationships Among Key Variables. As anticipated, modest, but statistically
significant relationships were found among a number of the beauty and fashion
magazine consumption variables, dieting behavior, the anorectic cognition
measures, body anxiety, and weight assessment (See Table 8). For example,
statistically significant correlations were found for the relationships between
beauty and fashion magazine reading frequency (BeautyF) and MAC scores (r =
.24), current dieting (Dietnow) (r = .23), and dieting in the past 6 months
(Diet6) (r = .25). Not surprisingly, larger correlations were found between the
dieting measures and total MAC scores (Diet6 x TotMac, r = .51; Dietnow x
TotMac, r = .47).
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Of the motivation for reading factors, "Loselbs" and "Popular" produced the
largest correlations with dieting behavior (Loselbs x Diet6, r = .41; Loselbs x
DietNow, r = .39; Popular x Diet6, r = .27; Popular x DietNow, r = .23) and
total MAC scores (Loselbs x TotMac, r = .63; Popular x TotMac, r = .55).
"Loselbs" and "Popular" also produced moderate correlations with the three MAC
subscales (Loselbs x Approve, r = .45; Loselbs x Control, r = .62; Loselbs x
Rigid, r = .59; Popular x Approve, r = .54; Popular x Control, r = .40; Popular
x Rigid, r = .51). These two motivation factors produced moderate correlations
with body anxiety (Loselbs x Anxiety, r = .48; Popular x Anxiety,
r = .37) and overall weight assessment (Loselbs x Assess, r = .30; Popular x
Assess, r = .23).
Reading for self improvement (Improve) produced moderate, but smaller
correlations with the percentage of ads read (Bfads) (r = .27), percentage of
pictures looked at (Bfpix) (r = .27) and articles read (Bftext) (r = .36). Not
surprisingly, reading to learn to lose weight and look like the models (Loselbs)
also produced moderate correlations with percentages of ads (r = .23) and
pictures (r = .29), but not with text. This is consistent with previous research
which suggests that readers may be more influenced by the images that perpetuate
the thin ideal than the accompanying articles.
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Discriminant Analysis Results. A stepwise discriminant function analysis was
performed using the consumption, weight assessment, body anxiety, and anorectic
cognition (MAC and the three subscales) measures and current dieting behavior
(Dietnow) as the group or dependent variable. The resulting function (See Table
9) was significant (Wilk's Lambda = .7062, d.f. = 5, p = .0000) and produced a
canonical correlation coefficient of .5421. As Table 9 indicates, the function
produced by the discriminant analysis retained five variables: the total score
on the Mizes Anorectic Cognitions Scale (TotMac), overall weight assessment
(Assess), beauty and fashion magazine reading frequency (BeautyF), a desire to
lose weight and look like the models in the beauty and fashion magazines
(Loselbs), and a belief that reading beauty and fashion magazines will lead to
self-improvement (Improve). Table 9 reveals that the total MAC score (.57544),
beauty and fashion magazine reading frequency (.39806), and weight assessment
(.39593) measures provided the greatest relative contributions to the overall
discriminant function. "Improve" was inversely related to the outcome,
suggesting that dieters are reading for reasons other than relationship building
or for information on fashion and dating trends. Table 10 indicates that the
discriminant function correctly classified 77 percent of the respondents. While
this was a smaller percentage than we had hoped for, the distance between the
group centroids (See Table 9) indicates that the function actually does a good
job of discriminating between the groups.
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A second stepwise discriminant function analysis was performed using the
consumption, weight assessment, body anxiety, and anorectic cognition (MAC and
the three subscales) measures and dieting behavior in the past 6 months (Diet6)
as the group or dependent variable. The resulting function (See Table 11) was
significant (Wilk's Lambda = .6704, d.f. = 5, p = .0000) and produced a
canonical correlation coefficient of .5741. Again, five variables were retained:
the total score on the Mizes Anorectic Cognitions Scale (TotMac), overall weight
assessment (Assess), beauty and fashion magazine reading frequency (BeautyF),
body trait anxiety (Anxiety), and the MAC Weight and Approval
Subscale (Approve). The total MAC score (.77068) and overall weight assessment
(.31484) made the greatest relative contributions to this second function, which
also
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correctly classified 77 percent of the respondents (See Table 12). Again, the
reported distance between group centroids suggest the function successfully
discriminates between dieting behaviors.
Discussion
These findings confirm the relationship between beauty and fashion magazine
reading, anorectic cognitions and dieting behavior in college-age women. While
past research has linked the quantity of reading to eating disordered thinking
and behavior, this study finds that the frequency of reading and the motivation
for reading may be important factors in these complex relationships. Frequency
of reading and several of the motivation factors, particularly a desire to lose
weight and look like the models, and a belief that reading will increase
happiness and popularity, are positively correlated with the existence of
anorectic cognitions, heightened body anxiety, a belief that one is overweight,
and dieting. The findings of this study suggest that knowing why a woman reads
beauty and fashion magazines, particularly if she is a frequent reader, may be
an initial step in understanding the degree to which she is at risk to develop
an eating disorder.
In the two discriminant analysis functions produced in this study, frequency of
reading made moderate contributions to the prediction of both current and past
dieting behavior. Two of the motivation factors, a desire to lose weight and
look like the models, and a belief that reading will improve relationships and
lead to self-improvement, made moderate contributions to the prediction of
current dieting behavior. In both discriminant functions, total MAC scores made
the largest contribution to the predictive equation. This suggests that the
existence of anorectic thinking and the frequency of reading, motivation
factors, body anxiety, and weight assessment all combine to discriminate between
dieters and non-dieters. What it cannot explain, however, is whether one or more
of these factors predates the existence of the others, or if they are simply
comorbid.
So what does this mean? Two possible explanations can be considered here. As
has been hypothesized in recent research, readers of these magazines internalize
the "thin-ideal" female stereotype that is presented. Dieting, then, may be a
manifestation of the effects of this ongoing internalization and the woman's
desire to obtain this ideal. The positive relationship between reading frequency
and actual dieting is consistent with this model.
A second possibility is that women who are already at risk may be
instrumentally using beauty and fashion magazines to find support for their
eating disordered thinking by actively seeking out images and information that
reinforce the cultivated or internalized "thin-ideal" and that provide them with
the motivation to obtain their "goal." The relationship between frequency of
reading, motivation factors that include the need to learn about diets, and
several of the anorectic cognition measures, particularly a rigid desire to
control one's weight and the belief that this control will lead to greater
happiness, self-esteem, and social acceptance, is consistent with this
explanation and with Levine et al.'s (1994) contention that the uses and
gratifications approach may provide a useful theoretical framework for
understanding the role of the mass media in the etiology of eating disorders.
Connors (1996) has theorized that eating disorders occur as a result of the
convergence of two types of risk factors or experiential domains. One domain of
his model suggests that sociocultural factors, physical, and developmental
factors lead to a negative body image, a preoccupation with weight, and,
ultimately, to "normative discontent" dieting patterns. The introduction of the
second set of risk factors increases the dieter's risk of developing more severe
eating disorder symptoms. These factors include difficulties with self
regulation, psychological impairment, anxiety, low self-esteem, or other
affective disorders. In some cases, these are brought on as a result of trauma,
temperament/ biological predisposition, or dysfunctional family environments. By
suggesting the existence of an interrelationship between media use, dieting
behavior and anorectic cognitions as measured by the MAC scale, which assesses
difficulties with self-esteem, self-identity, coping behaviors, and unusually
high needs for control and acceptance, the results of this study also provide
some empirical support for the Conners model.
Future Research. Dieting is a complex set of behaviors. One limitation of this
study is that it asked the respondents about dieting only in general terms. As
has been suggested, dieting can be viewed as a continuum of behaviors that might
be seen as ranging from "normative" practices to more extreme, restrictive
behaviors. Future research should explore the link between beauty and fashion
magazine consumption and very specific maladaptive dieting practices, such as
the use of diuretics, laxatives, fasting, extreme caloric restriction, excessive
exercise to burn calories, and vomiting--all behaviors that indicate that the
individual has gone beyond "normative discontent" dieting patterns and has
embraced behaviors that are more symptomatic of anorexia nervosa and bulimia
nervosa. This would greatly enhance our understanding of the the connect
between reading these types of magazines and gateway behaviors that can lead to
eating disorders.
This study's findings that the motivation factors made relatively important
contributions to understanding dieting behavior suggests that additional
research should be conducted to refine, develop, and validate an instrument
capable of assessing the motivations for reading women's beauty and fashion
magazines and the potential instrumental uses of these types of publications by
both healthy and at-risk readers.
Finally, ethnographic research with actual diagnosed anorectic populations might
help provide answers to the question of whether media use contributes to the
pathogenesis anorectic thinking or if it becomes instrumental only after the
onset of other affective, self-regulatory problems.
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Table 1
Beauty and Fashion Magazine Reading Frequencies
Value Frequency Percent
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------
Never 0 12 2.2
Once a Year 1 33 6.1
2 to 5 Times a Year 2 73 13.5
6 to 11 Times a Year 3 98 18.1
Once a Month 4 117 21.7
2 to 4 Times a Month 5 116 21.5
5 or More Times a Month 6 91 16.9
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------- Total 540 100
Mean = 3.828
SD = 1.578
Mode = 4
Table 2
Total Magazine Reading Frequencies By Category
Category Mean SD
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
Beauty and Fashion 3.828 1.578
News and Current Events 3.761 1.601
Entertainment and Music 3.352 1.732
Religious 2.381 2.129
Health and Fitness 2.146 1.640
Sports and Leisure 1.783 1.660
Science and Nature .972 1.307
Literary .939 1.328
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
Scale: 0 = Never
1 = Once a Year
2 = 2 to 5 Times a Year
3 = 6 to 11 Times a Year
4 = Once a Month
5 = 2 to 4 Times a Month
6 = 5 or More Times a Month
Table 3
Percentages of Text, Photos, and Advertisements
Typically Read in Beauty and Fashion Magazines
Category Mean SD
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------
Beauty and Fashion Magazines
Text 2.234 .986
Photographs 3.335 .933
Advertisements 2.117 1.037
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------
Scale: 0 = Never
1 = 25 Percent
2 = 50 Percent
3 = 75 Percent
4 = 100 Percent
Table 4
Factor Analysis
Motivation for Reading Beauty and Fashion Magazines Scale
(a = .83)
Primary Factor Loadings
Subscale/Question 1 2 3 4 5
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
To diet and look like the models (Loselbs)
(a = .74)
1. I read beauty and fashion magazines to learn
about new diet programs I might want to try. .53
4. I wish I looked like the models in the fashion
and beauty magazines I read. .77
5. When I read beauty and fashion magazines, I
often imagine that I can look like the models
in the photographs and ads. .67
11. Reading beauty and fashion magazines
motivates me to lose weight. .63
To become more popular and happy (Popular)
(a = .73)
6. The models in the photographs have a happy life. .75
7. I wish my life was as exciting as the lives of the
models in the photographs. .75
10. If I could look like the models in the magazines
I would be more popular. .57
12. Reading beauty and fashion magazines has helped
make me more popular among my friends. .48
15. My parents would be pleased if I looked more like
the models in the ads and photographs in fashion and
beauty magazines. .50
Primary Factor Loadings
Subscale/Question 1 2 3 4 5
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
For self improvement (Improve)
(a = .71)
2. I read beauty and fashion magazines to help me
improve my relationships with the opposite sex. .72
3. I read beauty and fashion magazines to learn what the
most popular current fashions are. .52
8. I read beauty and fashion magazines to learn how I
can make myself a more interesting person. .68
9. I read beauty and fashion magazines because
they lift my spirits and make me feel happy. .78
For entertainment/because I am bored (Bored)
(a = .48)
16. I read fashion and beauty magazines just for
entertainment or for something to do. .78
17. I usually only read fashion and beauty magazines
when I'm bored. .63
Models aren't like "real" people (Models)
(a = .45)
13. I think the models in the photographs and ads in
beauty and fashion magazines are too thin. .74
14. Most models in fashion and beauty magazines have
had their appearance enhanced by cosmetic surgery or
other similar medical procedures. .75
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
*Questions 13, 14, 16, and 17 are reverse coded.
A 5-point Likert Scale is used (1 = "strongly disagree," 2 = "disagree," 3 =
"neither disagree nor agree," 4 = "agree," 5 = "strongly agree").
Table 5
Mizes Anorectic Cognitions Scale and Subscales Scores.
Mean Scores for Anorectics, Psychiatric Controls, and Current Subjects
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------
Psychiatric Current
Anorectics* Controls* Subjects
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------
TotMac 115.6 65.1 74.9
(20.5) (14.7) (22.3)
Rigid 71.3 35.0 42.7
(9.7) (8.7) (13.9)
Control 25.8 16.4 18.6
(2.7) (3.5) (5.9)
Approve 20.4 18.6 13.5
(5.8) (5.3) (4.9)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------
*Anorectic and Psychiatric Controls scores reported by Mizes (1992).
Current subjects are the respondents to this study.
**Numbers in parentheses are standard deviations.
Table 6
Dieting Behavior
Have You dieted at least once in the past 6 months?
Frequency Percent
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
No 283 52.4
Yes 257 47.6
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total 540 100
Table 7
Dieting Behavior
Are you currently on a diet?
Frequency Percent
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
No 419 77.6
Yes 121 22.4
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total 540 100
Table 9
Stepwise Discriminant Analysis of Current Dieting Behavior
Using Magazine Reading Frequencies, Motivation for Reading, Preference for Text,
Photos and Advertisements, Body Anxiety, MAC Scores, and Weight Assessment as
Predictor Variables
Function 1
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------
Variable Wilk's Standardized
Step Added Lambda p Coefficient
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------
1 TotMac .77767 .0000 .57594
2 Assess .74361 .0000 .39593
3 BeautyF .72083 .0000 .39806
4 Loselbs .71503 .0000 .29236
5 Improve .70616 .0000 - .26227
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------
Function 1
Canonical Correlation = .5421, Wilk's Lambda = .7062, df = 5, p = .0000
Eigenvalue = .4161
Group Centroids
No (0) -.34706
Yes (1) 1.19446
Table 10
Classification Table
Actual Group Number of Predicted Group Membership
Diet Now? Cases -----------------------------------
No Yes
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------
Group 0 415 316 99
No 76.1% 23.9%
Group 1 121 24 97
Yes 19.8% 80.2%
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------
Percent of "grouped" cases correctly classified: 77.05 %
Table 11
Stepwise Discriminant Analysis of Dieting Behavior in Past 6 Months
Using Magazine Reading Frequencies, Motivation for Reading, Preference for Text,
Photos and Advertisements, Body Anxiety, MAC Scores, and Weight Assessment as
Predictor Variables
Function 1
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------
Variable Wilk's Standardized
Step Added Lambda p Coefficient
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------
1 TotMac .74166 .0000 .77068
2 Assess .69863 .0000 .31484
3 BeautyF .68445 .0000 .23804
4 Anxiety .67538 .0000 .25144
5 Approve .67043 .0000 - .22591
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------
Function 1
Canonical Correlation = .5741, Wilk's Lambda = .6704, df = 5, p = .0000
Eigenvalue = .4916
Group Centroids
No (0) -.67024
Yes (1) .73070
Table 12
Classification Table
Actual Group Number of Predicted Group Membership
Diet in Past 6 Cases -----------------------------------
Months? No Yes
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------
Group 0 279 221 61
No 78.4% 21.6%
Group 1 257 63 194
Yes 24.5% 75.5%
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------
Percent of "grouped" cases correctly classified: 76.99 %
[1] A prinicipal components factor analysis using varimax rotation of our data,
however, produced a five factor solution. An SPSS option allowed us to rerun the
analysis, forcing a three-factor solution. The three factors produced by this
process were nearly identical to Mizes subscales. Reliability tests produced an
overall alpha of .93 and alphas above .80 for each of the three subscales.
Because of this, we used the subscales identified by Mizes in our analysis.
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