Dissertations and Theses @ UNI
Availability
Open Access Thesis
Keywords
Body image in women; Mass media--Influence; Mothers and daughters; Self-esteem in women; Academic theses;
Abstract
Societal norms based on media venues influence the perception young females have of themselves; however, some literature indicates the mother daughter relationship can help minimize the possible negative effects. Young women are more susceptible to desire distorted media images of glamorous and thin women. As they make social comparisons with mediated images of womanhood, they may become disappointed in their own body image and possess lower self-esteem. The previous research has gaps when discussing mother daughter relationships, media's influence, and the impact on adolescent girls' self-esteem and body image. To determine predictors to young women's self-esteem and body image, 119 females from the University of Northern Iowa were surveyed. The females' responded to a seven-section questionnaire, which included self-reported data on self-esteem, body image, parental communication, media exposure, media influence, and socioenvironmental influences. Regression analyses were done to find predictors of self-esteem and body image. If the young women had a good relationship with their mothers, then their self-esteem was high, and if their relationship with their mothers was negative, then their self-esteem was low. The more media influenced the young women, the higher their body image anxiety. TV, magazines, and movies were used to test media frequency and influence. Future studies should include the impact of internet. Also researching a more diverse population may yield different results. Overall, the relationship with mother was more influential on self-esteem than media, but the media had a stronger influence on body image for this group of participants.
Year of Submission
2008
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Department
Department of Communication Studies
First Advisor
April Chatham-Carpenter
Second Advisor
Victoria P. DeFrancisco
Third Advisor
Christopher R. Martin
Date Original
2008
Object Description
1 PDF file (87 leaves)
Copyright
©2008 Tori Austin
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
Recommended Citation
Austin, Tori, "Mother-Daughter Communication and Media Influence on Self-Esteem and Body Image" (2008). Dissertations and Theses @ UNI. 1951.
https://scholarworks.uni.edu/etd/1951
Comments
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