From Self-Objectification to Self-Perception: Unraveling Media’s Impact on Emerging Adult Women’s Body Image and Identity

Although the theoretical basis suggests that portrayals of traditional beauty ideals in the media not only lead to dissatisfaction with one’s own body but can also distort an individual’s entire self-concept, as it is not only the body that is strongly influenced by perfect images, it is necessary to examine the enormous influence that media portrayals of idealized images have from a broader perspective. Accordingly, the main aim of the present study is to investigate the latent and realizable influence that body ideals portrayed in the media exert on women in general via self-objectification and body dissatisfaction, thus revealing the extent of widespread influences on self-concept. A total of 386 female participants (M = 22.9, SD = 2.1) were selected from various government and private higher education institutions in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Path analysis using structural equation modeling was conducted with AMOS. The results showed that dissatisfaction with one’s own body had a significant indirect effect on the relationship between media pressure and the domains of self-concept (power, task mastery, and vulnerability). Dissatisfaction with one’s own body and self-objectification were found to be mediating variables in the self-concept domains of task mastery, power, and vulnerability, but not for aptitude, morality, or likability. The multiple mediation model showed complete mediation, as the direct effects of media pressure on self-concept (vulnerability and task accomplishment) were no longer significant.