What is it about?
It is not uncommon for the general public to hear that there are clear links between thin models and actresses in media and women's body dissatisfaction and even eating disorders. But solid research evidence to back such claims remains elusive. Many studies are of poor quality and actual data has been inconsistent. There's little evidence at all to link media to eating disorders. For body dissatisfaction the picture is murkier. It does not appear that media causes body dissatisfaction, but for some (but not all) women who are already body dissatisfied, media may remind them of this.
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Why is it important?
It is important that the general public have a clear and honest impression of where research data on media effects current exists, not one that is alarmist and moralizing. If media effects are weak, they may distract society from more pressing causes of mental health issues.
Perspectives
It is important that we push the research field toward higher quality work. Also, we need to change the culture of the research field such that scholars are less inclined to "sell" a weak product and are more honest about inconsistencies and methodological limitations in a field. Bottom line: we can't definitively say thin models and actresses cause body dissatisfaction and we certainly shouldn't be claiming a link with eating disorders based on current evidence.
Christopher Ferguson
Stetson University
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: The devil wears stata: Thin-ideal media’s minimal contribution to our understanding of body dissatisfaction and eating disorders., Archives of Scientific Psychology, August 2018, American Psychological Association (APA),
DOI: 10.1037/arc0000044.
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