The Effect of Peer Victimization on Adolescent Perceptions of Body Image
Presenter Type
UNO Undergraduate Student
Major/Field of Study
Psychology
Advisor Information
Mithra Pirooz
Location
CEC RM #201/205/209
Presentation Type
Poster
Start Date
22-3-2024 9:00 AM
End Date
22-3-2024 10:15 AM
Abstract
The purpose of this thesis is to test the effects that peer victimization may have on perceptions of body image in adolescents. Other variables will be investigated such as friendship, measures of self-perception, and gender differences. Peer victimization, as defined by Hodges and Perry (1999), is characterized by the experience of a child being the target of physical, psychological, or social harm from peers, excluding siblings. During the formative years of early to mid-adolescence, children begin to build relationships with their peers and engage in daily social interactions. The quality of these interactions becomes pivotal to the development of the adolescent (Borg & Willoughby, 2022).
Peer victimization is a significant issue for adolescents. It can have several consequences regarding the well-being and development of young individuals, one of them potentially being a negative self-perception of an individual’s own body. Adolescence is a time of change, especially in the realm of physical appearance. Puberty causes physical changes that may be uncomfortable to an adolescent, causing insecurities to rise. This has the potential to harm adolescent mental health and well-being, especially if it is reinforced by peer victimization. This study may be able to provide insight into how peer victimization affects adolescents, specifically regarding body-image perception, and how schools and caregivers may be able to create interventions to promote body satisfaction and minimize peer victimization.
The information for this study will be pulled from archival data. According to the data set, the participants consisted of a total of 179 early adolescent participants in the fifth and sixth grades who were recruited from two public schools in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. All participants were native French speakers but understood and attended classes in English. Parental consent and participant assent were obtained. The data set uses a peer-nomination method to gather measurements of peer victimization within the classroom. Participants were given a list of each participating classmate’s first and last name for each item. They were then instructed to identify their classmates who fit a description and could check off as many names as they chose.
Peer victimization was measured through peer nominations via a questionnaire. (e.g., “Someone who is left out by the other kids at school”). Through these measurements, it will be possible to calculate numerical levels of peer victimization among the participants. The measures of self-perception in the given data set were derived from a revised version of the Perceived Competence Scale for Children (Harter, 1982). The data set also provides self-reported measures of the perceived body image of adolescents through means of providing a lineup of images displaying a range of body types. The participants were asked to mark which image they believed they looked like the most and what image they wished to look like. With this data, it will be possible to measure the perceptions and attitudes regarding body image in adolescents as well as the differences in answers between genders. The data set also includes self-reported information regarding the number of friends each participant has.
It is expected that participants who experience lower levels of peer victimization will have a more positive perception of their body image and that female participants will be more likely to have a poor perception of their body image. It is also expected that those with a higher number of friends will experience a lower level of peer victimization. The final hypothesis is that those with high measures of self-perception will have a more positive perception of their body image. It is important to note that there will be some limitations to this study. One limitation is the sample size, as the participants are all from the same geographic area. Another limitation is that self-reporting and peer-nomination methods of gathering data may be subject to inaccuracy.
The Effect of Peer Victimization on Adolescent Perceptions of Body Image
CEC RM #201/205/209
The purpose of this thesis is to test the effects that peer victimization may have on perceptions of body image in adolescents. Other variables will be investigated such as friendship, measures of self-perception, and gender differences. Peer victimization, as defined by Hodges and Perry (1999), is characterized by the experience of a child being the target of physical, psychological, or social harm from peers, excluding siblings. During the formative years of early to mid-adolescence, children begin to build relationships with their peers and engage in daily social interactions. The quality of these interactions becomes pivotal to the development of the adolescent (Borg & Willoughby, 2022).
Peer victimization is a significant issue for adolescents. It can have several consequences regarding the well-being and development of young individuals, one of them potentially being a negative self-perception of an individual’s own body. Adolescence is a time of change, especially in the realm of physical appearance. Puberty causes physical changes that may be uncomfortable to an adolescent, causing insecurities to rise. This has the potential to harm adolescent mental health and well-being, especially if it is reinforced by peer victimization. This study may be able to provide insight into how peer victimization affects adolescents, specifically regarding body-image perception, and how schools and caregivers may be able to create interventions to promote body satisfaction and minimize peer victimization.
The information for this study will be pulled from archival data. According to the data set, the participants consisted of a total of 179 early adolescent participants in the fifth and sixth grades who were recruited from two public schools in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. All participants were native French speakers but understood and attended classes in English. Parental consent and participant assent were obtained. The data set uses a peer-nomination method to gather measurements of peer victimization within the classroom. Participants were given a list of each participating classmate’s first and last name for each item. They were then instructed to identify their classmates who fit a description and could check off as many names as they chose.
Peer victimization was measured through peer nominations via a questionnaire. (e.g., “Someone who is left out by the other kids at school”). Through these measurements, it will be possible to calculate numerical levels of peer victimization among the participants. The measures of self-perception in the given data set were derived from a revised version of the Perceived Competence Scale for Children (Harter, 1982). The data set also provides self-reported measures of the perceived body image of adolescents through means of providing a lineup of images displaying a range of body types. The participants were asked to mark which image they believed they looked like the most and what image they wished to look like. With this data, it will be possible to measure the perceptions and attitudes regarding body image in adolescents as well as the differences in answers between genders. The data set also includes self-reported information regarding the number of friends each participant has.
It is expected that participants who experience lower levels of peer victimization will have a more positive perception of their body image and that female participants will be more likely to have a poor perception of their body image. It is also expected that those with a higher number of friends will experience a lower level of peer victimization. The final hypothesis is that those with high measures of self-perception will have a more positive perception of their body image. It is important to note that there will be some limitations to this study. One limitation is the sample size, as the participants are all from the same geographic area. Another limitation is that self-reporting and peer-nomination methods of gathering data may be subject to inaccuracy.