RESEARCH INDICATES THAT MANY YOUNG PEOPLE IN IRELAND ARE NOT HAPPY WITH HOW THEY LOOK

Over the past 10 years, research on youth mental health in Ireland has consistently highlighted body image as a key issue. A recent report on youth mental health in Ireland indicated that of over 2,500 young people surveyed, 72% indicated that body image issues were causing them difficulty in their lives. If you would like to read more about this report please click here.

Body image is consistently reported by young people as a key factor affecting their mental health and causing them difficulty. However, it is sometimes considered of secondary importance in comparison to other mental health issues such as self-harm, depression or suicidality, rather than a key component.

Research indicates that body image is a key indicator of other mental health outcomes. The stark figures below extracted from the My World Survey (Dooley & Fitzgerald, 2013) and My World Survey 2 (Dooley et al., 2019) paint a grave picture of the significance of body image in relation to mental health. 

My World Survey 2 (2019)

This was the largest study of youth mental health in Ireland, surveying 18,749 young people.

• Body-esteem was found to be one of nine key factors which related to youth mental health outcomes.

• The report found that body-esteem and body satisfaction decreased consistently over the course of adolescence, with first year students reporting the highest body-esteem in secondary school and sixth year students reporting the lowest. This trend was seen for both males and females.

• In adolescents, 26% reported being dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with their bodies.

• Levels of body-esteem and body satisfaction continued to decrease after adolescence, with 44% of young adults reporting that they were dissatisfied with their bodies.

• Lower body-esteem was related to higher levels of depression and anxiety, and greater use of “strategies for altering appearance”.

• Over two-thirds of young people reported attempting to alter their appearance using strategies such as exercising, reducing their food intake, and trying to ‘bulk up’.

• The report also found that young people who reported having attempted suicide had lower body-esteem than their peers who had not attempted suicide.

Crucially, the report found that having positive support from One Good Adult in their life was linked to higher levels of body-esteem.

Click here to read more about My World Survey 2.

My World Survey (2013)

The study examined the mental health of 8,221 young people aged 17-25 in Ireland.

• Self-harm: Rates of self-harm were 40% in those who reported having negative body image and 12% in those who were satisfied with their body image.

• Suicidality: 20% of those who were very dissatisfied with their body image reported a suicide attempt compared to 3% for those who reported being satisfied with their body image.

• Depression: The study found that body dissatisfaction was highly linked to depression. 27% of participants who reported having negative body image also reported experiencing severe depression. In comparison, 2% of participants who reported being satisfied with their bodies reported experiencing severe depression.

• Alcohol and substance abuse: This research reported that high levels of body dissatisfaction were likely to co-occur with dangerous level of drinking behaviour and that this pattern was also found for substance abuse.

• Negative coping styles: This study found that “Body dissatisfaction was linked to reduced optimism, poorer life satisfaction, lower levels of planned coping behaviour and significantly higher levels of avoidant coping behaviour”.

Cybersafe Ireland

Research by Cybersafe Ireland (2017)

Research found that despite age restrictions of 13 and older on many social media services, the vast majority of the 4,893 children they met, aged 8-13, already had a significant online presence. In addition, 16% of children in this age group were spending more than four hours online daily. Despite age restrictions, 52% of 11-12 year olds, and one in five 9-10 year olds, already had a social media profile. Given these figures, body image pressures identified by teenagers in relation to social media use are likely to be affecting younger children in the same way. Such pressures include increased exposure to media ideals, perception of ‘the perfect life’ perpetuated by social media and the impact of comments and ‘likes’ on body image and self-esteem. Increased time spent online may also preclude the development of other interests which could potentially foster a stronger sense of self and increased self-esteem as well as serving as protective factors for mental health.

Social Media and body image

“Looking Glass Survey” National Women’s Council of Ireland (NWCI), 2015.  Survey of young women aged 16-24

In focus groups conducted by Bodywhys with young people aged 16-22 (2015), social media was identified as the primary source of pressure to body image and self-esteem.

• A worrying 41% of Irish women reported being unhappy or very unhappy with how they look.

• Negative feelings about how they look prevent 1 in 5 young women from applying for a job.

• 8% of young women are discouraged from going to the doctor because of their personal appearance.

• Social media has the most negative influence on a young woman’s body image (16-24) while advertising has the most negative influence overall on women’s body image.

Health Behaviour in School Aged Children in Ireland survey (2014)

Focusing on Irish adolescents aged 13 to 18, it has three strands: survey results from 4,481 adolescents involved in the 2013/14 (HBSC) survey in Ireland as well as workshops with 74 adolescents; and secondary data from the same study involving more than 7,000 adolescents and their views on cyber-bullying and its role in perceptions of body image.

Peer pressure, pressure to conform, and cyber-bullying are all factors in teenagers’ poor perception of their own body image. One in four participants reported being cyber-bullied once or more in the past couple of months, with girls (31.0%) more likely than boys (17.4%) to report experiencing cyber-bullying.

The results suggest that cyber-bullying may play a role in body dissatisfaction among adolescents; while supportive peer relationships may serve as a buffer against body dissatisfaction. Results indicate that adolescents who report experiencing cyber-bullying are approximately twice as likely to perceive themselves as too fat, compared to those who report never experiencing cyber-bullying.

Growing Up In Ireland’ Survey (2013)

In 2013, the Growing Up in Ireland survey indicated that 39% of 13 year olds had dieted to lose weight.

‘How We See It’, Report of a Survey on Young People’s Body Image (2012)

This was a survey carried out by the young people from the Dáil na n’Óg Council who identified body image as a key concern for young people in Ireland. In total, 2,156 young people (aged 10-21) completed the survey. The findings indicate that 77% of participants viewed body image as important to them, however, 26% of females and 10% of males indicated that they were dissatisfied with their body image. Almost 2 in 3 say that they feel pressurised to look good for other people and more than half of the young people surveyed indicated that body image interfered with their participation in certain activities (dating, swimming, putting photos on Facebook). Despite the fact that 97% of participants in the study were under 18, 15% of male participants and 12% of female participants asserted that they were taking diet and body-building supplements to achieve a certain body shape.

‘Teenage Mental Health, What Helps & What Hurts?’ (2009)

This Department of Health and Children survey included 277 teenagers aged 12-18 nationwide. The young people identified ‘self-image’ as the key factor that they felt had a negative impact on their mental health. They mentioned specifically ‘feeling judged for how they look’, ‘pressure to look a certain way’ and the pressure from the media’s ‘stereotypical image of beauty that is not realistic or attainable’.

Dr Fiona McNicholas, Eating Concerns and Media Influences in an Irish Adolescent Context (2009)

This survey found that 71.4% of Irish Adolescents feel negatively affected by the media portrayal of body weight and shape.

international research on body image

SOCIAL MEDIA AND BODY IMAGE

A review of cross-cultural evidence links social media use to body image concerns, dieting, body surveillance, a drive for thinness and self-objectification in adolescents (Holland & Tiggeman, 2016). A growing number of studies also suggest a link between social media use and adolescent mental health, including lower self-esteem and higher levels of anxiety and depression (Woods & Scott, 2016). Social networking sites like Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat enable teens to share photos online. Research indicates that highest frequency users were more likely to link their self-worth to their looks (Stefanone et al., 2011).

Interestingly, while girls report more body image disturbance and disordered eating than boys, some research indicates that social media use can play an adverse role in the body image of both adolescent boys and girls (de Vries et al., 2016).

The findings of the My World Survey 2 (Dooley et al., 2019) suggest that many adolescents and young adults may be using social media to build on and extend their social connections in real life, and there may be some benefits to spending time online. However, a significant relationship was found between time spent online (more than three hours) and higher levels of depression and anxiety and lower levels of body-esteem in adolescents.

SOCIAL MEDIA AND APPS

If you would like to read in more detail about the internet, body image and eating disorders, the following resource provides some useful information about navigating social media and smartphone apps and changing the way that we engage with them - click here.

SELFIES AND BODY IMAGE

Research indicates that taking and posting selfies online can result in low mood, anxiety, reduced self-confidence, and poorer body image - click here to read more.

EMBODIMENT THEORY OF POSITIVE BODY IMAGE

Menzel and Levine's (2011) embodiment theory of positive body image suggests that activities which help us to foster a mind-body connection - i.e. ‘get into our bodies’ more and become more in touch with our bodies’ experiences and needs - can be beneficial for reducing body image concerns. There is some evidence for this theory in the areas of yoga, certain forms of dance, and some sports.

Body image in boys

Credos (2016) surveyed 1,005 boys from primary and secondary schools around the UK to explore their attitudes towards advertising and body image, and conducted focus groups of boys aged 8 to 18. Of more than 1,000 eight- to 18-year-old boys surveyed:

• 55% would consider changing their diet to look better.

• 23% said they believed there was a perfect male body.

• 56% of the boys saw eating disorders as an issue for both boys and girls.

• 55% felt dieting and 48% felt extreme exercising were gender neutral issues.