The Relationships among Acculturation, Acculturative Stress, Endorsement of Western Media, Social Comparison, and Body Image in Hispanic Male College Students

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

4-1-2013

Publication Title

Psychology of Men & Masculinity

Volume

14

Issue

2

First page number:

192

Last page number:

201

Abstract

Although existing research suggests that perceived pressure and internalization of American media ideals are associated with body image problems, limited research has explored the role of acculturation and acculturative stress on these relationships in Hispanic men. Using a sociocultural framework, this study investigated the relationships between endorsement of Western appearance-based media ideals (i.e., awareness, perceived pressure, and athletic-ideal internalization), social comparison to models in the media, body image, acculturation, and acculturative stress in Hispanic male college students (N = 100). Results from self-report measures indicated that acculturative stress was significantly positively correlated with endorsement of Western media, social comparison tendency, and body image problems, whereas acculturation to mainstream American (Anglo) culture was not significantly correlated with any outcome variables. In addition, hierarchical regression and mediational analyses generally supported the sociocultural model of eating disorders in this sample. These results suggest that researchers and clinicians should consider endorsement of Western media, social comparison to models, and acculturative stress in the assessment and conceptualization of body image issues in Hispanic male college students.

Disciplines

Social Psychology

Language

English

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