| Objective. The present study was designed to examine whether a brief media literacy intervention could reduce the negative impact of media exposure to the feminine ideal on body image. We also explored the extent to which the level of internalization of the feminine ideal and degree of social comparisons moderated the negative effects of exposure and response to intervention. We hypothesized that the media literacy intervention would reduce the negative media exposure effects in high internalizers/high social comparers only, and without the media literacy intervention, control participants (high internalizers/high social comparers only) would be negatively affected by the thin and beautiful media images at post-test. In addition, we investigated the extent to which our media literacy intervention influenced dieting behaviours, self-esteem, BMI, media skepticism, and media habits to determine if the intervention has broader effects than that previously studied.; Methods. College females (N = 105) were randomized into control and experimental groups and evaluated in our laboratory at baseline, post intervention, and 1-month follow-up time periods. Participants were divided into high and low internalization/social comparison groups based on median splits. Both control and intervention conditions included messages presented on a 7-minute audiotape. The control message included information concerning parenting skills and child behaviour management, and the intervention audiotape included information about "Artificial Beauty" and "Genetic Realities." The primary dependent measure was the body dissatisfaction subscale of the Eating Disorders Inventory (EDI-BD).; Results. Contrary to expectations, both control and experimental manipulations had no effect on participants' body dissatisfaction levels. The intervention was effective at increasing participants' skepticism about the realism, similarity, and positive expectancies of media that depict a thin ideal of beauty. The intervention also decreased negative affect following exposure to thin ideal images. Additional results are discussed.; Conclusions. The findings suggest that a brief media literacy intervention may have broader effects than previously studied in that they engender media skepticism and reduce negative affect; however, negative attitudes about one's body shape and weight may require more extensive, longer-term interventions. The content of the intervention, future directions, and implications for the treatment and prevention of body image disturbance and eating pathology are discussed. |
