Adolescent Body Image

Adolescence is a time of change, not only changes in the physical body, but also changes and growth in mental health. The expectations placed on adolescents increase, their social roles change, and for the first time in their lives, they are able to create their own opinions more than ever before. For many, adolescence it is an exciting time, full of promise and excitement; but for others, adolescence is a time of trial and internal struggle. The struggle to fit in, developing physically too soon or too late, and the struggle to meet society’s views on what is beautiful. At the young age of ten, before puberty has hit for the average adolescent, young boys and girls are already concerned about their body. Key word searches have also shown that …show more content…
The youth of today are constantly bombarded with the tie between beauty and self worth, which can cause internalized distress. With the rise of social media, it is hard to escape the societal schema that skinny is beautiful, and being overweight is ugly and undesirable. A longitudinal research study on adolescent females, between the ages of 13-15, focused on the relationship between time spent on Facebook and body image. The participants were tested at the beginning of a two year period. At this time, the females had limited exposure to mass media. The participants were then tested again after two years of using extensive mass media, in this case, Facebook. The research concluded that body image concerns increased substantially over the two-year period (Tiggemann & Slater, 2016). Due to the fact that adolescents are using social media more frequently starting at a younger age, the dissatisfaction with one’s own body will therefore continue to increase if patterns stay true to current research. It is this body dissatisfaction that is causing teens to turn to unhealthy methods of weight …show more content…
Parenting specifically plays a key role in the recovery of eating disorders for adolescents. Parents need to monitor their adolescent more than they previously did, but also realize that their child is not choosing this directly and demonstrate signs of empathy. Parents need to also make sure their adolescent follows through on getting the help they need, because that is often one of the hardest steps to take. Being an ally, without being too demanding or not overbearing enough is a key factor in the parent’s role. Being too authoritative and combative with the adolescent will only make the situation worse, and will cause increased stress on the adolescent. One of the most important aspects for treating eating disorders is the parent’s ability to realize that the road to recovery is long and hard, and being supportive along the