A Moderated Mediation Model of Peer Appearance Pressure and Self-Compassion

Current Psychology https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-020-00704-5

Body talk on social networking sites and body dissatisfaction among young women: A moderated mediation model of peer appearance pressure and self-compassion

Yuhui Wang1 & Jing Yang2 & Junli Wang3 & Lipeng Yin1 & Li Lei1

# Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2020

Abstract The present study explored whether engaging in body talk on social networking sites (SNS) was positively related to young women’s body dissatisfaction and whether this relationship was mediated by peer appearance pressure. We also examined whether this indirect relationship would be moderated by self-compassion. The model was tested with 413 Chinese young women who completed questionnaires regarding SNS body talk, peer appearance pressure, self-compassion, and body dissatisfaction. Results indicated that SNS body talk was positively associated with body dissatisfaction and this association was mediated by peer appearance pressure. Furthermore, self-compassion moderated the indirect link between SNS body talk and body dissatisfaction via peer appearance pressure. Findings from this study extend research on the relationship between SNS use and body image and indicate the potential protecting role of self-compassion in the prevention of body image concerns.

Keywords SNS body talk . Peer appearance pressure . Self-compassion . Body dissatisfaction

Body dissatisfaction is very prevalent among young people, predictor of body dissatisfaction is the use of social network- especially females (Wang et al. 2018a). Previous research has ing sites (SNS) (Fardouly and Vartanian 2016). Given that demonstrated that body dissatisfaction is associated with SNS has become a popular and important way for people to many negative outcomes, such as eating disorders (Jackson interact with each other, it is possible for users to talk about and Chen 2007, 2015), depression (Duchesne et al. 2017), low various topics of interest with their friends on SNS, including self-esteem (Tiggemann 2005;vandenBergetal.2010), and body talk (Walker et al. 2015;Wangetal.2019). Following low subjective well-being (Donaghue 2009;Wangetal. this vein, it would be interesting to merge these two risk fac- 2018a). Therefore, it is of critical importance to examine the tors of body dissatisfaction (i.e., body talk and SNS use) to antecedent factors of body dissatisfaction. investigate the relationship between SNS body talk, which Body talk has been identified as a risk factor of body dis- means the appearance-related interactions on SNS in the pres- satisfaction (see reviews, Mills and Fuller-Tyszkiewicz 2017; ent study, and body dissatisfaction. Sharpe et al. 2013). It refers to the interpersonal interactions that draw attention to bodies and physical appearance, rein- force the value and importance of appearance, and promote SNS Body Talk and Body Dissatisfaction the construction of appearance ideals (Jones and Crawford 2006; Nichter and Vuckovic 1994). Another documented SNS may represent a new public forum for online body talk and provide a platform for the propagation of body talk due to its interactivity (Walker et al. 2015). Specifically, when users * Li Lei [email protected] update appearance-related posts, such as selfies and posts about exercise or dieting, they would get friends’ comments 1 Department of Psychology, Renmin University of China, No. 59 which might trigger further reciprocal interactions, or to say, Zhongguancun Street, Haidian District, Beijing 100872, China body talk. For instance, a previous study revealed that viewing 2 School of Journalism and Communication, Tsinghua University, friends’ fitness posts on SNS was positively related to the Beijing 100084, China frequency of body talk (Arroyo and Brunner 2016). 3 Shandong Foreign Trade Vocational College, Qingdao 266071, Considering the influence of offline body talk on body dissat- China isfaction in previous research (see review, Mills and Fuller- Curr Psychol

Tyszkiewicz 2017), it would be necessary to explore the asso- occur within the context of peer groups (Jones et al. 2004). ciation between SNS body talk and body dissatisfaction as Therefore, individuals may feel pressure from peers to change well as the possible mechanisms underlying this relationship. their appearance when they find the discrepancies between Limited research, however, has examined the influence of their appearance and their friends’ after appearance compari- SNSbodytalkonbodydissatisfaction.Weareawareofthat sons in the context of SNS body talk (Chow and Tan 2016). In only two studies have examined the impacts of viewing body short, it is possible that engaging in SNS body talk would be talk on Facebook on women’s body satisfaction but have not related to peer appearance pressure. This speculation is sup- reached consistent findings (Taniguchi and Lee 2012, 2013). ported by previous research on offline body talk. For instance, Specifically, Taniguchi and Lee (2012) found that women body talk with friends was positively associated with peer who viewed thin-promoting comments reported lower levels appearance pressure among adolescents (Jones and of body satisfaction than those who viewed thin-discouraging Crawford 2006). Furthermore, the positive association be- comments, but this effect was only found in Japanese, not tween body talk and perceived pressure to be thin was docu- Americans; while neither of the effects of comment type was mented in a meta-analysis study (Mills and Fuller- found among Korea and US women in the other study Tyszkiewicz 2017). A longitudinal study further demonstrated (Taniguchi and Lee 2013). More importantly, both of these the predicting role of body talk on perceived appearance pres- two studies only compared the effects of two types of com- sure (Arroyo and Harwood 2012). ments on body satisfaction but did not examine the changes in Second, peer appearance pressure would be related to body body satisfaction after exposure to body talk. Additionally, dissatisfaction. The tripartite influence model offers a theoret- these two studies only focused on the effect of viewing, rather ical framework to understand this relationship. According to than engaging in, body talk on Facebook on body satisfaction. this model, sociocultural influence (family, peer, and media) Collectively, the present study first aimed to investigate the plays an important role in the development and maintenance association between engaging in regular SNS body talk and of body dissatisfaction (Thompson et al. 1999). Indeed, there body dissatisfaction. is a lot of evidence supporting that perceived sociocultural pressure from media, family, peers, and romantic partner (pressure measured using a combination of these sources) is The Mediating Role of Peer Appearance a significant predictor of body image concerns among adoles- Pressure cents and young adults (Chen and Jackson 2009; Jackson and Chen 2008a, b; Rodgers et al. 2016; Stice and Whitenton A possible variable that mediates the relationship between 2002;Sun2017). Specific to peer appearance pressure, previ- SNS body talk and body dissatisfaction might be peer appear- ous research showed that it was positively associated with ance pressure, which refers to the appearance-related pressure body dissatisfaction among adolescents (Jones and Crawford people feel from their peers to change or improve their own 2006;Xuetal.2010). An experimental study also identified physical appearance (Jones and Crawford 2006). SNS pro- the influence of peer appearance pressure on young women’s vides users an accessible way to interact with peers and gather body dissatisfaction (Shomaker and Furman 2007). feedback (Pempek et al. 2009). When users get appearance- Although previous studies have demonstrated the influence related comments or read comments about a friend’s appear- of body talk or peer appearance pressure on body dissatisfac- ance on SNS, they are likely to feel appearance pressure (de tion, little research examined these two influencing factors Vries et al. 2014). In turn, perceived appearance pressure together. One study has investigated the influence of body talk would lead to body dissatisfaction. This argument is supported and peer appearance pressure on body dissatisfaction simulta- by the following two sections. neously but it treated these two variables separately (Jones and First, SNS body talk would be related to peer appearance Crawford 2006). Unlike Jones and Crawford (2006)‘sstudy, pressure. According to social comparison theory, people have we took the potential link between SNS body talk and peer an innate drive to compare themselves with others in various appearance pressure into consideration and investigated the aspects of their lives (Festinger 1954). SNS body talk provides mediating role of peer appearance pressure in the relationship a situation where people focus attention on their physical ap- between SNS body talk and body dissatisfaction. pearance and may thus trigger appearance-related social comparisons, which are usually upward appearance comparisons (Engeln-Maddox et al. 2012). In other words, when talking The Moderating Role of Self-Compassion about their physical appearance with friends on SNS, individuals would instinctively engage in appearance comparisons. Although SNS body talk may predict body dissatisfaction via Furthermore, social comparison theory posits that people are peer appearance pressure, not all individuals experience this inclined to compare themselves with similar others, such as indirect effect homogeneously. Heterogeneity of the results peers (Festinger 1954), and body talk is usually regarded to may originate from individual characteristics that moderate Curr Psychol the indirect link, for instance, self-compassion. Self- Furthermore, self-compassion could also buffer the negative compassion is a concept originating from the Eastern philos- effects after experiencing the sense of inferiority in upward ophy, Buddhism in particular, which focuses on analyzing and comparison situations (Choi et al. 2014). Similarly, individ- understanding the nature of self. Then, with the interchange of uals high in self-compassion may feel less peer appearance ideas between Buddhism and psychology, self-compassion pressure after engaging in appearance comparisons in body was considered as a new way to understand and engender talk because they understand that having flaws and inadequa- mental well-being by psychologists. Based on the viewpoint cies is normal and inevitable (Neff 2003a). This supposition is in Buddhism psychology, Neff (2003a) defined self- supported by an empirical study which revealed that self- compassion as being receptive to and moved by one’sown compassion was negatively related to thinness-related pres- suffering, experiencing feelings of sympathy and kindness sure from friends (Tylka et al. 2015). To sum up, it seems toward oneself, and offering nonjudgmental understanding plausible that individuals high in self-compassion may less to one’s pain, inadequacies, and failures, so that one’sown likely feel peer appearance pressure after engaging in SNS experience is seen as a part of human nature. Neff (2003b) body talk. further posited that self-compassion is a healthy attitude to- The pathway from peer appearance pressure to body dis- ward oneself and could function as a buffer against negative satisfaction may also be alleviated by self-compassion. Self- self-evaluation. Indeed, it has been consistently identified that compassion allows fostering self-kindness, compassionate self-compassion is positively associated with adaptive psy- view of one’s self and body, nonjudgmental understanding chological outcomes, such as positive psychological function- to one’s inadequacies, and the capacity to respond to environ- ing and health-promoting behaviors (Sirois et al. 2015;Zessin mental threats or stressors (Ferreira et al. 2013). Following et al. 2015), while negatively related to psychological distress, this vein, for individuals high in self-compassion, when they such as anxiety and depression (Neff et al. 2007). Recently, feel appearance pressure from peers, which can be seen as a the protective role of self-compassion has extended into the threat or stressor, their levels of body satisfaction may not be area of body image. For instance, self-compassion is identified affected because they treat themselves with kindness and non- as a protective factor against negative body image (see review, judgmental understanding instead of self-criticism when fac- Braun et al. 2016). ing stressor, failure, or inadequacy (Neff 2003a). In fact, the Furthermore, according to the theoretical perspective of buffering role of self-compassion in the association of socio- Neff (2003b), self-compassion could buffer individual’sreac- cultural risk factors and body image concerns has been docu- tions to negative events. Drawing on neurophysiological sup- mented in empirical research (Braun et al. 2016). To our port, self-compassion could deactivate the threat system (as- knowledge, however, only one study has tested the moderat- sociated with feelings of insecurity and defensiveness) and ing role of self-compassion in the link between peer appear- activate the contentment, soothing, and safeness system (as- ance pressure and body image-related variables and found that sociated with feelings of well-being, safeness, and social-con- self-compassion did not mitigate the relation between nectedness) (Gilbert 2009). Therefore, it could protect individ- thinness-related pressures from friends and thin-ideal internal- uals against the negative self-evaluation when facing a self- ization (Tylka et al. 2015). Therefore, the moderating role of threatening situation. In other words, self-compassion could self-compassion in the link between peer appearance pressure act as a moderator in the link from negative self-relevant and body dissatisfaction would be explored as well. events to individual’s reactions. For example, Neff et al. (2007) found that individuals who were high in self-compassion, as opposed to low, experienced less self-evaluative anx- The Present Study iety after engaging in a writing task about their greatest weakness. Another study also examined the buffering role of self- Prior research shows that females engage in more body talk, compassion using five studies and found that self-compassion report higher body dissatisfaction, and are more likely to per- could attenuate people’s reactions to unpleasant self-relevant ceive appearance pressure from interpersonal sources than events (Leary et al. 2007). Of particular relevance to the pres- males do (Strandbu and Kvalem 2014;Sun2017). ent study, self-compassion may mitigate the path from SNS Furthermore, a meta-analysis revealed that the effect size of body talk to peer appearance pressure. Based on the elucida- the relationship between body talk and body dissatisfaction is tion above, appearance comparisons play an important role in larger in females than in males and larger for adults than for the link between body talk and peer appearance pressure. adolescents (Sharpe et al. 2013). Thus, the present study chose Previous studies have demonstrated that self-compassion is young adult women as a research sample. negatively related to appearance comparisons (Homan and Taken together, the present study focused on young women Tylka 2015). In other words, self-compassionate people are to investigate: (1) the relationship between SNS body talk and less likely to compare with others when talking about their body dissatisfaction, (2) whether peer appearance pressure appearance, thus would feel less appearance pressure. would mediate this relationship, and (3) whether the indirect Curr Psychol relationship between SNS body talk and body dissatisfaction minutes,”“2=10–30 minutes,”“3=31–60 minutes,”“4= through peer appearance pressure would be moderated by 1–2hours,”“5=2–3hours,” and “6 = more than 3 hours.” self-compassion. Collectively, we proposed the following The questionnaire was administrated in its Chinese version. hypotheses: Students were free to withdraw from the study at any time. After completing the survey, the participants were debriefed Hypothesi 1. SNS body talk would be positively associated and thanked for their participation. with body dissatisfaction among young women. Measures Hypothesi 2. Peer appearance pressure would mediate the relationship between SNS body talk and SNS Body Talk Following previous research (Wang et al. young women’s body dissatisfaction. 2019), appearance conversations with friends scale (Jones Hypothesi 3. Self-compassion would moderate the indirect et al. 2004) was slightly modified to measure SNS body talk. link from SNS body talk to body dissatisfac- Adaptions were made by adding a description “on SNS” to the tion through peer appearance pressure. original items. Participants responded to 5 items on 5-point Specifically, the indirect association would be scale (1 = never to 5 = very frequently). A representative item weaker for women with higher levels of self- was: “On SNS, my friends and I talk about the size and shape compassion. of our bodies.” Items were averaged to form a scale score with a higher score indicating more frequently the participants talk about their bodies with their friends on SNS. This measure has been successfully used in previous research among Chinese Method samples (An 2017;Wangetal.2019). In the current study, confirmatory factor analysis showed that this measure had Participants and Procedure good fit, χ2/df = 1.49, p > .05; RMSEA = .039; CFI = .997; TLI = .993; SRMR = .015. Cronbach’s α was .87. A total of 422 female undergraduates were recruited from two universities in China by contacting their instructors. Peer Appearance Pressure Peer appearance pressure was Participants who had the experience of using SNS were in- assessed using the Pressures: Peers subscale of the cluded in the study. Nine participants failed to complete the Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Questionnaire- survey fully (30%–50% of the data were missing), and thus 4-Revised (SATAQ-4R; Schaefer et al. 2017). Participants were excluded from the analysis. Data from 413 participants were asked to indicate their level of agreement with four state- were analyzed in the present study. In the final sample, the ments using a 5-point scale with response options ranging mean age of the participants was 19.53 years (SD = 1.19), from 1 (definitely disagree)to5(definitely agree). An exam- ranging from 16 to 22. Based on self-reported height and ple item was: “I feel pressure from my peers to look in better weight, participants’ body mass indices (BMI: kg/m2)ranged shape.” Mean scores were computed with higher values indi- from 14.88 to 29.90 (M =20.20,SD =2.58).Participantsre- cating greater peer appearance pressure. The results of confir- ported spending approximately “2–3h” per day on SNS (M = matory factor analysis based on the data in the present study 4.67, SD = 1.35, range = 1–6), with over 70% of the partici- showed that this measure had good fit, χ2/df =2.56,p >.05; pants reporting using SNS more than 1 h a day and only 1% of RMSEA = .071; CFI = .994; TLI = .983; SRMR = .014. In the the participants using SNS less than 10 min per day. present study, Cronbach’s α was .86. Ethical approval was gained from the first author’s University Ethics Committee. Informed consent was obtained Self-Compassion The Self-Compassion Scale-Short Form from all participants before data collection. The survey was (SCS-SF; Raes et al. 2011) was used to assess self-compas- advertised as an investigation into Internet use and mental sion. Participants rated 12 items on a 5-point scale, ranging health and was administered in classrooms by trained research from 1 = almost never to 5 = almost always (e.g., “When I’m assistants. Students were voluntary to take part in the survey going through a very hard time, I give myself the caring and and they received no reward for the participation. Participants tenderness I need”). Item responses were averaged with higher were asked to complete a questionnaire, including demo- scores indicating greater self-compassion. This scale had a graphic items, SNS use intensity, SNS body talk, peer appear- good validity (Raes et al. 2011) and has been successfully ance pressure, self-compassion, and body dissatisfaction. In used among Chinese samples (Yang and Mak 2017; Yang addition, the participants reported the time they spent on SNS et al. 2019). In the current study, Cronbach’salphawas.80. by being asked “In the past week, on average, approximately how much time PER DAY have you spent actively using Body Dissatisfaction Body dissatisfaction was assessed using SNS?” The response options consisted of “1= less than 10 Body Areas Satisfaction Scale (BASS), a subscale of Curr Psychol

Multidimensional Body-Self Relations Questionnaire peer appearance pressure was positively related to body dis- (MBSRQ; Cash 2000). Participants were asked to report their satisfaction; self-compassion was negatively associated with levels of satisfaction on nine items with discrete aspects of peer appearance pressure and body dissatisfaction while the one’s appearance and overall appearance. The BASS uses a relation between self-compassion and SNS body talk was not 5-point scale ranging from 1 = very dissatisfied to 5 = very significant. Given that SNS body talk was positively correlat- satisfied. Responses across the nine items were reversed and ed to body dissatisfaction, Hypothesis 1 was supported. averaged, with higher scores representing higher levels of Considering the significant associations between BMI and body dissatisfaction. The results of confirmatory factor anal- SNS body talk, peer appearance pressure, and body dissatis- ysis based on the data in the present study showed that this faction as well as the significant associations between SNS measure had good fit, χ2/df = 4.33, p < .05; RMSEA = .10; use and both SNS body talk and peer appearance pressure CFI = .934; TLI = .918; SRMR = .043. This scale has been (see Table 1), BMI and SNS use were entered as covariates successfully used in previous studies (Wang et al. 2018b, in the following analyses. 2020). In this research, its Cronbach’s α was .87. Testing for Mediation Effect Covariates Given that overall SNS use is associated with body image (Fardouly and Vartanian 2016), it was controlled for in The PROCESS macro (Model 4) in SPSS (Hayes, 2013)was the present study. Six items developed by Ellison et al. (2007) used to test the mediating role of peer appearance pressure in were used to assess overall SNS use. We replaced “Facebook” the link between SNS body talk and body dissatisfaction with “SNS” to assess SNS use more broadly. A representative (Hypothesis 2). Mediation analysis showed that peer appear- item is: “SNS is part of my everyday activity.” Items were ance pressure mediated the relation between SNS body talk rated on a 5-point scale with response options ranging from and body dissatisfaction (see Table 2). The indirect effect of 1=strongly disagree to 5 = strongly agree. Mean scores were SNS body talk on body dissatisfaction via peer appearance computed with a higher score indicating a higher SNS use pressure was significant (ab = .10, SE = .02, 95% CI = [.05, intensity. In this sample, Cronbach’salphawas.82. .14]), accounting for 38.8% of the total effect. This indicates peer appearance pressure mediated the relationship between Statistical Analysis SNS body talk and body dissatisfaction. Therefore, Hypothesis 2 was supported. The descriptive statistics were calculated first, followed by bivariate associations among the variables of interest. Testing for Moderated Mediation Second, to analyze the mediation effect of peer appearance pressure on the relationship between SNS body talk and body The PROCESS macro (Model 58) in SPSS (Hayes, 2013)was dissatisfaction the PROCESS macro for SPSS (Model 4) de- used to test the moderating role of self-compassion in the veloped by Hayes (2013) was used. This macro used the indirect relation between SNS body talk and body dissatisfac- bootstrapping technique to test the significance of the direct tion via peer appearance pressure (Hypothesis 3). As Table 3 and the indirect effects by repeatedly sampling cases from the illustrates, the interaction between SNS body talk and self- data and estimating the model in each resample. In the present compassion on peer appearance pressure was significant, study, we generated 95% bias-corrected confidence intervals b = −.19, p < .001. This suggests that the relationship between on the basis of 1000 bootstrap samples to estimate the medi- SNS body talk and peer appearance pressure was moderated ating effect. Confidence intervals that do not contain zero by self-compassion. For the descriptive purpose, we plotted indicate effects are statistically significant. Then, the analysis the predicted peer appearance pressure by SNS body talk sep- of the moderated mediation model was performed using arately for high and low self-compassion (1 SD above the Hayes’s(2013) PROCESS macro for SPSS (Model 58). The mean and 1 SD below the mean, respectively) (Fig. 1). bootstrapping technique was used to test the significance of Simple slopes analyses indicated that for women who had the moderating effect. lower levels of self-compassion, SNS body talk was associat-

ed with peer appearance pressure, bsimple =.40,p < .001. For those with higher levels of self-compassion, however, the as- Results sociation between SNS body talk and peer appearance pressure was not significant, bsimple =.03,p = .61. In addition, the Preliminary Analysis interaction between peer appearance pressure and self- compassion on body dissatisfaction was non-significant, Means, standard deviations, and correlations for all variables b =.02,p = .52. That is, the positive association between peer are presented in Table 1. SNS body talk was positively asso- appearance pressure and body dissatisfaction was not moder- ciated with peer appearance pressure and body dissatisfaction; ated by self-compassion. Curr Psychol

Table 1 Means, standard deviations, and zero-order corre- Variables MSD123 456 lations for main study variables 1. SNS body talk 2.07 0.79 1 2. Peer appearance pressure 2.59 0.86 .23** 1 3. Self-compassion 3.17 0.39 −.06 −.11* 1 4. Body dissatisfaction 2.86 0.70 .21** .49** −.22** 1 5. SNS use 3.67 0.82 .21** .12* .05 .04 1 5. BMI 20.20 2.58 −.08 .34** .13* .32** −.01 1

*p < .05. **p <.01

The bias-corrected percentile bootstrap results further indi- body dissatisfaction, suggesting that SNS body talk may have cated that the indirect effect of SNS body talk on body dissat- a negative influence on females’ body image. Additionally, isfaction via peer appearance pressure was moderated by self- some scholars suggest focusing on specific activities (e.g., compassion. Specifically, for women with low self-compas- viewing photos and commenting), which are more strongly sion, the indirect effect of SNS body talk on body dissatisfac- related to body image concerns compared with general SNS tion was significant, b = .16, SE = .04, 95% CI = [.10, .24]. use (Meier and Gray 2014). The finding of our study extends The indirect effect was not significant for women high in previous research on the relationship between SNS use and self-compassion, b = .01, SE = .03, 95% CI = [−.05, .06]. body image by linking SNS body talk to body dissatisfaction, Collectively, the indirect relation between SNS body talk which offers a novel perspective to explore how SNS use and body dissatisfaction via peer appearance pressure was affects individuals’ body image in future research. moderated by self-compassion. Therefore, Hypothesis 3 was Consistent with our hypothesis (Hypothesis 2), peer ap- supported. pearance pressure mediated the positive association between SNS body talk and body dissatisfaction among young women. That is, SNS body talk could increase women’s peer appear- Discussion ance pressure, which in turn results in body dissatisfaction. Although previous research has documented the association The relationships between SNS use and body dissatisfaction, between body talk and body dissatisfaction and the link be- as well as traditional body talk and body dissatisfaction among tween peer appearance pressure and body dissatisfaction women have gained extensive empirical support (for reviews, (Jones and Crawford 2006), the potential relationship between see Fardouly and Vartanian 2016; Mills and Fuller- body talk and peer appearance pressure was neglected. The Tyszkiewicz 2017). With its prevalence in people’s daily life, current study innovatively took this possible association into SNS provides a space for novel form of body talk (Walker account and examined the mediating role of peer appearance et al. 2015). Limited research, however, has combined SNS pressure in the link between SNS body talk and body dissat- use and body talk to see the association between SNS body isfaction. This finding contributed to a better understanding of talk and body dissatisfaction. To fill this gap in previous liter- how SNS body talk and peer appearance pressure influence ature, the current study tried to look into this relationship individual’s body dissatisfaction. among young women. In line with our expectation In addition to the whole mediation model, each phase of the (Hypothesis 1), SNS body talk was positively associated with mediating process is noteworthy. First, our results showed that

Table 2 Testing the mediation effect of SNS body talk on body Predictors Model 1 Model 2 Model 3 dissatisfaction (body dissatisfaction) (peer appearance pressure) (body dissatisfaction)

bt b t bt

SNS use −.03 −0.64 .10 2.15* −.08 −1.73 BMI .39 7.42*** .40 8.07*** .21 4.06*** SNS body talk .25 5.49*** .22 4.94*** .16 3.61*** Peer appearance pressure .46 9.55*** F 26.43*** 31.38*** 47.09*** R2 .17 .19 .32

*p <.05.***p <.001 Curr Psychol

Table 3 Testing the moderated mediation effect of SNS body talk Predictors Model 1 (peer appearance pressure) Model 2 (body dissatisfaction) on body dissatisfaction bt bt

SNS use .11 2.46* −.06 −1.30 BMI .42 8.67*** .25 4.81*** SNS body talk .22 5.04*** .15 3.51*** Self-compassion (SC) −.21 −4.56*** −.21 −5.03*** SNS body talk × SC −.19 −4.54*** Peer appearance pressure .42 8.88*** Peer appearance pressure × SC .02 0.65 F 25.74*** 36.39*** R2 .25 .36

*p <.05.***p <.001

SNS body talk was positively correlated with peer appearance appearance comparisons in the relation between SNS body pressure among women. This is because the majority of talk and peer appearance pressure. friends on SNS come from peer groups, and thus talking with For the second stage of the mediating process, peer appear- these friends about their appearance may result in peer appearance pressure had a positive association with body dissatisfac- ance pressure among women (Sun 2017). For example, when tion. This result is consistent with the tripartite influence mod- friends make suggestions for someone about body change el, which posits that sociocultural influence (i.e., family, peer, strategies, this person would perceive pointed or implied pres- and media) is a crucial risk factor of the development of body sure from his/her friends (Jones and Crawford 2006). dissatisfaction (Thompson et al. 1999). Based on the tripartite Furthermore, an important mechanism that makes these con- influence model, an important explanation for this result versations cause peer appearance pressure might be appear- might be that perceived pressure from peers could lead to ance comparisons. Based on social comparison theory the internalization of the appearance ideals depicted in the (Festinger 1954), women would instinctively make appear- culture and further appearance comparisons with these ideals, ance comparisons when talking about physical appearance which in turn results in body dissatisfaction. Previous research with peers. This point of view has been supported by previous showed that appearance pressure from media, family mem- research, which has identified the positive association be- bers, and peers predicts body dissatisfaction (Chen and tween body talk and appearance comparisons (Mills and Jackson 2009; Jackson and Chen 2008a, b; Rodgers et al. Fuller-Tyszkiewicz 2017). Notably, this is just our theoretical 2016;SticeandWhitenton2002;Sun2017). However, most speculation. Future research could further explore the role of of these studies, especially those in the Chinese context,

Fig. 1 The interaction between 0.8 SNS body talk and self- compassion on peer appearance 0.7 pressure. BT = body talk e r 0.6 u s

s 0.5 e r

p 0.4 e

c 0.3 n Low self-compassion a

r 0.2 a

e High self-compassion

p 0.1 p

a 0 r e

e -0.1 P -0.2 -0.3 Low BT on SNSs High BT on SNSs Curr Psychol measured pressure using a combination of sources including However, the moderating role of self-compassion in the link media and family members, instead of testing them separately from peer appearance pressure to body dissatisfaction was not (Chen and Jackson 2009; Jackson and Chen 2008b;Sun found in the present study, which conflicts with our hypothesis. 2017), which thus cannot examine the role of peer appearance This result is congruent with the previous finding that self- pressure independently. Peer is a powerful source of influence compassion did not alleviate the relationships between on body image among young people (Jones and Crawford thinness-related pressures from friends and thin-ideal internaliza- 2006; Shomaker and Furman 2007;Shroff2004), with some tion and disordered eating among young women (Tylka et al. research even suggesting that perceived pressure from peers 2015). However, in Tylka et al. (2015)‘s study, self-compassion might be more influential in predicting females’ body dissat- did ameliorate the links from media thinness-related pressure to isfaction than that from media, family, and romantic partners thin-ideal internalization and disordered eating. These results (McCabe and Ricciardelli 2005; Presnell et al. 2004). The may emphasize that peer pressure is a more powerful source of present study showed the significant role of peer appearance influence than media pressure on female’s body image. This pressure in body dissatisfaction among Chinese young wom- speculation has been documented in previous research en, which emphasizes the role of peer appearance pressure (McCabe and Ricciardelli 2005;Presnelletal.2004). Social should be taken into account in future research. comparison theory may, in a way, provide some theoretical ex- The present study also examined the buffering role of self- planations for these results. According to this framework, people compassion in the indirect association between SNS body talk are inclined to compare with similar others when evaluating and body dissatisfaction through peer appearance pressure themselves (Festinger 1954). Therefore, peers, as their counter- (Hypothesis 3). Consistent with our prediction, self- parts, are important referencing standards when young women compassion moderated the relationship between SNS body assess their own physical appearance (Furman and Buhrmester talk and peer appearance pressure, which is congruent with 1992). Once they realize the appearance discrepancies between previous findings that self-compassion mitigated the associa- themselves and their peers, they cannot resist the negative influ- tions between various risk factors and body image concerns ence of peer pressure, and thus feel dissatisfied whether they are (Braun et al. 2016). Specifically, the relation between SNS high or low in self-compassion. However, when confronting body talk and peer appearance pressure was significant among media appearance pressure, women with high self-compassion women with lower self-compassion, while for women higher could put up with the discrepancy between their appearance and in self-compassion this relationship was not significant. That that depicted in media, which is usually unrealistic, so that their is, for women with high self-compassion, they are less likely body satisfaction would be less affected by the media pressure to perceive appearance pressure from peers after engaging in compared with those in low self-compassion. This is just a spec- SNS body talk. A possible explanation for this result might be ulation, and further investigation is needed. that people high in self-compassion have an adaptive self- Some limitations should be noted in the present study. First, attitude and are kind to themselves, which could make them participants in this study only focused on females. Although be resistant to the negative consequences of self-judgment females talk about their physical appearance more frequently (Neff 2003a, b). Consistent with this interpretation, previous than males do, males engage in body talk as well (Engeln et al. research showed that individuals who were high in self- 2013). Future research should explore the relationship be- compassion experienced less self-evaluative anxiety when tween SNS body talk and body image in the male group. facing their inadequacy or weakness (Neff et al. 2007). Second, the present study is cross-sectional in design. Thus, Specific to this study, women high in self-compassion could casual or bidirectional relationships cannot be examined. be kind to themselves and embrace their physical inadequa- Although body talk has been identified as a risk factor of body cies when they realize the deficiency in their appearance after dissatisfaction, it is also plausible that initial body dissatisfac- engaging in SNS body talk. Another explanation might be that tion levels may affect subsequent body talk frequencies. people high in self-compassion are less likely to be influenced Further, the mediation model in other directions could be pos- by unfavorable comparisons (e.g., upward appearance com- sible as well. Therefore, more future research is needed to test parisons when talking about physical appearance) given that these bidirectional relationships using a longitudinal design. appearance comparisons might be an important mechanism Third, engaging in body talk in the present study was mea- that underlies the association between body talk and peer ap- sured with general frequency without distinguishing different pearance pressure (Chow and Tan 2016). Previous research types. Following research attention should be given to differ- found that individuals high in self-compassion reported less ent body talk (e.g., positive and negative body talk) on SNS. negative feelings than their counterparts after reading upward Finally, appearance comparisons were speculated as an impor- comparison scenarios (Choi et al. 2014). In the present study, tant mechanism underlying the association between SNS body individuals with high self-compassion were less negatively talk and peer appearance pressure in the present study, but it influenced by the appearance comparisons after engaging in was not measured, which should be further considered and body talk and thus reported less peer appearance pressure. explored in future studies. Curr Psychol

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