The measurement of media literacy in eating disorder risk factor research: Psychometric properties of six measures

BACKGROUND: Evaluation of media literacy-based interventions for the prevention of eating disorder risk is limited by the lack of appropriate measures with established psychometric properties with which to assess change in media literacy. This study aims to fill this gap by examining the psychometric properties and use in eating disorders risk factor research of six measures of media literacy that assess media processing and critical thinking about general media and critical thinking about appearance-focused media. METHODS: The factor structure, internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and construct validity, including convergent and discriminant validity, were examined in six measures in two samples of early adolescent females. The measures were the Realism Scepticism, Similarity Scepticism, and Desirability Scepticism subscales of the Media Attitudes Questionnaire, the Fake subscale of the Critical Processing of Beauty Images Scale, the Critical Thinking about Media Messages scale, and Critical Thinking about Media Messages - Appearance Focus scale. RESULTS: The factor structure of the measures was supported with factor analysis. Items from the Media Attitudes Questionnaire loaded on the three subscales Realism Scepticism, Similarity Scepticism, and Desirability Scepticism and items from each of the Fake subscale, Critical Thinking about Media Messages scale and Critical Thinking about Media Messages - Appearance Focus scale loaded on one scale. In addition, scores on the measures were reliable (adequate internal consistency and test-retest reliability) and valid (adequate construct, convergent, and discriminant validity) in early adolescent females. Two exceptions were Realism Scepticism, which had slightly low test-retest reliability, and the Fake subscale, for which support for construct validity was lacking. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides evidence to support the use of select media literacy measures, particularly the Realism Scepticism subscale and the Critical Thinking about Media Messages scale, in eating disorder risk factor research and the findings will contribute to enhanced evaluation of media literacy-based prevention interventions

Dismantling prevention: Comparison of outcomes following media literacy and appearance comparison modules in a randomised controlled trial.

A dismantling study of body dissatisfaction prevention was conducted. Adolescent girls ( N = 260) were randomly allocated to a media literacy (Happy Being Me – Media Literacy) or appearance comparison (Happy Being Me – Appearance Comparison) intervention or healthy eating behaviour control (Happy Being Me – Healthy Eating Behaviour) condition. In the Happy Being Me – Appearance Comparison condition, improvements from baseline to post-programme and follow-up for upward appearance comparison and fear of negative appearance evaluation were observed. In the Happy Being Me – Media Literacy condition, improvements were observed from baseline to post-programme for upward appearance comparison and realism scepticism. Findings were similar in a high-risk subsample and overall are moderately supportive of appearance comparison-based interventions, but less supportive of a stand-alone media literacy intervention. </jats:p

Understanding body image in physical education

Body image disturbance in children and adolescents has negative implications for psychological and physical well-being. To positively impact well-being, it is important to explore factors that influence body image and to identify strategies that can be used to reduce body image disturbance. The school curriculum can play a significant role in shaping how children and adolescents experience their bodies. Within this school curriculum, physical education lessons represent one of the only school subjects in which the body is a focus of curricular outcomes. In physical education, the body is judged for physical ability but is also situated in a space that provides the potential for social comparisons and body judgements. Significant attention has been paid to the development of classroom-based interventions that aim at reducing body image disturbance, yet physical education has largely been ignored as a context in which one can effectively intervene. This paper reviews current knowledge on the relationship between physical education and body image disturbance by using the cognitive-behavioural model of body image developments as a guiding framework. It also considers the contribution that physical education could make to wider school-based interventions

The effects of interleukin-8 on airway smooth muscle contraction in cystic fibrosis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Many cystic fibrosis (CF) patients display airway hyperresponsiveness and have symptoms of asthma such as cough, wheezing and reversible airway obstruction. Chronic airway bacterial colonization, associated with neutrophilic inflammation and high levels of interleukin-8 (IL-8) is also a common occurrence in these patients. The aim of this work was to determine the responsiveness of airway smooth muscle to IL-8 in CF patients compared to non-CF individuals.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Experiments were conducted on cultured ASM cells harvested from subjects with and without CF (control subjects). Cells from the 2^ndto 5^thpassage were studied. Expression of the IL-8 receptors CXCR1 and CXCR2 was assessed by flow cytometry. The cell response to IL-8 was determined by measuring intracellular calcium concentration ([Ca²⁺]_i), cell contraction, migration and proliferation.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The IL-8 receptors CXCR1 and CXCR2 were expressed in both non-CF and CF ASM cells to a comparable extent. IL-8 (100 nM) induced a peak Ca²⁺release that was higher in control than in CF cells: 228 ± 7 versus 198 ± 10 nM (p < 0.05). IL-8 induced contraction was greater in CF cells compared to control. Furthermore, IL-8 exposure resulted in greater phosphorylation of myosin light chain (MLC₂₀) in CF than in control cells. In addition, MLC₂₀expression was also increased in CF cells. Exposure to IL-8 induced migration and proliferation of both groups of ASM cells but was not different between CF and non-CF cells.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>ASM cells of CF patients are more contractile to IL-8 than non-CF ASM cells. This enhanced contractility may be due to an increase in the amount of contractile protein MLC₂₀. Higher expression of MLC₂₀by CF cells could contribute to airway hyperresponsiveness to IL-8 in CF patients.</p

Gender comparisons of fat talk in the United Kingdom and the United States

This study compared different forms of body talk, including "fat talk," among 231 university men and women in central England (UK; n = 93) and the southeastern United States (US; n = 138). A 2 (gender) by 2 (country) repeated measures ANOVA across types of body talk (negative, self-accepting, positive) and additional Chi-square analyses revealed that there were differences across gender and between the UK and US cultures. Specifically, UK and US women were more likely to report frequently hearing or perceiving pressure to engage in fat talk than men. US women and men were also more likely to report pressure to join in self-accepting body talk than UK women and men

Construct validity of a figure rating scale for Brazilian adolescents

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Figure rating scales were developed as a tool to determine body dissatisfaction in women, men, and children. However, it lacks in the literature the validation of the scale for body silhouettes previously adapted. We aimed to obtain evidence for construct validity of a figure rating scale for Brazilian adolescents.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The study was carried out with adolescent students attending three public schools in an urban region of the municipality of Florianopolis in the State of Santa Catarina (SC). The sample comprised 232 10-19-year-old students, 106 of whom are boys and 126 girls, from the 5th "series" (i.e. year) of Primary School to the 3rd year of Secondary School. Data-gathering involved the application of an instrument containing 8 body figure drawings representing a range of children's and adolescents' body shapes, ranging from very slim (contour 1) to obese (contour 8). Weights and heights were also collected, and body mass index (BMI) was calculated later. BMI was analyzed as a continuous variable, using z-scores, and as a dichotomous categorical variable, representing a diagnosis of nutritional status (normal and overweight including obesity).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Results showed that both males and females with larger BMI z-scores chose larger body contours. Girls with higher BMI z-scores also show higher values of body image dissatisfaction.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>We provided the first evidence of validity for a figure rating scale for Brazilian adolescents.</p

Predicting Weight Outcomes in Preadolescence: The Role of Toddlers? Self-regulation Skills and the Temperament Dimension of Pleasure

Objective To investigate the role of toddlers? self-regulation skills and temperament in predicting weight outcomes in preadolescence. Method Participants for this study included 195 children (114 girls) obtained from three different cohorts participating in a larger ongoing longitudinal study. At 2 years of age, participants participated in several laboratory tasks designed to assess their self-regulation abilities, including emotion regulation, sustained attention, and delay of gratification, while parents filled out a temperament questionnaire to assess toddlers? pleasure expression. Height and weight measures were collected when children were 4, 5, 7, and 10 years of age. Children also filled out a body image and eating questionnaire at the 10 year visit. Results Self-regulation skills in toddlers were associated with both BMI development, pediatric obesity, and body image/eating concerns. The temperament dimension of pleasure was also associated with BMI development and pediatric obesity but not body image/eating concerns. Conclusion Self-regulation difficulties across domains as well as temperament based pleasure in toddlers represented significant individual risk factors for the development of pediatric obesity eight years later. Early self-regulation difficulties also contributed to body image and eating concerns that typically accompanied overweight children. The mechanisms by which early self-regulation skills and temperament based pleasure may contribute to the development of pediatric obesity and associated weight concerns are discussed