Social media use and postpartum body image dissatisfaction: The role of appearance-related social comparisons and thin-ideal internalization

Abstract

Objectives: For many women, the postpartum period is a particularly vulnerable time to experience body image dissatisfaction. We aimed to examine the impact of social media usage frequency in the context of postpartum body image dissatisfaction and eating disorder psychopathology. We therefore empirically tested a hypothetical model assuming that social media usage influences postpartum body image dissatisfaction and eating disorder psychopathology via multiple mediation through appearance-related social comparisons and thin ideal internalization.

Design: Cross-sectional online-survey.

Setting: Online forums, social media groups, community groups PARTICIPANTS: Two-hundred-fifty-two new mothers who had given birth within the last 26 weeks prior to the assessment.

Measurements: Social media use was assessed by the average frequency of using Facebook, Instagram, Youtube or other per week. Body image dissatisfaction was assessed with the Body Shape Questionnaire and eating disorder psychopathology with the Eating Disorder Examination-Questionnaire. Path analyses using SPSS Amos were conducted to examine whether the hypothetical model fitted our data.

Results: After minor modification, the final model revealed a good fit to the data, CFI = .977, TLI = .964, SRMR = .061, RMSEA = .056 (90%CI .027, .084), and as expected the indirect multiple mediation pathway via appearance-related social comparisons and thin ideal idealization was significant, IE = 4.395; 95%BCaCI 2.969, 7.394; p = .001. The number of target groups for appearance-related social comparisons did not moderate the results.

Key conclusions: Our results provide first evidence that social media use may play an important role in postpartum body dissatisfaction and eating disorder psychopathology. Mediational pathways proposed by socio-cultural theories of body image also hold for the postpartum period.

Implications for practice: Practitioners in the field should be aware of the association between social media use and body image dissatisfaction and mediating factors among new mothers and sensitive when directing new mothers to those media.

Keywords: Appearance comparison, Thin-ideal; Body image; Path analysis; Social media; postpartum.