Magazine exposure: Internalization, self-objectification, eating attitudes, and body satisfaction in male and female university students.

Investigated the relationships among magazine exposure, self-objectification, body shape dissatisfaction, and eating disorder symptomatology in 150 men and women (aged 18-42 yrs). Women reading beauty magazines and men reading fitness magazines internalized societal ideals (internalization). For women, beauty magazines predicted self-objectification, mediated by internalization. For men, only internalization predicted self-objectification. For men, fitness magazines predicted body shape dissatisfaction, mediated by internalization. For women, only internalization predicted body shape dissatisfaction. Reading magazines also predicted eating problems for men and women, for women this was mediated by internalization. Findings suggest that magazine reading is related to concerns with physical appearance and eating behaviors. Many of the relationships previously found for women are similar for men. A sociocultural model is used to explain these results. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)