The Thin Ideal and Unhealthy Weight Control

A Study of Social Media Effects Based on the Influence of Presumed Media Influence Model

Abstract

Abstract

Media effects extend beyond simple linear processes, operating through complex cognitive inferences. Drawing on the Influence of Presumed Media Influence (IPMI) model, this study explores the indirect associations between thin-ideal information on social media and young women's unhealthy weight control intentions. Based on survey data from 575 young women, structural equation modeling and multigroup analysis were employed, using health consciousness as a grouping variable. Results indicate that attention to thin-ideal information is positively associated with descriptive norms and personal attitudes via presumed influence on others, which subsequently predict unhealthy behavioral intentions. Notably, while high health consciousness breaks the association between personal attitudes and intentions, it cannot counteract the immense pressure of descriptive norms. Normative pressure stably predicts unhealthy intentions across all health consciousness levels. These findings highlight the overwhelming power of social norms over individual health cognition, emphasizing that mitigating media-driven health risks requires interventions targeting normative perceptions rather than mere content regulation.

Keywords: Health communication; Indirect media effects; Influence of presumed media influence; Social media; Unhealthy weight control behaviors