Longitudinal association of homonegative school climate with body dysmorphic disorder among cisgender sexual minority adolescents: Testing mediation through proximal minority stressors

Social Media Effects Regarding Eating Disorders and Body Image in Young Adolescents

The following study investigates how eating problems and young people's body image are affected by social media. As social media becomes more pervasive, young teenagers are exposed to many pictures, messages, and influencers encouraging unachievable body and beauty ideals. The study investigates the link between social media usage and the development of binge eating disorder patterns and undesirable body image judgments. It also sheds light on the influence that so-called social media influencers and celebrities have on encouraging disordered eating patterns and forming negative body image perceptions. On websites like Instagram and TikTok, exposure to deliberately selected photographs of "ideal" body types encourages body dissatisfaction and poor self-worth. The research emphasizes social media's possible harm to this vulnerable group's physical and mental health by examining pertinent literature and empirical evidence. It also looks at potential safeguards and methods for fostering good mental and physical health in early adolescents during pervasive social networking site use. Promoting fad diets, weight-loss aids, and the exaltation of extreme thinness aids in the normalization of harmful behaviours. Social media's negative consequences on eating disorders and body image in young teenagers are highlighted by this study in its conclusion. As a critical developmental stage, early adolescence is vulnerable due to the effect of social media, which could normalize unhealthy behaviours and maintain negative body image and insecurities. The findings underscore the need for targeted interventions and educational programs to mitigate the adverse effects of eating problems and young people's body image in light of social media.

A systematic review and research agenda of internalized sexual stigma in sexual minority individuals: Evidence from longitudinal and intervention studies

Internalized sexual stigma is a well-established risk factor for poor mental health among sexual minority individuals. However, there has been no synthesis of the literature pertaining to risk and protective factors that influence the development of internalized sexual stigma over time. This systematic review presents findings from 31 studies addressing this question (n = 9192); 23 studies examined psychosocial and sociodemographic predictors of internalized sexual stigma among sexual minority individuals, and eight studies tested the effects of psychological interventions on internalized sexual stigma. Longitudinal studies highlight the stability of internalized sexual stigma over time, and the role of stigma and discrimination, proximal minority stressors (e.g., outness, concealment), and psychological factors (e.g., depressive and anxious symptoms, coping styles, and demoralization) in predicting subsequent internalized sexual stigma. Demographic factors appear to play only a limited role in predicting subsequent internalized sexual stigma. Finally, most intervention studies found no significant effects in reducing internalized sexual stigma, with three exceptions finding significant intervention effects among young sexual minority individuals. We conclude by outlining a theory-driven model of internalized stigma and a research agenda to test more nuanced models of internalized stigma that include multifactorial risk indices.