ORIGINAL ARTICLE IN BEHAVIORAL PSYCHOLOGY: Relationship between social media use and disordered eating behavior among female university students in Qatar
Date
2019-01-18Metadata
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Introduction: Abundant literature has established the negative impact of traditional media on
body image and disordered eating behaviors among young women. In the past few years, social
media use has soared especially among youth, yet the influence of social media in relation to
disordered eating has not been fully explored. The aim of this study was to assess the
relationship between social media use and disordered eating outcomes among young Arab
women.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out using a probability sample of 1,418
undergraduate female students living in Qatar, a rapidly developing nation in the Middle East.
Popular social media platforms were assessed including Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, and
Twitter. Other covariates assessed included body image, body mass index, and socioeconomic
status. To assess the multivariate association between social media (main predictor or exposure
variable), and disordered eating as measured by three levels of the 26-item Eating Attitudes Test
(EAT-26) (dependent variable), stepwise backward ordinal regression models were fit to the data.
Data analysis was performed using Stata 14 software.
Results: Findings confirmed that intensive use of social media, particularly Instagram, was
positively associated with increased disordered eating behaviors among young women. Social
media use intensity showed a significant association with increased disordered eating [(OR 1.207, SE (0.075), P < 0.01, 95% Confidential Interval [CI] 1.068 to 1.363)]. Among the four
social media platforms measured, Instagram use had a significant association with disordered
eating [OR 1.387, SE (0.186), P < 0.05, 95% CI 1.107 to 1.804)].
Discussion and Conclusions: This study highlights the significant role of social media on the
behavior of young women, and supports the sociocultural theory linking media to disordered
eating. Such an understanding of social media’s role is instrumental for the promotion and
prevention of disordered eating among young women.
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