Exploring the Negative Consequences of Online Body Shaming: A Study of Czech Adolescents.
With the growing use of social networks, online body shaming is becoming a widespread and often socially acceptable phenomenon. However, unlike cyberbullying, the consequences of online body shaming are largely unknown. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the prevalence of behavioral, relational and...
| Published in: | Journal of Child & Family Studies Vol. 34; no. 5; pp. 1268 - 1283 |
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
| Format: | Article |
| Published: |
Springer Nature
May2025
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | View this record in EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ssf&AN=185809578&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: ssf uiTerm: 185809578 longDbName: Social Sciences Full Text (H.W. Wilson) uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: jinfo: jid: 10621024 JFM jtl: Journal of Child & Family Studies issn: 10621024 maglogo: N pubinfo: dt: May2025 vid: 34 iid: 5 pid: 237 pub: Springer Nature artinfo: ui: 185809578 10.1007/s10826-025-03032-z ppf: 1268 ppct: 15 formats: fmt: – @attributes: type: T – @attributes: type: P size: 783KB tig: atl: Exploring the Negative Consequences of Online Body Shaming: A Study of Czech Adolescents. aug: au: Novotný, Jan Sebastian Kvintová, Jana Váchová, Lucie Szotkowski, René Kopecký, Kamil Romero-Rodríguez, José-María affil: https://ror.org/04qxnmv42 Palacký University in Olomouc, Faculty of Education, Department of Psychology and Abnormal Psychology, Olomouc, Czech Republic https://ror.org/04qxnmv42 Palacký University in Olomouc, Faculty of Education, Institute of Education and Social Studies, Olomouc, Czech Republic https://ror.org/04qxnmv42 Palacký University in Olomouc, Faculty of Education, Department of Czech Language and Literature, Olomouc, Czech Republic https://ror.org/04njjy449 University of Granada, Faculty of Education Sciences, Department of Didactics and School Organization, Granada, Spain su: Czech Republic Bullying & psychology Social media Substance abuse Self-evaluation Mental health Emotions Body image Anxiety Teenagers' conduct of life Adolescent psychology Personal beauty Psychosomatic disorders Cognition Mental depression Research funding Body image in adolescence Questionnaires Descriptive statistics Longitudinal method Psychosocial functioning sug: subj: Bullying & psychology Social media Substance abuse Self-evaluation Mental health Emotions Body image Anxiety Teenagers' conduct of life Adolescent psychology Personal beauty Psychosomatic disorders Cognition Mental depression Czech Republic Offices of Mental Health Practitioners (except Physicians) Research funding Body image in adolescence Questionnaires Descriptive statistics Longitudinal method Psychosocial functioning keyword: Behavioral response Cognitive-emotional response Medical and Health Sciences Public Health and Health Services Psychology and Cognitive Sciences Psychology Online body shaming Prevalence Relational response Teenagers Behavioral response Cognitive-emotional response Medical and Health Sciences Public Health and Health Services Psychology and Cognitive Sciences Psychology Online body shaming Prevalence Relational response Teenagers ab: With the growing use of social networks, online body shaming is becoming a widespread and often socially acceptable phenomenon. However, unlike cyberbullying, the consequences of online body shaming are largely unknown. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the prevalence of behavioral, relational and cognitive-emotional responses to the experience of online body shaming. The study included a population-based cohort of 9441 adolescents aged 11–17 years. Data were collected using a questionnaire developed by the research team utilizing multiple-choice questions. The experience of online shaming was categorized based on whether it focused on the victims' online presentation, appearance, or physical constitution. The results showed that 25.84% of teenagers had experienced online body shaming. We observed up to 50% prevalence of relational responses in both online and offline space and 25–45% prevalence of cognitive-emotional responses, primarily associated with depression- and anxiety-like feelings. This was accompanied by up to 15% prevalence of psychosomatic problems and substance use. These responses were significantly more prevalent in girls. Body shaming targeting teenagers' physical constitution resulted in up to 21 times higher odds of negative responses compared to body shaming with a different focus. These findings suggest that online body shaming can have similarly detrimental effects on mental health, social functioning, and self-perception as cyberbullying. Highlights: One quarter of teenagers have experienced online body shaming at least once. The most common responses to online body shaming included changes in relational behavior and lowered emotional well-being. Online body shaming that targeted victims' physical attributes and broader appearance was associated with significantly greater negative responses than shaming targeting only online expressions (content). Girls both experienced online body shaming more frequently and showed a significantly higher prevalence of negative responses to it. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: Article src: R language: English refInfo: copyright: @attributes: flag: N holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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