Television and Perceived Peer Expectations of Body Size Among African American Adolescent Girls

Survey data collected from 61 African American adolescent girls explored body mass index as a moderator of the relationship between girls' ideal-body television exposure and their perceptions of how same-sex peers expect them to look. For larger-bodied girls, ideal-body television viewing predicted the belief that female peers expect them to be smaller. For smaller-bodied girls, ideal-body television viewing predicted the belief that female peers expect them to be larger. These findings point to a moderate body size ideal for African American girls and are consistent with assumptions underlying the influence of presumed influence model and the mainstreaming process outlined in cultivation theory.