The Impact of Weight Pressures from Coaches on Female Aesthetic Athletes’ Thin-Ideal Internalization (2024)

Undergraduate: Camilla Feeley

Faculty Advisor: Anna Bardone-Cone
Department: Psychology

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This study aimed to investigate the relationship between weight pressures from coaches and thin-ideal internalization in a sample of aesthetic female athletes, and how this relationship may be moderated by social media use intensity, negative attitudes toward appearance on social media, and athletic identity. Our sample consisted of 285 athletes who self-identified as semi-elite or elite, and who competed in figure skating, ballet, gymnastics, cheerleading, dance, diving, and synchronized swimming. Aesthetic female athletes showed an overall high mean level of thin-ideal internalization, as well as a significant, positive relationship between weight pressures from coaches and thin-ideal internalization. In addition, negative attitudes toward appearance on social media moderated the relationship between weight pressures from coaches and thin-ideal internalization. Athletes who reported high levels of weight pressure and elevated negative attitudes toward appearance on social media reported the highest levels of thin-ideal internalization. This study underscores the significance of investigating social media platforms and coach pressures within female aesthetic athletes.

Link to Abstract