Locus of Control, Peer Influence on Dieting, Media Exposure and Body Image Satisfaction in Young Adults

Awareness about one's body and the cases related to eating disorders are on the rise. Thus, the aim of the present study was to study the relationship between locus of control, peer influence on dieting, media exposure and body image satisfaction in young adults. The sample comprised of 62 males and 62 females, aged between 19-25 years. The tools used comprised of the Internal-External (I-E) Locus of Control scale, The Peer Influence Scale (PFS), The Media Consumption scale and Physical appearance and global self-worth subscales of the Self-Perception Profile for College students. t-test and Pearson's Product Moment correlation were used to test the hypotheses. The results showed that media exposure was higher among females as compared to males. Peer influence on dieting was found to be positively correlated with media exposure and negatively correlated with satisfaction. The study also discusses the results and implications with reference to gender.