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Sophie Kashner
Mrs. DeBock
English 4
17 March 2016
Essential Question: How do support groups help women who are negatively impacted from thin,
idealized, beauty that the media portrays?
Working Thesis: Support groups can help women feel comfortable with the way they look.
Refined Thesis: Support groups or support from others can have a positive influence on women
with body dissatisfaction by making them feel good about themselves.
Annotated Bibliography
Brausch, Amy1, amy.brausch@wku.edu, and Kristina2, kdecker@wustl.edu Decker.
"Self-Esteem And Social Support As Moderators Of Depression, Body Image, And
Disordered Eating For Suicidal Ideation In Adolescents."Journal Of Abnormal Child
Psychology 42.5 (2014): 779-789. Education Full Text (H.W. Wilson). Web. 17 Mar.
2016.
It is clear that media exposure does negatively impact the way women view themselves.
The article discusses causes of body dissatisfaction and eating disorders and what peers and
family and support can do to help people get through it. Support groups can help these women or
young girls get through the body dissatisfaction they have due to what media portrays as
beauty. When self-esteem is low during adolescence, it is likely to be a sterious problem and
one that may cause significant emotional distress. With support from friends or support groups,
adolescents are more likely to get through their low self esteem and body dissatisfaction and
learn they are not going through it alone.

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Thompson, Carmen, Shelly Russell-Mayhew, and Reana Saraceni. "Evaluating The Effects Of A
Peer-Support Model: Reducing Negative Body Esteem And Disordered Eating Attitudes
And Behaviours In Grade Eight Girls." Eating Disorders 20.2 (2012): 113-126.
MEDLINE. Web. 17 Mar. 2016.
The article explains how during adolescence girls can become preoccupied with
unrealistic ideas about body weight which can lead to dieting and eating disorders due to the way
media portrays what beauty is. Peer support groups can help these young girls feel comfortable
in their own skin and not want to change the way they look in an unhealthy manner. These
groups offer the potential to effect changes at the level of the peer group by creating
opportunities for peers to explore body image, and develop positive norms and personally
meaningful solutions to the problems of body image concerns and disordered eating. This article
relates to my service because it discusses how peer support groups can influence young girls
with body dissatisfaction in a positive way.
Wilcox, Christine. Teens and Body Image. Print.
The book, Teens and Body Image discusses body image, the factors of negative body
image, and how media can affect body satisfaction in women. The more people are exposed to
media, the more he or she believes it is reflective of the real world. Young girls who are even just
a little slightly insecure about their bodies will often try to look like these perfect people they
see on movies and tv. The teens portrayed in movies and on tv are perfect, which gives girls the
impression that perfection is common and normal. Teens and Body Image then discusses how
teens can get a positive body image and stop comparing themselves to others. The support of
therapy or counseling can help teens who struggle with body image. The book goes on to explain
how young girls can get self-acceptance and create a positive body image. This book relates to

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my service topic because it discusses the effects of media on young girls and how support from
others can help girls with negative body image.