Celebrity worship and disordered eating among Chinese adolescents: The sequential mediating roles of upward physical appearance comparison and body dissatisfaction

Abstract

It is well-established that celebrity worship is linked to disordered eating behaviors. However, the relationship between celebrity worship and specific eating disorders (i.e., emotional eating, restrained eating, and uncontrolled eating), as well as the underlying mechanisms, remains poorly understood. Based on the tripartite influence model, this study examines the potential mediating roles of upward physical appearance comparison and body dissatisfaction in the association between celebrity worship and disordered eating behaviors. A total of 752 Chinese middle school students (55.2% boys; average age = 13.23 years, SD = 1.01, range: 11–17 years) completed self-report measures assessing celebrity worship, upward physical appearance comparison, body dissatisfaction, and disordered eating behaviors. Path analysis revealed that upward physical appearance comparison mediated the relationship between celebrity worship and uncontrolled eating, but not restrained eating or emotional eating. Additionally, body dissatisfaction was found to significantly mediate the relationship between celebrity worship and all three types of disordered eating behaviors. Sequential mediation effects were also identified, with upward physical appearance comparison leading to body dissatisfaction, which subsequently influenced disordered eating behaviors. The findings suggest that celebrity worship may indirectly influence emotional eating, restrained eating, and uncontrolled eating through upward physical appearance comparison and body dissatisfaction among adolescents. These results highlight the importance of addressing the negative influence of celebrity worship by focusing on appearance comparison and body dissatisfaction in efforts to prevent disordered eating behaviors among Chinese adolescents.