Standards of physical beauty and mental health in children and young people in the era of the information revolution

ABSTRACT This study examines negative consequences of promotion of unhealthy beauty standards for the mental health of young people. The article provides the review of literature on the effects of promotion of unhealthy beauty standards in cyberspace on eating disorders and narcissistic attitudes, the role of fashion dolls in the formation of unhealthy physical beauty standards, as well as the research into dissatisfaction with appearance and physical perfectionism at a young age. Vygotsky’s cultural-historical theory of cognitive development serves as a framework to describe the mechanisms by which young people form perceptions of physical attractiveness and attitudes toward their body. The article presents results of two studies conducted by authors. The first study demonstrates internalization of unhealthy beauty standards among preschool-aged Russian girls using the original experimental method ‘Choose a doll’. The other shows significantly higher levels of dissatisfaction with own body and physical perfectionism in young men and women living in big cities compared to their peers from large provincial towns and identifies high level of parental criticism and other communication dysfunction in families as a significant predictor of physical perfectionism in children. The authors conclude that social factors play an important role in the formation of unhealthy standards of physical attractiveness among children and young people.