Implications of Socio-Cultural Pressure for a Thin Body Image on Avoidance of Social Interaction and on Corrective, Compensatory or Compulsive Shopping Behaviour

António Azevedo () and Ângela Sá Azevedo
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António Azevedo: Lab2PT, Landscape, Heritage and Territory Laboratory Research Unit, School of Economics and Management, University of Minho, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal
Ângela Sá Azevedo: Faculty of Philosophy and Social Sciences, Centre for Philosophical and Humanistic Studies, Universidade Católica Portuguesa, 4710-297 Braga, Portugal

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 4, 1-21

Abstract: This paper aims to discuss the implications of body talk and socio-cultural pressure for the internalisation of a thin body image in purchase decisions, shopping habits and other outcomes of body dissatisfaction, in particular the proneness to avoid human/social interaction in retail contexts and proneness to engage in corrective, compensatory or compulsive shopping behaviour. This paper conducted an online questionnaire that measured the following constructs: body mass index; Socio-cultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Scale-4 (SATAQ-4), Body Appreciation Scale (BAS-2), Acceptance of Cosmetic Surgery Scale (ACSS), Compulsive Buying Follow-up Scale (CBFS), proneness to avoid social interaction in retail contexts, and the intention to purchase a list of products and services as a compensation for body dissatisfaction. A structural equations model supported the hypotheses proposing the influence of BAS-2 and SATAQ-4 (the internalisation of thin/athletic body and the social comparison induced by family, peers and media) upon the outcomes of social-interaction avoidance, ACSS and CBFS. Nevertheless, BAS-2 only influences social-interaction avoidance. This paper provides several recommendations to brand managers highlighting the social responsibility role of brand advertising in enhancing positive body appreciation, mitigating the psychological damage caused by socio-cultural pressure and preventing the stigmatisation bias against obese people.

Keywords: body image; sociocultural attitudes towards appearance; acceptance of cosmetic surgery scale; compulsive buying behaviour; social-interaction avoidance; compensatory consumption (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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