Donnolley, Kylie (2015) Appearance-Based Rejection Sensitivity in Young Adolescents: Effects of the Peer Appearance Culture and Self-Competencies. Honours thesis, University of Southern Queensland. (Unpublished)
Abstract
Based on theory and past research that has implicated a peer appearance culture in the development of appearance-based rejection sensitivity (appearance-RS) for young adolescents, this study examined whether features of the peer appearance culture (peer pressure about appearance, peer conversations about appearance and teasing by peers about appearance) contributed to the development of appearance-RS. Similarly, drawing on theory around adolescent development and Harter’s (2012) self-competencies, this study investigated the role of global self-worth, appearancecompetence and romantic competence in the development of appearance-RS. Finally, appearance competence was examined as a mediator for both peer pressure and global self-worth in relation to appearance-RS in an effort to better understand the pathways of development. Results of a questionnaire for students in grades six, seven and eight revealed that peer pressure (sr2 = .29, p < .001) and peer teasing about appearance (sr2 = .12, p < .001) contributed significantly to the unique variance in appearance-RS (N = 175). In addition, global self-worth (sr2 = .09, p < .001), appearance competence (sr2 = .05, p = .002) and romantic competence (sr2 = .03, p = .021) each contributed significantly toward the unique variance of appearance-RS (N = 182). Furthermore, appearance competence was found to mediate the relationship between peer pressure and appearance-RS, b = 0.73, BCa CI [2.76, 4.17], with a medium effect size. Appearance competence was also found to mediate the relationship between global self-worth and appearance-RS, b = -2.02, BCa CI [-3.06, -0.95], generating a medium effect size. Finally, there were significant differences found for the levels of appearance-RS between boys (M = 7.26) and girls (M = 11.38) as well as gender differences revealed in terms of exposure to a peer appearance culture and appearance competence at a significance level of α = .05. These findings contribute to the understanding of appearance-RS in young people and give direction to specific areas to target for future intervention programmes.
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| Item Type: | Thesis (Non-Research) (Honours) |
|---|---|
| Item Status: | Live Archive |
| Additional Information: | Current UniSQ staff and students can request access to this thesis. Please email research.repository@unisq.edu.au with a subject line of SEAR thesis request and provide: Name of the thesis requested and Your name and UniSQ email address |
| Faculty/School / Institute/Centre: | Historic - Faculty of Health, Engineering and Sciences - School of Psychology and Counselling (1 Jan 2015 - 31 Dec 2021) |
| Supervisors: | James Brown |
| Qualification: | Bachelor of Science (Honours) |
| Date Deposited: | 25 Sep 2025 01:34 |
| Last Modified: | 25 Sep 2025 01:34 |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | appearance-based rejection sensitivity, adolescent, appearance culture, selfcompetencies, self-worth |
| Fields of Research (2008): | 17 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences > 1799 Other Psychology and Cognitive Sciences > 179999 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences not elsewhere classified |
| Fields of Research (2020): | 52 PSYCHOLOGY > 5299 Other psychology > 529999 Other psychology not elsewhere classified |
| URI: | https://sear.unisq.edu.au/id/eprint/52276 |
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