The relationship between self-objectification and social avoidance among Chinese middle adolescent girls: The mediating role of appearance comparison and self-esteem

Although previous studies have demonstrated that appearance plays an important role in the avoidance of social contact among adolescent girls, the reasons for this remain unclear. The purpose of the study was to investigate this issue from the perspective of objectification theory. We investigated self-objectification, appearance comparison, self-esteem, and social avoidance among 262 Chinese middle adolescent girls (M-age = 15.97 years, ranging from 14 to 17) living in Guangdong province, China. The results showed a positive correlation between self-objectification and social avoidance, which was further mediated by appearance comparison and self-esteem. Moreover, girls with high levels of self-objectification were more likely to compare their appearance to others, which in turn, was linked to lower self-esteem, and subsequently correlated with greater social avoidance. These findings suggest that self-objectification may adversely influence adolescent girls' interpersonal well-being. Based on our results, interventions addressing social avoidance among adolescent girls may include reducing self-objectification, decreasing appearance comparison, and improving self-esteem. The findings of the present study provide a better understanding of the negative consequences of self-objectification by incorporating social avoidance.