Empirical data, predominantly from young women, suggest photo-based social media use is associated with greater body dissatisfaction. The present study aimed to extend these findings to midlife women and identify risk profiles for maladaptive appearance-focused social media use. A convenience sample of female Instagram users aged 40 or over (= 50.92 years) ( = 192) was collected. Most participants were partnered, white, highly educated, and heterosexual. A cluster analysis in cross-sectional data grouped participants into four categories according to body image indices (following body positive or fitness accounts, body appreciation and dissatisfaction, thin and muscular ideal internalization, and appearance comparison). Differences by cluster emerged according to indices of social media use (e.g., photo editing, social media rumination), although following appearance-related content across types seemed to distinguish risk profiles more than the types of appearance-related content engaged with (i.e., body positive vs fitness). Furthermore, results indicated that higher social media use was associated with greater perceived negative effects of social media, suggesting that awareness alone may be insufficient to reduce behavioral risk. Findings indicate that some midlife women who use photo-based social media may be at high risk for appearance concerns, warranting further research and resource development for this group.

中文翻译：

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#mybestmidlife：中年女性基于照片的社交媒体使用情况和身体形象概况

主要来自年轻女性的经验数据表明，基于照片的社交媒体使用与更大的身体不满有关。本研究旨在将这些发现扩展到中年女性，并确定以外表适应不良为重点的社交媒体使用的风险概况。收集了 40 岁或以上（= 50.92 岁）女性 Instagram 用户的便利样本（= 192）。大多数参与者都是有伴侣的白人、受过高等教育的异​​性恋者。横截面数据的聚类分析根据身体形象指数将参与者分为四类（遵循身体积极或健康账户、身体欣赏和不满意、苗条和肌肉的理想内化以及外观比较）。根据社交媒体使用指数（例如照片编辑、社交媒体沉思），聚类出现差异，尽管跨类型关注与外观相关的内容似乎比参与的外观相关内容的类型（即身体）更能区分风险状况。积极与健康）。此外，结果表明，较高的社交媒体使用率与较大的社交媒体负面影响相关，这表明仅靠意识可能不足以降低行为风险。研究结果表明，一些使用基于照片的社交媒体的中年女性可能面临外表问题的高风险，需要对该群体进行进一步的研究和资源开发。