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Despite the dominant presence of traditional gender portrayals on television, there is a growing effort to incorporate more diverse gender representations, including in youth television series. The impact of such counter-stereotypical portrayals on preadolescents’ gender attitudes and beliefs remains largely unexplored. This mixed-design experimental study among 75 mother-child dyads (Mage child = 10.69, SD = 1.37) examined the effects of watching an episode of an entertainment television program that positively portrays a transgender character, either alone or with the mother. The findings indicated that watching the episode lowered preadolescents’ gender essentialism, but did not increase acceptability of and willingness to befriend gender-nonconforming peers. Maternal presence did not further impact the findings. Perceived similarity to and liking of the transgender character did not act as moderators, but had a direct impact on preadolescents’ gender attitudes and beliefs. In conclusion, the results suggest that exposure to counter-stereotypes in entertainment television can influence components of preadolescents’ gender attitudes and beliefs. Gender-diverse television characters who are perceived as highly similar and likeable appear to be particularly influential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Selective exposure literature indicates that not all users take away the same messages from their media exposure; it is suggested that viewers are not merely exposed but rather reactive to multiple—and possibly opposing—messages. The current study aims to introduce an active media-processing perspective, focusing specifically on the media-body image association among an early adolescent sample. Results of a three-wave longitudinal survey among 971 early adolescents (Mage = 11.14; SD = 1.13) show that media-focused peer interactions (W1), but not media exposure (W1), were associated with contradictory perceptions of attractiveness (i.e., perceived benefits and perceived costs for investing in appearance) (W2). Polynomial regression analyses pointed out that the association between these contradictory perceptions (i.e., interaction between benefits and costs; W2) was curvilinearily related to body image investment (W3). The findings emphasize the variable vulnerability of adolescents to the media effect and the importance of acknowledging multi-layered media messages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of media representations of transgender people in ameliorating attitudes towards transgender people and related policies has recently aroused attention. Since real-life transgender contact is rather seldom for most people, positive media representations may stimulate the formation of parasocial relationships, resulting in more supportive attitudes and policies, and thus less prejudices and discrimination. Current studies predominantly focus on entertainment narratives, approach attitudes towards transgender people one-dimensionally, and have shown interpersonal transgender contact is a predictor. This online cross-sectional study (N = 388, Mage = 32.34, SD = 10.76) contributes to the literature by examining the indirect relationship between evaluation of news coverage on transgender celebrities' coming out and policy support through transphobia and transnegativity, and the moderating role of interpersonal transgender contact. Findings indicated that a positive news coverage evaluation, rather than mere exposure, relates to more policy support directly and indirectly via lower transphobia and lower transnegativity. Interpersonal contact strengthened the association between transphobia and policy support, but did not moderate the indirect associations. Taken together, the results point to the importance of disentangling transgender attitudes into transphobia and transnegativity, and highlight the parasocial role of a positive news coverage evaluation in enhancing attitudes and policy support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal of the present study was to examine the social repercussions of preadolescents' SNS use by testing two differential pathways regarding the role of technology in interpersonal relationships. Specifically, we expected preadolescents' social media use to be associated with heightened self-disclosure, which we then predicted to relate to increased feelings of belonging to their friends. At the same time, we investigated whether such use would also hinder real-life peer interactions, thus constituting a negative indirect association with preadolescents' belonging. We examined both pathways for overall usage of SNS platforms as well as use specifically directed at communication-oriented activities, and SNS use that was nonsocial in nature. Results from a cross-sectional survey (n = 367/489, Mage = 10.94, SDage = 0.85, 52.4% girls) showed that social media played a predominantly beneficial role in the social lives of preadolescents: both overall and socially-oriented SNS use were positively and indirectly related to belonging through shared time with friends. Gender moderated the association between specific SNS activities and self-disclosure, however, such that social activities were positively related to self-disclosure for boys, but not for girls. Conversely, nonsocial activities were negatively related to girls' self-disclosure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A cross-sectional study among adolescent boys and girls examined whether exposure to popular television programs and Facebook predicts the extent to which adolescents objectify their same-sex friends. Two pathways were tested to explain these relationships. The first included internalization of rewarded appearance ideals and self-objectification. The second included appearance conversations with friends on Facebook. Results revealed that adolescents' television exposure and Facebook use only indirectly predicted friend-objectification through their engagement in appearance conversations on Facebook. The relationship between television exposure and friend-objectification was also fully mediated by internalization and self-objectification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]