TY - JOUR
T1 - The Sexual Objectification and Alcohol Use Link
T2 - The Mediating Roles of Self-Objectification, Enjoyment of Sexualization, Body Shame, and Drinking Motives
AU - Baildon, Amanda E.
AU - Eagan, Sarah R.
AU - Christ, Christa C.
AU - Lorenz, Tierney
AU - Stoltenberg, Scott F.
AU - Gervais, Sarah J.
N1 - Funding Information:
This study was funded by an internal grant by the Office of Research at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln to the fifth and sixth authors.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC part of Springer Nature.
PY - 2021/8
Y1 - 2021/8
N2 - Alcohol consumption is on the rise among U.S. women, especially college women, despite the negative consequences that uniquely and disproportionately affect them. The current work integrates objectification theory and related research with literature on drinking motivations to explore how women’s experiences living in a culture that constantly objectifies the female body is associated with women’s consumption of alcohol. Among a sample of 539 female U.S. college students, the present study examined how differentially valenced responses to interpersonal sexual objectification (enjoyment of sexualization or body shame) contribute to distinct drinking motivations and outcomes. Results showed general support for the proposed serial mediational model. The link between sexual objectification and drinking frequency was mediated by self-objectification, enjoyment of sexualization, and drinking for enhancement, social and conformity motives, and by self-objectification, body shame, and the conformity motive. Finally, sexual objectification was related to drinking quantity through self-objectification, enjoyment of sexualization, and the enhancement drinking motive. These findings suggest that objectification experiences and resulting negative and positive inner states are important predictors of alcohol consumption. The integration of objectification theory with drinking motives sheds light on additional negative consequences associated with women living in a patriarchal society, including increased alcohol use. This model, if confirmed by future research, may provide promising avenues for reducing women’s drinking and thus minimizing the negative consequences they experience from alcohol.
AB - Alcohol consumption is on the rise among U.S. women, especially college women, despite the negative consequences that uniquely and disproportionately affect them. The current work integrates objectification theory and related research with literature on drinking motivations to explore how women’s experiences living in a culture that constantly objectifies the female body is associated with women’s consumption of alcohol. Among a sample of 539 female U.S. college students, the present study examined how differentially valenced responses to interpersonal sexual objectification (enjoyment of sexualization or body shame) contribute to distinct drinking motivations and outcomes. Results showed general support for the proposed serial mediational model. The link between sexual objectification and drinking frequency was mediated by self-objectification, enjoyment of sexualization, and drinking for enhancement, social and conformity motives, and by self-objectification, body shame, and the conformity motive. Finally, sexual objectification was related to drinking quantity through self-objectification, enjoyment of sexualization, and the enhancement drinking motive. These findings suggest that objectification experiences and resulting negative and positive inner states are important predictors of alcohol consumption. The integration of objectification theory with drinking motives sheds light on additional negative consequences associated with women living in a patriarchal society, including increased alcohol use. This model, if confirmed by future research, may provide promising avenues for reducing women’s drinking and thus minimizing the negative consequences they experience from alcohol.
KW - Alcohol
KW - Body shame
KW - Drinking behavior
KW - Enjoyment of sexualization
KW - Objectification
KW - Self-objectification
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U2 - 10.1007/s11199-020-01213-2
DO - 10.1007/s11199-020-01213-2
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85099096281
SN - 0360-0025
VL - 85
SP - 190
EP - 204
JO - Sex Roles: A Journal of Research
JF - Sex Roles: A Journal of Research
IS - 3-4
ER -