Television exposure, consumer culture values, and lower well-being among preadolescent children: The mediating role of consumer-focused coping strategies

Journal article


Dunkeld, C., Wright, M., Banerjee, R., Easterbrook, M. and Slade, L. 2019. Television exposure, consumer culture values, and lower well-being among preadolescent children: The mediating role of consumer-focused coping strategies. British Journal of Social Psychology. 59 (1), pp. 26-48. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjso.12325
AuthorsDunkeld, C., Wright, M., Banerjee, R., Easterbrook, M. and Slade, L.
Abstract

Previous research has linked materialism to lower well-being in children, and recent findings suggest that this link is heightened among those exposed to high levels of advertising. One proposal is that children may be pursuing consumer culture ideals – orienting to material possessions and physical appearance – as a maladaptive coping strategy for dealing with underlying distress.

The present work offers the first direct evaluation of this theoretically plausible hypothesis. In Study 1, higher scores on our measure of consumer-focused coping not only predicted lower well-being in a sample of 109 9- to 11-year-olds, but also served as mediator in the indirect link between the number of hours spent watching television and lower well-being.

Study 2 tested our expanded model of these processes in a sample of 380 9- to 11-year-olds. Specifically, structural equation modelling revealed that frequency of watching commercial (advertising-rich) television in particular predicted greater consumer-focused coping. This in turn, predicted greater endorsement of consumer culture ideals, which then predicted lower well-being. Implications for theoretical models and educational interventions are discussed.

KeywordsAppearance; children; consumer culture; coping; materialism; media exposure; values; well-being
Year2019
JournalBritish Journal of Social Psychology
Journal citation59 (1), pp. 26-48
PublisherBritish Psychological Society
ISSN0144-6665
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1111/bjso.12325
Official URLhttps://bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/bjso.12325
Publication dates
Online03 Apr 2019
Publication process dates
Deposited19 Mar 2019
Accepted15 Mar 2019
Accepted author manuscript
Output statusPublished
Permalink -

https://repository.canterbury.ac.uk/item/88z1q/television-exposure-consumer-culture-values-and-lower-well-being-among-preadolescent-children-the-mediating-role-of-consumer-focused-coping-strategies

  • 83
    total views
  • 249
    total downloads
  • 1
    views this month
  • 0
    downloads this month

Export as

Related outputs

A longitudinal study of theory of mind and listening comprehension: Is preschool theory of mind important?
Jackson, Sophie, Slade, Lance, Levy, Joseph P. and McCormick, Samantha Felicity 2022. A longitudinal study of theory of mind and listening comprehension: Is preschool theory of mind important? Journal of Experimental Child Psychology. 219, p. 105388. https://doi.org/S0022-0965(22)00017-0
Attentional shifting differences in autism: Domain general, domain specific, or both?
Skripkauskaite, S., Slade, L. and Mayer, J. 2021. Attentional shifting differences in autism: Domain general, domain specific, or both? Autism. 25 (6), pp. 1721-1733. https://doi.org/10.1177/13623613211001619
Typical hierarchical processing in autistic adults
Skripkauskaite, S., Slade, L. and Mayer, J. 2020. Typical hierarchical processing in autistic adults. Journal of Cognitive Psychology. 34 (4), pp. 442-448. https://doi.org/10.1080/20445911.2020.1749061
Minding the children: a longitudinal study of mental state talk, theory of mind and behavioural adjustment from age 3 to age 10.
Carr, A., Slade, L., Yuill, N., Sullivan, S. and Ruffman, T. 2018. Minding the children: a longitudinal study of mental state talk, theory of mind and behavioural adjustment from age 3 to age 10. Social Development. https://doi.org/10.1111/sode.12315
Investigating the influence of home literacy practices on the developmental pathways of early reading comprehension
Atkinson, L., Powell, D., Slade, L. and Levy, J. 2016. Investigating the influence of home literacy practices on the developmental pathways of early reading comprehension.
Theory of mind in emerging reading comprehension: a longitudinal study of early indirect and direct effects
Atkinson, L., Slade, L., Powell, D. and Levy, J. 2017. Theory of mind in emerging reading comprehension: a longitudinal study of early indirect and direct effects. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2017.04.007
Inclined to see it your way: do altercentric intrusion effects in visual perspective taking reflect an intrinsically social process?
Nielsen, M., Slade, L., Levy, J. and Holmes, A. 2015. Inclined to see it your way: do altercentric intrusion effects in visual perspective taking reflect an intrinsically social process? Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology. 68 (10), pp. 1931-1951. https://doi.org/10.1080/17470218.2015.1023206