Looking for an accurate mirror: a model for the relationship between media use and anorexia.

Quantitative research suggests a relationship exists between anorexia and media messages which depict a "thin-ideal" female stereotype. Despite growing support for that relationship, little is known about the psychological processes and mechanisms involved in that relationship. This study used qualitative methods to explore those processes and mechanism to create a model for understanding the relationship between anorexia and media use. Interviews from 28 female participants were analyzed and coded for temporal, situational, and motivational relationships between the anorexic behaviors and media use. Results suggest an interactive, circular model similar to models used to explain other compulsive and addictive processes.