The effect of narcism, perceived parenting styles and social media on self objectification among emerging adulthood

In this study, it is aimed to examine the effects of perceived parenting styles, narcissism and social media usage characteristics on the self-objectification levels of individuals in emerging adulthood. The sample of this study was consisted of 442 individuals between the age of 18-25. Sociodemographic Information Form, The Objectified Body Consciousness Scale, Young Parenting Inventory, Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI-16), Hypersensitive Narcissism Scale were given to all participants online or face-to-face. Data were analyzed with multiple linear hierarchical regression analysis and one-way analysis of variance. The effects of perceived parenting styles, grandiose and vulnerable narcissism on body surveillance, body shame and control belief sub dimensions of self-objectification were analyzed seperately with multiple linear hierarchical regression analyses. According to the study findings the strongest predictor for self-objectification is vulnerable narcissism (p<.001). However the results showed that grandiose narcissism is not a significant predictor for body shame (p=.951) and control belief (p=.179) sub-dimensions of self-objectification. Additionally, while perceived parenting styles were a significant predictor of body shame (p<.001) and control belief (p<.05), it did not significantly predict the body surveillance (p=.526). When the sub-dimensions of self-objectification were examined according to social media usage characteristics with one-way analysis of variance, it was found that all three sub-dimensions differed significantly according to the level of comparison of physical characteristics with friends and celebrities over social media (p<.01). On the other hand, different results were obtained according to the the sub-dimensions of self-objectification in terms of the time spent on social media during the day, the number of social media usage and the frequency of posting on social media. The results showed that perceived parenting styles, grandiose and vulnerable dimensions of narcissism, and social media usage characteristics are effective variables on self-objectification. However, it was observed that the results differed according to the sub-dimensions of the variables. Considering its cultural basis and its effect on various psychopathologies; current findings point out that self-objectification is a subject that should be examined with additional studies. Identifying effective mechanisms on self-objectification will contribute to the protective and preventive practices for related mental health problems.