Mass media pressure on physical build, psychological well-being and physical-healthy profile. An explanatory model in adulthood

BACKGROUND: The pressure exerted by the media on mental image, psychological well-being and the physical-dietary sphere is of vital interest in understanding human behavioral patterns at different stages of development. The present research reflects the objectives of developing an explanatory model of the associations between media pressure and physical build on psychological well-being, physical activity and the Mediterranean diet and testing the structural model using a multi-group model according to participants’ stage of adulthood development. METHODS: A descriptive, non-experimental, cross-sectional study was carried out on a sample of 634 participants aged between 18 and 65 years (35.18 ± 9.68). An ad hoc socio-demographic questionnaire, Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Questtionnaire-4, Psychological Well-Being Scale, Predimed questtionnaire and International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Short Form were used for data collection. RESULTS: Participants in early adulthood show higher scores for media pressure and for pressure on physical build. It is also observed that participants in middle adulthood show higher scores for psychological well-being and physical activity levels. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, it can be seen that there are a large number of physical, physical-health and psychological differences in each of the phases of adulthood.