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Abstract
This study aimed to investigate the relationships between media influence, peer pressure, and appearance importance with adolescent body perception; the relationship between adolescent body perception and clothing behavior; and to examine ethnic differences existing between adolescent girls among all of the variables. A sample of 214 adolescent girls ages 14-19 completed a survey in a classroom setting. A series of regression analyses, ANOVA, and MANOVA were used to test the hypotheses. Results from the analyses indicated that media influence, peer pressure, and appearance importance significantly influence adolescent body perception. Additionally adolescent body perception significantly influenced clothing behavior. Furthermore, some ethnic differences were found in adolescent media influence, body perception, and clothing behavior; however, there were no significant ethnic differences concerning either peer pressure or appearance importance. The implications of the study and suggestions for future research were also discussed.