The relationship between photoshopping self-pictures and Hong Kong young women’s self esteem: Investigating the underlying mechanism

Objectives: This study examined whether photoshopping was negatively associated with young female adults’ self-esteem and whether this association was mediated by self-objectification.

Methods: A sample of 127 female young adults (n=127) completed surveys on photoshopping behaviour, self-objectification (SOS scale) (Dahl, 2014), and self-esteem (Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale) (Rosenberg, 1979).

Results: Results indicated that 1) photoshopping was significantly and negatively related to young adults’ self-esteem. 2) self-objectification significantly mediated the relation between photoshopping and women’s self-esteem.

Conclusion: Findings from this thesis offer us a better understanding of how photo-editing behavior affects self-esteem, which facilitates improving Hong Kong females’ self-esteem. All rights reserved.