Publicitat i trastorns del comportament alimentari preadolescent : la interiorització de l'anorèxia i la bulímia com a models de vida, a través del discurs publicitari

Abstract

This paper summarizes a doctoral thesis on a quantitative and qualitative study of the process by which preadolescent boys and girls from 9 to 12 years of age acquire adult values and stereotypes from conventional and unconventional publicity, and the possible association of the process with subsequent eating disorders. The study analyses the interrelationship between preadolescent interpretation of publicity stereotypes and the onset of possible symptoms indicative of eating disorders associated with a childs effort to conform to certain aesthetic canons common in publicity that targets a more critical adult audience. The study includes a comparative analysis of publicity that targets an adult audience and publicity targeting children. Particular attention is paid to the similarities and differences in persuasive techniques, habits generated by the publicity studied, and the broadcasting of physical, psychic, social, and cultural stereotypes.