Background: The widespread use of appearance-focused social media platforms has transformed how body-related attitudes are constructed, internalized, and evaluated, particularly among adolescent girls and young women, yet the existing literature remains heterogeneous in conceptual frameworks, populations, and outcome measures. Objective: This scoping review maps the extent, nature, and characteristics of the available evidence on the relationship between appearance-focused social media use, body image, self-esteem, and psychological wellbeing in adolescent girls and young women. Methods: Following PRISMA-ScR, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science were searched for quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods studies on female samples aged 10–30; data were charted and synthesized descriptively. Results: Fifty-eight studies (2014–2026) met the inclusion criteria. Evidence was concentrated in Australia and the United States and skewed toward emerging adults, with adolescent girls aged 10–17 examined in only nine studies. Appearance-focused engagement was consistently linked to body dissatisfaction, body surveillance, drive for thinness, and negative affect, with appearance comparison, internalization of appearance ideals, and self-objectification emerging as recurrent explanatory mechanisms. Body positive and body neutrality content emerged as the most promising protective categories. Conclusions: The review clarifies current evidence and identifies critical gaps for future research, informing clinical, educational, and preventive interventions.
G. Marano, Senad Hasaj, Oksana Di Giacomi et al.· European Journal of Investig...· 0 citations
School violence represents a major public health and educational concern with significant consequences for adolescents' psychological well-being, academic functioning, and social development. Increasing evidence indicates that violent behaviors in school environments arise from the complex interaction between individual vulnerabilities and broader social determinants. This scoping review aims to describe and discuss the available evidence on the risk factors, mental health outcomes, and prevention strategies associated with school violence. A comprehensive literature search was conducted across major databases, and studies were selected and charted according to predefined inclusion criteria. The evidence was analyzed following a developmental psychopathology framework. We identified and analyzed key individual risk factors, including emotional dysregulation, impulsivity, empathy deficits, trauma exposure, and psychiatric vulnerabilities such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, conduct disorder, and mood disorders. In addition, we mapped contextual determinants including family functioning, peer dynamics, school climate, and the growing role of digital environments, particularly cyberbullying. The review further categorized the psychological profiles of aggressors, victims, and bully-victims, highlighting the developmental fluidity of these roles. Attention was also given to biological and psychophysiological pathways linking school violence, trauma exposure, and adolescent mental health, including stress-system dysregulation, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis functioning, autonomic arousal, threat sensitivity, and neurodevelopmental vulnerability. Within a biopsychosocial framework, these mechanisms are discussed as potential mediators between adverse social experiences, emotional dysregulation, aggression, victimization, and subsequent internalizing or externalizing outcomes. We synthesized evidence on the mental health consequences associated with exposure to school violence, including depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress symptoms, and suicidal ideation. Finally, evidence-based prevention and intervention strategies are discussed, emphasizing integrated approaches that combine school-based programs, family involvement, and collaboration with mental health services to support early identification and prevention. This review provides a biopsychosocial mapping of the current literature and highlights the need for future studies integrating psychosocial assessment with biological and psychophysiological measures of stress reactivity and neurodevelopmental vulnerability.
G. Marano, G. Traversi, Osvaldo Mazza et al.· Frontiers in child and adole...· 0 citations
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