By: Catherine Rossi

Abstract: Using Social Comparison theory, I will be looking at the

media’s infl uence as the source for comparison to body image dissatisfaction.

The hypotheses for this study are: (1) college students that score

higher on body image dissatisfaction will have higher levels of social

comparison to media images, and, (2) college students that score higher

on body image dissatisfaction will be more likely to be a smoker. An

online survey was used to collect data. The online survey was given to

246 male and female college students from southwest Virginia. Preliminary

results refute the fi rst hypothesis and there is pending support for

the second hypothesis. Discussed in the conclusions are the implications

of the fi ndings.