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Prof. Paul Sudnik

Munich University of Applied Sciences, Germany

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Home > Archive > 2025 > Volume 15, Number 2, 2025
IJSSH 2025 Vol.15(2): 51-57
doi: 10.18178/ijssh.2025.15.2.1241

Development and Evaluation of a Survey Instrument: Investigating the Influence of Social Media on Body Image Perception among Adolescents in Malaysian Public Boarding Schools

Jawahir Che Mustapha1,*, Hezlin Aryani Abd Rahman2, Ahmad Hafidzi Fahrul Radzi1, Munaisyah Abdullah1, and Nor Intan Saniah Sulaiman3
1.Malaysian Institute of Information Technology, Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL MIIT), Malaysia
2.College of Computing, Informatics, and Mathematics, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Malaysia
3.School of Quantitative Sciences, Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM), Malaysia
Email: jawahir@unikl.edu.my (J.C.M.); hezlin@tmsk.uitm.edu.my (H.A.A.R.); hafidzi.fahrul10@s.unikl.edu.my (A.H.F.R.); muanaisyah@unikl.edu.my (M.A.); norintan@uum.edu.my (N.I.S.S.)
*Corresponding author

Manuscript received March 15, 2024; revised May 14, 2024, accepted June 12, 2024; published March 20, 2025.

Abstract—Concerns have been raised regarding the influence of social media usage on body image perception among adolescents, particularly among vulnerable groups such as students attending public boarding schools in Malaysia. According to research, exposure to idealized body images on social media may contribute to negative body image perceptions and dissatisfaction. Nevertheless, research on this relationship in Malaysian public boarding schools is scarce, which has prompted the creation of a survey instrument for the purpose of investigation. The objective of this research is to create and assess a survey instrument that can be utilized by adolescents attending public boarding schools in Malaysia to investigate the frequency and duration of social media usage, the types of platforms that impact body image perception, mediating factors, and gender disparities. The study was conducted in eight phases, with instruments designed in accordance with developmentally appropriate guidelines. The survey instrument was created using a thorough literature review, feedback from subject matter experts, and pilot testing. Validity was assessed using face and content validity, with Cronbach’s alpha coefficient used to determine reliability. Initial concerns about reliability were addressed through changes discovered during pilot testing. The pilot study found that the respondents, who were mostly Malay Muslim students, were very active on social media, particularly on platforms like WhatsApp and TikTok. Gender differences were evident in preferred body types, with females preferring thin and curvy figures and males favoring muscular or athletic physiques. Despite maintaining neutral attitudes toward certain social media activities, respondents admitted to being emotionally affected by negative comments about their appearance. The final version of the instrument is made available online and is completely ready for use in collecting real data from secondary boarding school students aged 12 to 18. 

Keywords—social media, body image, adolescents, boarding schools

Cite: Jawahir Che Mustapha, Hezlin Aryani Abd Rahman, Ahmad Hafidzi Fahrul Radzi, Munaisyah Abdullah, and Nor Intan Saniah Sulaiman, "Development and Evaluation of a Survey Instrument: Investigating the Influence of Social Media on Body Image Perception among Adolescents in Malaysian Public Boarding Schools," International Journal of Social Science and Humanity, vol. 15, no. 2, pp. 51-57, 2025.

Copyright © 2025 by the authors. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited (CC BY 4.0).
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