Table 13.
Bootstrap estimates of total, direct, and indirect associations.
| Hypothesis or association | Statistical path | Standardized effect | SE | 95% CI lower | 95% CI upper | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total association | Exposure to fitness role models on social media → Social physique anxiety | 0.494 | 0.037 | 0.419 | 0.547 | Significant |
| Direct association | Exposure to fitness role models on social media → Social physique anxiety | 0.263 | 0.077 | 0.114 | 0.349 | Significant |
| H5 | Exposure → Upward body comparison → Social physique anxiety | 0.081 | 0.043 | 0.006 | 0.145 | Supported |
| H6 | Exposure → Body self-discrepancy → Social physique anxiety | 0.095 | 0.058 | 0.027 | 0.194 | Supported |
| H7 | Exposure → Upward body comparison → Body self-discrepancy → Social physique anxiety | 0.056 | 0.030 | 0.014 | 0.111 | Supported within the hypothesized cross-sectional model |
SE, standard error; CI, confidence interval. An indirect association was considered statistically significant when its 95% bootstrap confidence interval did not include zero. The directional arrows reflect the theoretically specified statistical model and do not establish causal direction or temporal sequence.