A correlational study to assess the relationship between body image, appearance contingent self-worth, and self-compassion among youth of Karnataka

Abstract

BackgroundBody-image is defined as “a stable, complex, mental representation of our body and its emotional experience”. Negative perception concerning one's own body is associated with several mental disorders like stress related to the body, binge eating disorder, or social anxiety disorder in a normal healthy person. ObjectivesThis paper aims to assess the body-image appearance contingent self-worth, and self-compassion, and to determine the correlation between the body-image, appearance contingent self-worth, and self-compassion. MethodsA descriptive correlational study was conducted among 478 youth (18–24years) studying in selected colleges of Udupi, Karnataka using socio-demographic proforma, Perception of body-image, Neff's self-compassion scale, and Contingencies of self-worth scale. ResultsThe mean body-image score among Youth was 126.11 ± 25.37, whereas the mean appearance contingent self-worth and self-compassion scores were 155.38 ± 23.809 and 52.14 ± 6.938 respectively. The main variables' linear correlations were evaluated using Spearman's rank correlation. There was a weak positive relationship between body-image and self-compassion, i.e., (r = .253, p = .001), body-image and appearance contingent self-worth, (r = 0.091, p = .047), and appearance contingent self-worth and self-compassion (r = 0.093, p = .042). ConclusionThe current study revealed a significant correlation between body-image, appearance contingent self-worth, and self-compassion. The youths should routinely be evaluated for body-image dissatisfaction. Rising appearance contingent self-worth and providing intervention to improve self-compassion helps the individual to accept themselves and improve body-image satisfaction.