Body Image Disturbance and Skin Bleaching

Abstract

This study looks at body image disturbance among Jamaicans who bleach their skin. The hypothesis states that there is a positive relationship between skin bleaching and body image disturbance. The study used a convenience sample of 160 participants with a skin bleaching group (n=80) and a non-bleaching comparison group (n=80). The instrument included demographic questions, the body image disturbance questionnaire, and questions about skin bleaching. The results of a t-test reveals that the skin bleaching group (M=1.5255, SD=0.42169) is not significantly different from the non-bleaching group (M=1.4938, SD=0.74217) in terms of body image disturbance, t: (158) =0.333, p=0.740. The participants who bleach do not suffer from body image disturbance. Self-reports reveal that they bleach to acquire beauty, attract a partner, elude the police, and market skin bleaching products. The practice is a style that is fashionable and popular and it makes some participants feel good, while others are fans of a popular musical artiste who bleaches his skin. Participants bleach because of the perceived personal, social and entrepreneurial benefits of the practice and not because they are preoccupied and concerned with their body image based on skin color.