Body satisfaction and self-concept of third- and sixth-grade students.

Abstract

Pubertal development has been implicated as the point of origin for decreased body satisfaction and self-concept for girls from prepubertal levels and an increase in body satisfaction and self-concept for boys. Two groups of boys and girls in Grades 3 and 6 completed a Body Satisfaction Questionnaire and the Piers-Harris Self-concept Scale to test this assumption. The third graders were considered to be prepubertal and sixth graders as early pubertal. The sixth-grade boys scored lower on body satisfaction than third-grade boys, and their self-concept scores were positively correlated with body satisfaction scores. For girls, body satisfaction scores were correlated with self-concept in both grades, and few significant differences were found between grades. For girls apparently the relationship between body satisfaction and self-concept may be present before the onset of puberty.