Abstract
This study analyzed the positive and negative body talk of male and female adolescents cross-culturally with an emphasis on the role of appearance-contingent and others’ approval-contingent self-worth. A cross-national survey in Austria, Belgium, Spain, and South Korea among 12- to 16-year-olds (982 female and 993 male) found that (1) positive body talk was positively related and negative body talk was negatively related to body esteem; (2) appearance contingency was positively related to negative body talk; (3) appearance contingency increased positive body talk among girls (except Korean girls); and (4) contingency on other’s approval increased positive body talk among boys in all four countries. Overall, gender differences were more prominent than cultural differences and positive body talk was instrumental in promoting adolescents’ body esteem.
Highlights
This study examined the relationships between two domains of contingencies on self-worth (CSW), two types of body talk, and body esteem among young adolescents with cultural comparisons and gender comparisons
Summarizing the key findings of this study, as proposed in Hypothesis 1, positive body talk was positively related to body esteem, whereas negative body talk was negatively related to body esteem across countries and genders
Cruwys et al and Rudiger and Winstead, who found that positive/self-accepting body talk led to positive psychological outcomes, whereas negative body talk led to body disturbances [8,14]
Summary
As body esteem is an important source of self-esteem among adolescents [1], they frequently engage in appearance or body-related talk. Previous studies have primarily focused on fat talk (i.e., negative body talk), and relatively few studies [8,14] have explored the role of self-accepting (i.e., positive) body talk. While a number of studies have been conducted to explore the consequences of body talk, a relatively small number of studies have explored individual factors that affect it In this regard, contingencies on self-worth (CSW) [17] might be a promising individual difference variable that affects body talk. Shannon and Mills called for studies on fat talk with more diverse participants and investigated individual difference variables and cross-cultural variables [13] Responding to this call, the present study aims to explore the relationships between contingent self-worth (i.e., self-worth contingent on appearance and others’ approval), body talk (i.e., negative and positive body talk), and body esteem among European and Korean adolescent females and males
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