Importance Of Body Image Research Articles

Analysis of the Relationship between Physical Self-Concept and Body Image Dissatisfaction in Female Students

Problem statement: Body image is a psychological construct which refers to self-concept including self image and feelings an individual perceives about his or her body. Body image can significantly affect the way an individual perceives about his or her body. Studies on relationship between physical self-concept and body image in some countries showed that the women's body dissatisfaction has led to increase in eating disorders. The question was raised whether such a relationship may exist in Iran. Approach: The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between physical self-concept and body Image dissatisfaction in female. The importance of body image in Iranian culture has, recently, became more significant to the extent that tremendous expenditure of time, effort and money has been paid by people, particularly by women, seeking to alert their appearances to resemble an idea image. A survey of 140 female students selected through random sampling was conducted in Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, southern Iran. To collect data, a questionnaire including Demographic Information form the Physical Self-Perception Profile (PSPP) and Nine Figure Silhouette Scale was used. The physical self-perception profile have five subscales, which were sport competence (SPORT), body attractiveness (BODY), physical condition (CONDITION) and physical strength (STRENGTH) and one subscale that assesses a global perception of overall Physical Self-Worth (PSW). Results: The finding of the research indicated that there is a significant negative correlation between the physical self-concept and body image dissatisfaction. The correlations magnitude ranged between 0.49-0.79 for body image dissatisfaction. Body image dissatisfaction correlated strongest with physical self-worth and with body physical self-concept in female students in Iran. Thinness had the most influential impact on body image dissatisfaction. The findings also showed discrepancy between the ideal and current figures. The participations presented an ideal body that was much thinner than their perceived size. Conclusion/Recommendation: Women most at risk of body dissatisfaction are those who have low self-concept, those who perceive a lack of control over their bodies and those who have internalized the thin ideal. Exposure to particular kinds of television images may influence body satisfaction in females. The content of television images affects body satisfaction and drive for thinness in females. High self-concept, resistance to internalization of the thin ideal and perceptions of body mastery and control predict body satisfaction. Moderate exercise, focusing on body mastery and enjoyment rather than appearance and weight, may also be an effective strategy for improving body satisfaction. Cultural changes and a focus on body function rather than aesthetics would be likely to improve body satisfaction.

Stigma, Body Image, and Quality of Life in Women Seeking Orthognathic Surgery

Orthognathic surgery has been increasingly performed in the authors' country. To ascertain the increased satisfaction that comes with surgery, it is necessary to evaluate the patient's motivation for surgery. Seventy-four female patients were evaluated before surgery. The control group consisted of 124 female patients. All participants completed the measures of perception of appearance, body image, stigma, and quality of life on an individual basis. These measures were tested, with satisfactory reliability and validity. Patients scored significantly lower than the control group on the measures for perception of appearance, stigma of surgery, and quality of life, but higher on appearance orientation and stigma of deformity. Correlation analyses revealed various patterns of intercorrelations of subscales of stigma and body image in both groups. Regression analysis yielded three significant predictors for surgery motivation (i.e., satisfaction of facial areas, stigma of surgery, and appearance orientation), altogether accounting for 46.2 percent of the total variance. Given the broadly known importance of body image in seeking surgery, it may be equally important to take stigma into consideration of the patient's motivation. Further investigations are needed.

A Prospective Study of Extreme Weight Change Behaviors Among Adolescent Boys and Girls

This study examined changes in extreme weight change attitudes and behaviors (exercise dependence, food supplements, drive for thinness, bulimia) among adolescent boys and girls over a 16 month period. It also investigated the impact of body mass index, puberty, body image, depression and positive affect on these attitudes and behaviors 16 months later. The participants were 847 young adolescents (411 boys, 436 girls). Participants completed questionnaires evaluating the above variables on three occasions, eight months apart. Girls obtained higher scores on exercise dependence, drive for thinness and bulimia. Changes in depression and body image importance were the strongest predictors of changes in these extreme attitudes and behaviors among boys; changes in depression, body dissatisfaction and body image importance were the strongest predictors for girls. The need for gender specific educational and intervention programs for adolescents are discussed.

Relationships Between Men’s and Women’s Body Image and Their Psychological, Social, and Sexual Functioning

This study was designed to examine the relationships between different aspects of body image and psychological, social, and sexual functioning throughout adulthood. The respondents were 211 men and 226 women (age range 18–86 years; mean = 42.26). Respondents completed measures of self-rated attractiveness, body satisfaction, body image importance, body image behaviors, appearance comparison, social physique anxiety, self-esteem, depression, anxiety, and social and sexual functioning. Body image was associated with self-esteem for all groups, but was unrelated to other aspects of psychological, social, and sexual functioning. There were some exceptions; a disturbance in body image was related to problematic social and sexual functioning among middle-aged men and to depression and anxiety symptoms in late adulthood among men and women. Middle-aged men who presented with the type of body image disturbance typical of women were more likely to have impaired interpersonal functioning. These results demonstrate that social aspects of body image appear to be important in understanding psychological functioning in later life.

Sociocultural Influences on Body Image Concerns and Body Change Strategies Among Indigenous and Non-Indigenous Australian Adolescent Girls and Boys

Sociocultural messages about the ideal body build have been studied predominantlyamong White adolescent girls. In the current study we examined the relationships between perceived sociocultural influences, body image concerns, and body change strategies among 47 (22 boys and 25 girls) Indigenous Australian adolescents. These relationships were compared to those from 47 non-Indigenous adolescents (predominantly from an Anglo-Saxon background), who were matched on gender, age, and school grade. Overall, the sociocultural influences were found to be associated with body image concerns and body change strategies among both cultural groups. The only exception was that the sociocultural influences were not associated with the Indigenous girls’ levels of body dissatisfaction or body image importance. These findings are discussed in relation to past studies of White and Black girls.

Body image importance and body dissatisfaction among Indigenous Australian adolescents

Despite their elevated risk of health problems and a propensity to be more overweight or underweight relative to the other members of the Australian population, there has been no previous investigation of body image concerns among Indigenous Australians. In this study we investigated the level of body image importance and body image dissatisfaction among 19 rural Indigenous adolescents (7 males, 12 females) and 28 urban Indigenous adolescents (15 males and 13 females). Our hypotheses that there would be gender differences in body image importance and body image satisfaction were not generally supported. However, males placed more importance on muscle size and strength than females, and rural participants placed more importance on weight than urban participants. Comparison to existing data obtained from Caucasian adolescents suggested that Indigenous youth may be less concerned and dissatisfied with body weight and shape. These results are discussed in relation to findings from studies of non-Indigenous adolescents, and Indigenous health issues. The limitations of the current study and the need for further studies are also discussed.

A prospective study of pressures from parents, peers, and the media on extreme weight change behaviors among adolescent boys and girls

The current study was designed to evaluate the role of sociocultural influences over a 16 month period on strategies to lose weight, extreme weight loss strategies, and strategies to increase muscles among adolescent boys (n=344) and girls (n=246). All participants completed measures of body dissatisfaction, body image importance, strategies to lose weight, extreme weight loss strategies, and strategies to increase muscles. Measures of perceived pressure to lose weight or increase muscles from mother, father, best male friend, best female friend and the media were also evaluated. Data were gathered on three occasions, 8 months apart. The results demonstrated that boys showed a decrease in strategies to lose weight and increase muscles over time, whereas girls showed an increase. Both boys and girls showed an increase in extreme weight loss strategies with girls demonstrating a greater increase than boys. The sociocultural influences generally were perceived by girls to relate to messages to lose weight, whereas for boys they were perceived to relate to increasing muscles. Messages from parents, particularly fathers, were strong predictors of both strategies to lose weight and increase muscles among boys, with the media and best male friend playing a limited role. For girls, the strongest influences were mothers and best female friends, with few influences from fathers or the media. The results of this study are discussed in terms of the importance of the various sociocultural influences in shaping body change strategies among young adolescent boys and girls, and the implications of these findings for intervention programs for adolescents.

Body Image in an Interpersonal Context: Adult Attachment, Fear of Intimacy and Social Anxiety

A growing literature attests to the salience of social factors in body image development and the importance of body image to interpersonal functioning. The purpose of the present investigation was to examine the relationships of specific facets of the multidimensional body image construct to interpersonal anxiety and adult attachment processes for both sexes. Participants were 103 male and 125 female college students who completed standardized assessments of dimensions of body image as well as social-evaluative anxiety, fear of romantic intimacy, general adult attachment, and romantic attachment. Our results indicated significant associations of body image evaluation, investment, and affect with social-evaluative anxiety for both sexes, and with romantic intimacy anxiety for women. For both sexes, greater body image dysfunction was linked to less secure general attachment, especially more preoccupied general adult attachment and more anxious romantic attachment. Findings are discussed in terms of the importance of understanding the interplay of body image and interpersonal variables. Clinical implications are elaborated.

Psychological importance of body image in obese women

Psychological importance of body image in obese women

"When de Notion Strikes Me": Body Image, Food, and Desire in Their Eyes Were Watching God

In most media, America's obsession with image is always painfully evident; bony actresses star in movies and television, and waif-thin models in women's magazines have nearly always been ideal. With recent increased awareness of eating disorders that have been borne of a society heavily concerned with image, researchers have focused on different factors pertaining to those who suffer from anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder. Often, image corresponds to race, as was shown in one particular study that found overwhelming majority of white females believe that thinness is a prerequisite to attractiveness, whereas than half of females in sample believed that a female did not have to be thin to be attractive (Jackson 184). This real-life attitude toward body size has counterparts in literary world that are not readily apparent in other media; phenomena of relaxed attitudes toward large body size is clearly evident in Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God. Healthy (and even abundant) body size is valued among African American male and female characters, and consequently food plays an important role in their lives. Oddly, modern criticism essentially ignores this issue. Academics have ultimately tended to analyze this text in terms of other theoretical claims, disregarding linguistic evidence for importance of body image that Hurston has provided directly in her writing. I will argue that Janie in particular demonstrates her complete self-actualization as a woman through her body, and we can see this in part through her relationship with food. At same time, her first two husbands' characteristics are represented through their bodies, which ultimately signal their forthcoming failures. Further, use of food imagery in novel is not simply an attempt to evoke picturesque scenes; instead, food imagery and attitudes toward food are indicative of greater issues of sexuality and desire for Hurston's characters. Modern research on body image, unfortunately, leans almost entirely toward white subjects, though there is a small amount of qualitative research about African American women and body image. Linda Jackson, author of Physical Appearance and Gender: Sociobiological and Sociocultural Perspectives, points out that black females may not agree with, or may actively reject white thin (184). However, it is not just in comparison of ethnic backgrounds that these attitudes are evident; African American individuals tend to be more accepting of larger body size independent of external opinions regarding subject. A study released by American Dietetic Association in 1993 shows that not only were African American woman generally pleased with their body sizes, but that their male partners were accepting of their sizes as well. Authors Shiriku Kumanyika, Judy Wilson, and Marsha Guilford-Davenport concluded that the social environment of women is less negative about obesity than might be commonly assumed based on data for white women and that being overweight is not necessarily synonymous with being attractive (7). Furthermore, this idea of a desired body shape has changed over time, which may help account for difference in opinions regarding body size. Susan Bordo asserts in her book Unbearable Weight, As slenderness has consistently been visually glamorized, and as ideal has grown thinner and thinner, bodies that a decade ago were considered slender have now come to seem fleshy (57). Therefore, it is necessary to recognize that not only does racial background contribute to ideals of body size, but that time period also plays a role in what is socially acceptable as far as body weight is concerned. Written in 1937, and presumably set in approximately same time, Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God does deal with body size with respect to a different set of cultural expectations than those that men and women hold today. …

Sociocultural Influences on Body Image and Body Changes Among Adolescent Boys and Girls

In 2 studies, the authors evaluated the role of parents, peers, and the media in body image and body-change strategies among adolescent boys and girls. The respondents for Study 1 (423 boys and 377 girls) completed the Body Image and Body Change Inventory (L. A. Ricciardelli & M. P. McCabe, 2002) and the Perceived Sociocultural Influences on Body Image and Body Change Questionnaire (M. P. McCabe & L. A. Ricciardelli, 2001b). Body mass index and age were also included in the analyses. Regression analyses demonstrated that sociocultural influences and feedback from the participant's best male friend were important predictors for all body-change strategies among boys. For girls, sociocultural influences and feedback from the participant's best female friend and mother were important predictors for body-change strategies. The most consistent predictor of weight loss, weight gain, and strategies to increase muscles was body-image importance. In Study 2, the authors examined the influence of the same sociocultural variables, as well as negative affect and puberty on body image and body-change strategies among a second group of 199 boys and 267 girls. The results demonstrated that a broad range of sociocultural influences predicted body-change strategies for boys and girls, with negative affect also having a unique influence for boys but not for girls. Puberty played a minor role, once other sociocultural variables were entered into the regression equation. The implications of these findings are discussed.

Sociocultural and individual influences on muscle gain and weight loss strategies among adolescent boys and girls

AbstractThe study examined the role of body dissatisfaction, body image importance, sociocultural influences (media and parent and peer encouragement), self‐esteem and negative affect on body change strategies to decrease weight and increase muscles in adolescent boys and girls. Surveys were administered to 587 boys and 598 girls aged between 11 and 15 years. For both genders, parent and peer encouragement and negative affect were the primary predictors of body dissatisfaction, body image importance and strategies to decrease weight and increase muscles. In addition, body image importance was a significant factor in the development of both types of body change strategies, while the media only predicted strategies to decrease weight. Lastly, the effects of self‐esteem were mediated by body dissatisfaction. For boys, a stronger focus on body importance occurred among the boys who were generally satisfied with their bodies while the reverse was the case for girls. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 40: 209–224, 2003.

Development and validation of a Body Image Guilt and Shame Scale

The purpose of this study was to assess the psychometric properties of the Body Image Guilt and Shame Scale (BIGSS). Undergraduate students ( n=87 women, n=66 men) completed the BIGSS, the Test of Self-conscious ffect (‘TOSCA’), scales assessing body image concern and importance, social physique anxiety, and personal and social identity. A factor analysis indicated that a two-factor solution reflecting guilt and shame was the most parsimonious explanation of the data from the BIGSS responses. An additional factor analysis of the BIGSS and TOSCA responses indicated that the responses could be divided between generalised guilt, generalised shame, body image guilt, and body image shame dimensions. The BIGSS guilt and shame dimensions also demonstrated strong internal consistency and item/item total correlations especially when Item 10 was deleted. Consistent with predictions, BIGSS guilt and shame were positively correlated with social physique anxiety, body image concern, and body image importance, demonstrating construct validity.

Body image, strategies to change muscles and weight, and puberty: Do they impact on positive and negative affect among adolescent boys and girls?

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of strategies to both decrease weight and increase muscle tone on negative (depression, anxiety) and positive affect among adolescent males and females. The respondents were 1185 adolescents (587 males, 598 females) who were enrolled in grades 7 and 9 (mean age for males=13.22 years; mean age for females=13.21 years). Respondents completed the Body Image and Body Change Inventory that assessed body image satisfaction, body image importance, body change strategies to decrease weight, body change strategies to increase muscle tone, and food supplements. Respondents also completed the Pubertal Development Scale, the depression and anxiety scales of the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale, and the positive affect items from the Positive and Negative Affect Scale. Structural equation modelling was used to determine how body satisfaction and importance, body change strategies, and puberty impacted on depression, anxiety, and positive affect. The results demonstrated that for both boys and girls, there was a strong association between body change strategies and negative affect. For boys, body dissatisfaction did not predict negative affect, although this was a strong predictor for girls. Body change strategies did not strongly predict positive affect for either boys or girls, although body image satisfaction was a strong predictor for both genders. The implications of these findings for obtaining a better understanding of the role of pubertal development, body image, and body change strategies in predicting positive and negative affect among adolescent males and females are discussed.

Characterizing concerns about post-cessation weight gain: results from a national survey of women smokers.

Differences among adult women smokers with differing levels of concern about post-cessation weight gain were investigated in a national random-digit-dialing survey. To avoid defining weight concerns in terms of possible etiologies or contributory factors, respondents were stratified using a single item querying concern about post-cessation weight gain; 39% described themselves as very concerned (VC), 28% as somewhat concerned (SC), and 33% as not concerned (NC). Significant between-groups differences were detected for measures of weight and body image, eating patterns and weight control practices, and nicotine dependence, but not for depression. Differences, primarily between VC and NC, were also detected for several weight-related smoking variables, including importance of weight as a factor in initiation, smoking as a weight control strategy, increased appetite and weight gain as withdrawal symptoms, willingness to gain weight upon quitting, self-efficacy about relapse in the face of weight gain, and readiness to quit smoking. Most differences persisted even after adjusting for body mass index and nicotine dependence. Although the importance of thinness was rated higher by weight-concerned women, the difference did not reach significance. Rather, what differentiated groups was the importance of overall body image, suggesting a larger pattern of preoccupation with body image that may not be captured by queries about weight concerns alone. We conclude that weight-concerned women smokers will be especially unlikely to seek treatment or attempt self-quitting; and that redirecting attention to other aspects of body image is likely to be more helpful than attempting to divert attention away from body image.

Cognitive factors associated with binge and purge eating behaviors: The interaction of body dissatisfaction and body image importance

This investigation examined the association of body dissatisfaction, body image importance, and the interaction of these variables with the disordered eating behaviors of bingeing and purging. Undergraduate women (n = 311) completed the Shape and Weight Based Self-Esteem Inventory (SAWBS; J. Geller, C. Johnston, & K. Madsen, 1997) to assess body image importance, the Body Esteem Scale (BES; S. L. Franzoi & S. A. Shields, 1984) to assess body dissatisfaction, and a self-report measure of binge and purge frequency. Hierarchical multiple regressions predicting binge and purge behaviors were conducted with body mass index and neuroticism controlled first, SAWBS and BES entered next, and the interaction of SAWBS and BES entered last. A main effects model significantly predicted binge frequency (p < .05), but was not improved by the addition of the interaction term. In contrast, the interaction term made a significant contribution to the prediction of purge frequency (p < .05). These findings indicate that body image importance and body dissatisfaction are both important factors to consider in understanding bulimic behaviors, particularly purge behavior; however, the associations of these variables with binge and purge behaviors may differ.

Psychosocial differences associated with body weight among female adolescents: the importance of body image

Purpose: To determine whether overweight female adolescents differ from normal and underweight female adolescents with respect to a set of psychosocial factors, while controlling for body image. Methods: Female participants of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (n = 3197) were selected for analysis. Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) was used to test whether overweight subjects differed from normal and underweight subjects with respect to measures of depression, self-esteem, trouble in school, school connectedness, family connectedness, sense of community, autonomy, protective factors, and grades. Stepdown F-tests and discriminant function coefficients provided information regarding the strength of specific factors in contributing to overall differences. Results: MANOVA revealed significant differences between groups on the combined set of psychosocial factors. Self-esteem defined the difference in a positive direction while grades defined the difference inversely. When controlling for body image, multidimensional group differences were still evident; however, self-esteem was no longer a significant contributing variable. Conclusions: While overweight female adolescents seem to suffer from low self-esteem, it may be explained by body image. Efforts should be directed toward encouraging and supporting healthy eating patterns and physical activity while encouraging students to recognize personal strengths not related to physique.

Development of muscle afferent projections in relation to neurotrophin-3 expression in transgenic mouse spinal cord

Despite theoretical arguments that brief app-based interventions could be a useful adjunct to longer traditional treatment programs, there has been limited evaluation of the acceptability, feasibility, and efficacy of these micro-interventions. In the present study, 247 women from the general population were randomly assigned to the intervention or wait-list control condition, and provided measurement of body satisfaction and related constructs (body image importance, confidence dealing with body image issues, eating pathology, and self-esteem) at baseline and 21-days (post-intervention). During the 21-day period, the treatment group received access to an eHealth platform containing a series of brief video activities (e.g., gratitude tasks, breathing, and relaxation) previously demonstrated in experimental studies to improve body satisfaction. Findings showed greater improvements in body satisfaction at post-intervention for the intervention group than the waitlist controls (Cohen's d = .42). Use of the intervention content was associated with immediate increases in state-like body satisfaction ratings, and the magnitude of these in-the-moment improvements was predictive of greater post-intervention symptom improvement and retention (ps < .05). However, the intervention did not produce change in constructs related to body satisfaction (Cohen's d ranged from 0.02 to 0.13). Overall, findings offer support for micro-interventions as a spot treatment for specific symptoms, and possible means to maintain engagement and motivation within a broader treatment program.

Body image assessment and treatment in controlled studies of eating disorders.

This literature review examined the extent to which body image been assessed and treated in eating disorder treatment programs and the effectiveness of different treatments for body image change. Published reports of experimentally controlled clinical trials were examined for the use of measures and interventions that concerned body image. About one third of psychotherapy studies assessed and treated body image. Cognitive behavioral eating disorder programs for bulimia nervosa result in modest body image improvement. Pharmacotherapy seems to be less effective than CBT, though few pharmacotherapy studies assessed body image. Although cognitive restructuring is widely used, behavioral interventions and self-monitoring that target body image have not been reported by most eating disorder programs. Little information is available on body image methods in anorexia nervosa and binge-eating disorder. Given the importance of body image for the development and recovery from eating disorders, more systematic body image work should be incorporated into current treatment.

Body image and dieting failure in college men and women: Examining links between depression and eating problems

The noted co-occurrence between depression and eating problems in women may be due to their common association with negative body image. Specifically, the western cultural ideal that equates feminine beauty with thinness leads a large number of women to be dissatisfied with their bodies. A recent model [M. McCarthy (1990) “The Thin Ideal, Depression, and Eating Disorders in Women,” Behavioral Research and Therapy, Vol. 28, pp. 205–215] suggests that this dissatisfaction, coupled with high importance placed on appearance, leads most women to engage in dieting to obtain this level of thinness. As dieting is typically unsuccessful as a means of long-term weight control, depression will result from the sense of failure and helplessness associated with dieting failure. This depression then leads to increasingly maladaptive eating behaviors that serve to assuage negative affect and regain control over body appearance. In a sample of 234 male and female, predominantly white, 17–22-year-old college students, we examined several components of this model, including the specificity of these relations for women. In accordance with the model, depressive symptoms and eating problems were predicted to be an interactive function of body image and body image importance, with negative body image/high importance subjects showing the greatest disturbance. In addition, we examined several components of the model to determine (a) the relation between failed dieting and depression, and (b) the extent to which depression could account for eating problems. Regardless of gender, eating problems were indeed highest among those with both negative body image and high body image importance. Depression, however, was higher in subjects with negative body image, regardless of body image importance. For both men and women, failed dieting was significantly related to depression, but only for women did depression account for significant variability in eating problems. Validity of the model is considered. Gender differences in the nature of these relations, and the need to consider possible alternative effects of the cultural standard for masculine attractiveness, are discussed.