Gender Differences in the Relationship between Body Image and Self-Esteem
Journal Title: Journal of Experiential Psychotherapy - Year 2014, Vol 17, Issue 3
Abstract
Introduction: Although body image is a crucial part of the human development structure, there are few psychological publications regarding this subject. For a better perception of the body image, there must be a very clear notion about the way the individual feels about himself. Body image dissatisfaction is present in boys and girls, leading to self-esteem decrease. Self-perception and body image become critical for a proper development in youth, making the period very important. Objectives: This study is investigating the way in which dissatisfaction is linked to body weight and shape differentiates preadolescents’ self-esteem. The aim is to investigate the way in which social self-esteem in preadolescents has certain differences between genders in preadolescents and certain characteristics such as body mass perception, real body mass image and desired body mass image. Methods: 60 girls and 60 boys with ages between 11 and 14 years old, all of them with the same educational level, participated in this study. During a single session, participants filled in the next scales: The Self-Esteem Questionnaire written by Heatherton and Polivy (social self-esteem subscale) and The Stunkard Figure Rating Scale by J. Kevin Thompson for the measurement of the perceived body image and desired body image. Results: Preadolescents, who have a distorted perception of their own body, also have a low self-esteem. So, the less they weigh, the higher their social self-esteem is. Females’ self-esteem seems more affected by weight gain than males’ self-esteem. Conclusions: The results of this study can be applied in many fields (clinical, health, medicine, psychology, nutrition, school counseling and marketing) because it facilitates the understanding of the consequences of body dissatisfaction that appear during preadolescence and which may lead to self-esteem disorders that attract doubt, weakness or eating disorders in youth.
Authors and Affiliations
Andreea M. Nițu
Keywords
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