Women’s body image throughout the adult life span: a living history approach

This retrospective study examined developmental trajectories of women’s body image perceptions throughout the adult life span from life course and self-discrepancy theory perspectives. Data were collected from women over 65 years of age, recruited from 15 senior communities and centers in a Midwest U.S. state in 2012. A total of 102 older women completed a survey about their past and current body image perceptions. To examine developmental trajectories of the repeated body image measures, a latent growth modeling analysis was adopted. Distinct and significant trajectories in each body image measure during the entire adult life course were found, confirming that a retrospective account of women’s body image perceptions significantly change with age. The individual differences in the trajectories over time and the relationship between an individual’s initial mean level and the rate of change on each variable were also examined. The findings advanced understanding of the retrospective age effects on women’s body image throughout the adult life span.

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Women's body image throughout the adult life span: Latent growth modeling and qualitative approaches

10.31274/etd-180810-3322 ◽

2013 ◽

Author(s):

Min Sun Lee

Keyword(s):

Body Image ◽

Life Span ◽

Adult Life ◽

Growth Modeling ◽

Latent Growth Modeling ◽

Latent Growth ◽

Adult Life Span ◽

Qualitative Approaches ◽

Women's Body Image

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Body Image Distress and Its Associations From an International Sample of Men and Women Across the Adult Life Span: Web-Based Survey Study

JMIR Formative Research ◽

10.2196/25329 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 5 (11) ◽

pp. e25329

Author(s):

Alyssa Milton ◽

Ashlea Hambleton ◽

Anna Roberts ◽

Tracey Davenport ◽

Anna Flego ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Body Image ◽

Global Health ◽

Life Span ◽

Adult Life ◽

The United States ◽

The Body ◽

Adult Life Span ◽

Web Based ◽

Men And Women ◽

Health And Wellbeing

Background Previous research on body image distress mainly relied on samples that were small, generally homogeneous in age or sex, often limited to one geographical region, and were characterized by a lack of comprehensive analysis of multiple psychosocial domains. The research presented in this paper extends the international literature using the results of the web-based Global Health and Wellbeing Survey 2015. The survey included a large sample of both men and women aged ≥16 years from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, or the United States. Objective The main objectives of this study are to examine body image distress across the adult life span (≥16 years) and sex and assess the association between body image distress and various psychosocial risk and protective factors. Methods Data were extracted from the Global Health and Wellbeing Survey 2015, a web-based international self-report survey with 10,765 respondents, and compared with previous web-based surveys conducted in 2009 and 2012. Results The body image distress of young Australians (aged 16-25 years) significantly rose by 33% from 2009 to 2015. In 2015, 75.19% (961/1278) of 16- to 25-year-old adults reported body image distress worldwide, and a decline in body image distress was noted with increasing age. More women reported higher levels of body image distress than men (1953/3338, 58.51% vs 853/2175, 39.22%). Sex, age, current dieting status, perception of weight, psychological distress, alcohol and other substance misuse, and well-being significantly explained 24% of the variance in body image distress in a linear regression (F15,4966=105.8; P<.001). Conclusions This study demonstrates the significant interplay between body image distress and psychosocial factors across age and sex.

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Body Image Distress and Its Associations From an International Sample of Men and Women Across the Adult Life Span: Web-Based Survey Study (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.25329 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Alyssa Milton ◽

Ashlea Hambleton ◽

Anna Roberts ◽

Tracey Davenport ◽

Anna Flego ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Body Image ◽

Global Health ◽

Life Span ◽

Adult Life ◽

The United States ◽

The Body ◽

Adult Life Span ◽

Web Based ◽

Men And Women ◽

Health And Wellbeing

BACKGROUND Previous research on body image distress mainly relied on samples that were small, generally homogeneous in age or sex, often limited to one geographical region, and were characterized by a lack of comprehensive analysis of multiple psychosocial domains. The research presented in this paper extends the international literature using the results of the web-based Global Health and Wellbeing Survey 2015. The survey included a large sample of both men and women aged ≥16 years from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, or the United States. OBJECTIVE The main objectives of this study are to examine body image distress across the adult life span (≥16 years) and sex and assess the association between body image distress and various psychosocial risk and protective factors. METHODS Data were extracted from the Global Health and Wellbeing Survey 2015, a web-based international self-report survey with 10,765 respondents, and compared with previous web-based surveys conducted in 2009 and 2012. RESULTS The body image distress of young Australians (aged 16-25 years) significantly rose by 33% from 2009 to 2015. In 2015, 75.19% (961/1278) of 16- to 25-year-old adults reported body image distress worldwide, and a decline in body image distress was noted with increasing age. More women reported higher levels of body image distress than men (1953/3338, 58.51% vs 853/2175, 39.22%). Sex, age, current dieting status, perception of weight, psychological distress, alcohol and other substance misuse, and well-being significantly explained 24% of the variance in body image distress in a linear regression (F15,4966=105.8; P<.001). CONCLUSIONS This study demonstrates the significant interplay between body image distress and psychosocial factors across age and sex.

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