scholarly journals Body Image Issues Faced by Adolescents in India

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shefali Sharma

Body image is a self-attitude towards one’s body, such as, with respect to its size, shape and aesthetics. Increasing importance is given to physical appearance in modern societies as is evident from media depictions and boom in the grooming industry. These patterns can be observed all over the country due to increasing impact of globalization and modernization in India. The influence of such changing demands can act as a strong factor in determining self beliefs of adolescents. A negative body image at an early age can over shadow the self-concept and self-esteem beliefs of an individual. In the present study, using a self report questionnaire, a total of 115 participants between the ages of 14 to 16 years were asked questions about their body image and related self beliefs. As indicated in previous researches, preoccupation with body image was observed in adolescents with many adolescents reporting negative attitudes towards self. In addition, it was seen that body image disturbances were consistent across gender. Thus, it is important for schools to recognize that they need to provide guidance to students on issues like body image and self beliefs as they can have a significant impact on mental health of adolescents. The paper concludes by suggesting some measures for schools to promote positive body image building in students as well as help enhance their understanding of self and surroundings.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christina Gallinat ◽  
Linda Luisa Stürmlinger ◽  
Sandra Schaber ◽  
Stephanie Bauer

Pathological skin picking (PSP) refers to the repetitive manipulation of the skin causing wounds, scars, emotional distress, and social impairment. Skin picking disorder was first recognized as a distinct disorder in the DSM-5 and is still understudied in terms of phenomenology, etiology, and associated consequences. However, the body-related pathology suggests that the relation to the own body might be a crucial factor in PSP. Previous studies provided first insights that affected individuals show a more negative body image and lower self-esteem than healthy individuals. The present study sought to investigate skin picking phenomenology, related emotions as well as associations with self-esteem, body image, and subjective physical well-being. The study was conducted as an open online study, and recruitment was generally targeted to individuals of full age and in addition specifically to individuals with PSP. A total of 363 individuals (82.9% female; age: M = 32.6, SD = 13.92) participated and answered various self-report measures. Nearly half of the sample exceeded the cutoff score for pathological skin picking (N = 163; 44.9%). The results suggest that boredom, bodily tension and strong negative feelings often precede PSP episodes. During the episode most individuals seem to experience a loss of control, trance and positive feelings. After the PSP episode, shame, guilt, anger and anger toward themselves are most prominent. As expected, skin picking severity was positively associated with body image disturbances and negatively with self-esteem, and subjective physical well-being. When controlling for depressive symptoms, all associations were reduced, but those with body image disturbances (r = 0.44; p < 0.001), self-esteem (r = −0.27; p < 0.001), subjective physical well-being (r = −0.22; p < 0.001), and peace of mind (r = 0.30; p < 0.01) remained significant. Moreover, greater skin damage due to skin picking was moderately associated with higher body image disturbances. The results indicate that PSP severity is associated with a negative body image and low self-esteem, and suggest that it may be warranted to consider these aspects in the development of future interventions for PSP. However, relations with body image and self-esteem should be examined in longitudinal studies investigating causal relationships between body image, self-esteem and skin picking. Moreover, PSP phenomenology and the role of specific emotions should be investigated in more detail.



2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paolo Meneguzzo ◽  
Simone Claire Behrens ◽  
Angela Favaro ◽  
Elena Tenconi ◽  
Vincenzo Vindigni ◽  
...  

Abstract Purpose Body image has a significant impact on the outcome of obesity surgery. This study aims to perform a semantic evaluation of body shapes in obesity surgery patients and a group of controls. Materials and Methods Thirty-four obesity surgery (OS) subjects, stable after weight loss (average 48.03 ± 18.60 kg), and 35 overweight/obese controls (MC), were enrolled in this study. Body dissatisfaction, self-esteem, and body perception were evaluated with self-reported tests, and semantic evaluation of body shapes was performed with three specific tasks constructed with realistic human body stimuli. Results The OS showed a more positive body image compared to HC (p < 0.001), higher levels of depression (p < 0.019), and lower self-esteem (p < 0.000). OS patients and HC showed no difference in weight bias, but OS used a higher BMI than HC in the visualization of positive adjectives (p = 0.011). Both groups showed a mental underestimation of their body shapes. Conclusion OS patients are more psychologically burdened and have more difficulties in judging their bodies than overweight/obese peers. Their mental body representations seem not to be linked to their own BMI. Our findings provide helpful insight for the design of specific interventions in body image in obese and overweight people, as well as in OS.



2012 ◽  
Vol 53 (1) ◽  
pp. 2-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah A. Mustillo ◽  
Kimber L. Hendrix ◽  
Markus H. Schafer

As a stigmatizing condition, obesity may lead to the internalization of devalued labels and threats to self-concept. Modified labeling theory suggests that the effects of stigma may outlive direct manifestations of the discredited characteristic itself. This article considers whether obesity’s effects on self-concept linger when obese youth enter the normal body mass range. Using longitudinal data from the National Growth and Health Study on 2,206 black and white girls, we estimated a parallel-process growth mixture model of body mass linked to growth models of body image discrepancy and self-esteem. We found that discrepancy was higher and self-esteem lower in formerly obese girls compared to girls always in the normal range and comparable to chronically obese girls. Neither body image discrepancy nor self-esteem rebounded in white girls despite reduction in body mass, suggesting that the effects of stigma linger. Self-esteem, but not discrepancy, did rebound in black girls.



2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Bestina Nindy Virgiani

The self-concept of PLHIV is a decisive factor in interpersonal communication, because everyone behaves as much as possible according to his concept. The results of interviews with 10 PLWHA showed that the respondents still felt ashamed and felt that they were not useful for this life and felt excluded by their family and environment. The purpose of the study is to describe the concept of self (PLWHA). The design used in this study is quantitative with a descriptive approach. The sampling method uses accidental sampling as many as 188 respondents. The data collection tool uses a questionnaire. The results showed 113 respondents (60.1%) had a positive self-concept. 98 respondents (52.1%) had a positive body image, 116 respondents (61.7%) had an ideal positive self, 96 respondents (51.1%) had negative self-esteem, 167 respondents (83.5%) had an appearance negative role and 98 respondents (52.1%) had a positive self-identity. Conclusion in this study more than half the number of respondents have a positive self-concept, the respondent has accepted what happened to him and is ready to face life in the future and considers that life is a process of discovery. Keywords: PLWHA, self concept.



SAGE Open ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 215824401769132 ◽  
Author(s):  
Itisha Nagar ◽  
Rukhsana Virk

Media, in its diverse forms, has become a powerful tool for construction and portrayal of the “shoulds, oughts, and musts” of a woman’s body. As a result of “thinning” of beauty ideals in the media, the real woman finds the representations of ideal woman to be increasingly unattainable. This exploratory study examined the effect of acute media images for a sample of young adult Indian woman ( N = 60). A 2 (intervention group) × 2 (time) mixed-group design was used where half the participants were presented with thin-ideal media images, whereas the other half were presented with control images. The participants were examined on body image dissatisfaction, thin-ideal internalization, and self-esteem. Results of the study indicate a significant increase in thin-ideal internalization and body dissatisfaction and a significant decrease in self-esteem scores as a result of exposure to the thin-ideal media images. The findings of the study indicate that, similar to their counterparts in Europe and North America, young urban Indian women experience body image disturbances when exposed to thin-ideal images. The findings have been examined in light of the spread of global media and homogenization of beauty standards among non-Western countries.



2008 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 282-289 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marieke Dewitte ◽  
Jan De Houwer ◽  
Ann Buysse

We report a study that was designed to investigate attachment-related differences in the implicit self-concept and to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Implicit Association Test (IAT) in the context of attachment research. Two variants of the IAT were used to assess implicit relational self-esteem and relational anxiety after stress induction. Results showed that both the relational self-esteem and relational anxiety IAT (1) were meaningfully related to individual differences in attachment style and (2) predicted cognitive and affective reactions to attachment-related distress in addition to and beyond self-report measures of attachment. The results provide evidence for the reliability and validity of the IAT as an index of the implicit attachment self-concept.



2014 ◽  
Vol 49 (3) ◽  
pp. 406-410 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cherilyn N. McLester ◽  
Robin Hardin ◽  
Stephanie Hoppe

Context: Research has suggested that the prevalence of young women with eating disorders (EDs) is increasing, but determining the exact prevalence of EDs within the female student–athlete (FS-A) population is difficult. Looking at certain traits may help us to identify their level of susceptibility to developing an ED. Objective: To determine the susceptibility of FS-As to EDs in relation to self-concept, including self-esteem and body image. Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: Athletic training and health centers at National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I, II, and III institutions via e-mail questionnaire correspondence. Patients or Other Participants: A total of 439 FS-As from 17 participating institutions completed the questionnaires. The sample was primarily white (83.1%) and underclass (61.8%). Main Outcome Measure(s): The questionnaire consisted of 4 parts: 3 subscales of the Eating Disorder Inventory-2, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, the Body Cathexis Scale, and demographic items. Results: A total of 6.8% of FS-As were susceptible to anorexia and 1.8% were susceptible to bulimia. The majority of FS-As (61%) reported normal self-esteem levels, whereas 29.4% had high self-esteem. Overall, 64.5% were satisfied and 23% were very satisfied with their body image. Conclusions: These results are generally positive in that they suggest FS-As have high levels of self-concept and are at low risk to develop EDs. However, these findings do not mean that all concerns should be dismissed. Although more than 90% of the respondents were not susceptible to an ED, there are still FS-As who may be. Athletic departments should evaluate their FS-As' levels of self-concept so that their susceptibility to EDs can be addressed. The emotional aspect of health care should be included in providing holistic care for student–athletes. Athletic trainers often are the primary health care providers for FS-As, so they should be made aware of this concern.



1989 ◽  
Vol 68 (3_suppl) ◽  
pp. 1195-1198 ◽  
Author(s):  
Salvatore Cullari ◽  
Roselyne S. Trubilla

20 normal-weight college women were tested for body-image distortion and given the Eating Disorder Inventory and the Tennessee Self-concept Scale. Body-image distortion was present in one-half of the sample and seemed to be related to cognitive factors. There was no evidence of perceptual abnormalities in the subjects, and body-image distortion was not correlated with body weight or low self-esteem.



Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document