Body cathexis and Clothing Behavior of Middle-aged Women according to the Depression Level

Abstract

:This research was designed to analyze the relationship among depression level, body cathexis, and clothing behavioral attributes of middle-aged women. Respondents for questionnaire were middle-aged women aged from 40 to 59. A total of 197 responses were analyzed by SPSS 21.0 through t-test, and factor analysis with Varimax rotation. The results were as following. As older, the portion of depressed group increased. Higher in depression level, her body cathexis decreased, meaning those two valuables have negative relationship. Six clothing behavioral factors were extruded: style pursuit, body shaping, showing-off, comfort pursuit, recreativeness, and consciousness of others factor, which covers both physical and psychological aspects of middle-aged women. The difference between 40's and 50's was significant in depression level, however, not significant in body cathexis and clothing behavioral attributes. Except for weight, body cathexis satisfaction level of 'depressed group' were significantly lower than 'not-depressed group', meaning that psychological factor give a significant effect on body cathexis. 'Not-depressed group' tend to choose her own style and 'depressed group' more likely to be conscious of others and conform to the affiliation group. This finding implies that design and coordination of garments for middle-aged women could be recommended according to the depression level to improve the quality of life.

Addressing the clothing needs of ability-diverse populations: Promoting availability and adoption of inclusive apparel products

“…Therefore, the research results might not be applicable to male consumers. Women are perceived as more interested in fashion, clothing, appearance, and shopping than men (Browne & Kaldenberg, 1997;Kaiser & Chandler, 1984), therefore, women tend to place greater importance on clothing aesthetic and design features than men (Lee & Sung, 2004). In contrast, men tend to place a higher priority on garment comfort and functionality than women (Kim et al, 2002) and might have higher attitudes toward purchase and purchase intention of inclusively designed apparel that has more functional design features than conventional clothing.…”

“…Second, when evaluating garments, women tend to use different attributes than men. For instance, men place a higher priority on garment comfort than women (Kim et al, 2002), whereas women tend to place a greater importance on apparel aesthetic and design features than men (Lee & Sung, 2004). Finally, to accommodate the 2 x 4 between-subject experimental research design in this study, eight stimuli were developed.…”