Different factors associate with body image in adolescence than in emerging adulthood: A gender comparison in a follow-up study

Abstract

health psychology report • volume 6(1), 8 original article background Body image dissatisfaction has been linked with a range of adverse psychosocial outcomes in both genders and has become an important public health issue. Across all ages, women have reported being more dissatisfied with their bodies than men. The aim of the current study was to examine if fitness and physical activity associate with body image satisfaction differently across gender and age, measured in the same participants. participants and procedure Participants were measured initially at age 15 years (N = 385) and again at age 23 years (N = 201). Structural equation modelling was used to examine the association between body image satisfaction, fitness, and physical activity. Covariates included skinfold thickness, body mass index, socioeconomic status, anxiety, and depression. results Fitness and physical activity declined during the study period, body mass index increased, but no changes were found in body image satisfaction, depression, anxiety, or skinfold thickness. For women at ages 15 and 23 years, self-reported fitness and depression were found to be related to body image satisfaction, including body mass index at the age of 23 years. For 15-year-old men, skinfold thickness and aerobic fitness related to body image satisfaction, whereas skinfold thickness, depression, body mass index, and self-reported fitness did so at age 23 years. conclusions Results suggest that different approaches are needed across gender to improve body image in adolescence whereas more similar ones can be used in emerging adulthood.

Psychopathological Consequences Related to Problematic Instagram Use Among Adolescents: The Mediating Role of Body Image Dissatisfaction and Moderating Role of Gender

“…This mediator role was different among males and females with BID being a stronger mediator between PIU and psychopathological outcomes among females. This may be that females tend to have more PIU and are affected from their Instagram use more adversely compared with males (Gestsdottir et al 2018), explaining the stronger role of BID on the aforementioned impairments.…”

“…BID has been found to be more prevalent among female adolescents and being female has been positively associated with higher problematic use of social media among adolescent students (Kircaburun et al 2018b;Kostanski and Gullone 1998). Furthermore, female adolescents appear to have more adverse psychological effects from their BID when compared to males (Gestsdottir et al 2018). Therefore, it is important to examine the possible moderating role of gender on the aforementioned relationships.…”

Socio-Cultural Standards Promoted by the Mass Media as Predictors of Restrictive and Bulimic Behavior

“…Due to the great importance of preventive healthcare for sociocultural determinants of eating disorders, there is a need for constant empirical research conducted in different populations and cultures to answer questions such as whether and how sociocultural standards of body image promoted by the mass media have a direct impact on the development of unhealthy eating behavior The sociocultural influence may fluctuate across time (45,46). Research on whether internalized and directly influencing socio-cultural standards of body image in modern the mass media directly affect the tendency to restrictive and bulimic behaviors is needed.…”

The Body as an Object of Stigmatization in Cultures of Guilt and Shame: A Polish–Vietnamese Comparison

“…General observations on the course of development suggest that despite children being generally content with their appearance [11], some children would like to change some elements of their looks [3,12]. In adolescence and early adulthood, body image declines significantly, mostly as a result of feedback from one’s environment [2,10,13], it increases slightly in mid-adulthood [14], and at the threshold of old age, it rapidly declines as a result of being confronted with visible signs of aging, as well as stereotypes about old age [15,16].…”

“…Paradoxically, the highest level of criticism concerning one’s own body occurs during youth [13], often referred to as the so-called “social audience effect” because young people feel continuously assessed by others. Even minor deviations from the accepted canons of beauty or visible defects (scars, marks, etc.)…”