The Comparison of Social Physique Anxiety of High School Students by Gender

Abstract

The ideal physique is something that is coveted, especially among adolescents. Often, they do not realize that lifestyle and sedentary behavior can affect physical appearance. The present study was to examine the differences in social physique anxiety (SPA) among male and female adolescents. To uncover this problem, comparative study methods were used. The subjects of this study were 263 students (130 males, 133 females) aged between 17-18 years who involved in sport extracurricular. SPAS was used to measure social physique anxiety. The results showed that there were differences between male and female adolescents in social physique anxiety (p < 0,05). It indicates that male adolescents have a high social physical anxiety and need more attention.

Social Physique Anxiety in Female Adolescents at Bandung Middle School

“…This result is greater than the overall average score. Research conducted in Indonesia in school adolescents shows that girls' average social physique anxiety score is smaller than the average score for boys, which is different from previous research (Jajat & Hardwis, 2020). This may be because the instrument used are instrument that are not specifically for adolescents.…”

“…Social physique anxiety is defined as the result of other people's negative perceptions between evaluating one's body image and body appearance (Alpkaya, 2019). Factors that influence the occurrence of social physique anxiety include gender, age, and self-esteem (Jajat & Hardwis, 2020), body image and body weight (MacCracken & Stadulis, 2016), and physical changes during puberty (Mumtaz & Malik, 2018). The specific-aged population was chosen because physiological changes and emotional impacts can result from hormonal changes, peer pressure, and social stigma on the body's condition.…”

“…The specific-aged population was chosen because physiological changes and emotional impacts can result from hormonal changes, peer pressure, and social stigma on the body's condition. Several female adolescents experience the majority of social physique anxiety because they have higher negative perceptions and lower physical self-esteem towards their bodies than male adolescents (Jajat & Hardwis, 2020;Kurniawan, Briawan, & Caraka, 2015). Someone who experiences social physique anxiety will form a self-defense mechanism by creating an impression related to something ideal in someone's eyes (Dobersek & Eklund, 2017).…”