This study reports results from the first International Body Project (IBP-I), which surveyed 7,434 individuals in 10 major world regions about body weight ideals and body dissatisfaction. Participants completed the female Contour Drawing Figure Rating Scale (CDFRS) and self-reported their exposure to Western and local media. Results indicated there were significant cross-regional differences in the ideal female figure and body dissatisfaction, but effect sizes were small across high-socioeconomic-status (SES) sites. Within cultures, heavier bodies were preferred in low-SES sites compared to high-SES sites in Malaysia and South Africa (ds = 1.94-2.49) but not in Austria. Participant age, body mass index (BMI), and Western media exposure predicted body weight ideals. BMI and Western media exposure predicted body dissatisfaction among women. Our results show that body dissatisfaction and desire for thinness is commonplace in high-SES settings across world regions, highlighting the need for international attention to this problem.
This article examines the association between job satisfaction, flexible employment and job security among Turkish service sector workers. Data come from a survey of workers in banking and related sectors’ call centres, frontline five-star hotel staff and airline cabin crews ( N = 407). Results show that flexible employment involving fixed-term contract, paid and unpaid overtime, on-call work and mismatched contract and hours are not associated with job satisfaction. Perceived job security is positively associated with job satisfaction. The study provides evidence that the perception of job security rather than flexible employment is an important contributor to job satisfaction for Turkish workers in the sample.
This study is part of a programmatic research effort into the determinants of self-assessed abilities. It examined cross-cultural differences in beliefs about intelligence and self- and other-estimated intelligence in two countries at extreme ends of the European continent. In all, 172 British and 272 Turkish students completed a three-part questionnaire where they estimated their parents', partners' and own multiple intelligences (Gardner (10) and Sternberg (3)). They also completed a measure of the 'big five' personality scales and rated six questions about intelligence. The British sample had more experience with IQ tests than the Turks. The majority of participants in both groups did not believe in sex differences in intelligence but did think there were race differences. They also believed that intelligence was primarily inherited. Participants rated their social and emotional intelligence highly (around one standard deviation above the norm). Results suggested that there were more cultural than sex differences in all the ratings, with various interactions mainly due to the British sample differentiating more between the sexes than the Turks. Males rated their overall, verbal, logical, spatial, creative and practical intelligence higher than females. Turks rated their musical, body-kinesthetic, interpersonal and intrapersonal intelligence as well as existential, naturalistic, emotional, creative, and practical intelligence higher than the British. There was evidence of participants rating their fathers' intelligence on most factors higher than their mothers'. Factor analysis of the ten Gardner intelligences yield two clear factors: cognitive and social intelligence. The first factor was impacted by sex but not culture; it was the other way round for the second factor. Regressions showed that five factors predicted overall estimates: sex (male), age (older), test experience (has done tests), extraversion (strong) and openness (strong). Results are discussed in terms of the growing literature in the field.
The body of research pertaining to work-related stress and health among Turkish workers is sparse. It was the aim of this study to test the feasibility of two work stress scales of the Turkish short version of the Effort–Reward Imbalance (ERI-SV) questionnaire among staff and faculty in an academic university setting. We also assessed and examined if work stress was associated with depressive symptoms, using Center for Epidemiological Studies–Depression (CES-D) scale. The two ERI-SV scales and the CES-D scale were distributed to 170 study subjects employed at a southern university in Turkey, in which 67% ( n = 114/170) responded. We examined Cronbach’s alpha coefficients for the internal consistency of the two main work stress scales of the ERI-SV, and scale structural validity was assessed using exploratory factor analysis. Logistic regression was performed to test the hypothesis of associations of work stress with depressive symptoms. Cronbach’s alpha coefficients were .75 and .76 for the scales “Effort” and “Reward,” respectively. Two separate factors were extracted according to the theoretical assumption of the ERI model. Associations between ERI and depressive symptoms were significant (odds ratio [OR] = 3.80 for Effort–Reward [E-R] ratio with an increase per SD, and 7.39 for the high work stress group as defined by an E-R ratio > 1.0). This study provides evidence of the feasibility of the short version of the Turkish ERI questionnaire by pointing to a strong association of stressful work with depressive symptoms in this group of academic workers. Further psychometric properties of the ERI questionnaire are required before its wider application in research and practice.
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