Various factors have been implicated in the development of body image dissatisfaction. Especially important are three constructs: awareness of a thin ideal, internalization of a thin ideal, and perceived pressures to be thin. Using meta‐analysis, we calculated the strength of the relationships between each of these constructs and body image, and we evaluated the differences in magnitude across the average effect sizes. We also tested the moderating effects of age and ethnicity, and we compared the average effect sizes with those from meta‐analyses of prospective and experimental studies in order to determine whether the effect sizes differed by study design. The results indicated the following: all three sociocultural factors had statistically significant relationships with body image; internalization and perceived pressures have a significantly stronger relationship to body image than does awareness; the effect sizes from cross‐sectional studies were significantly larger than those of both longitudinal and experimental studies; and neither age nor ethnicity was a statistically significant moderator of the relationship between awareness and body image or that between internalization and body image. In this article, we discuss the limitations and implications of the findings on future research, theory, and clinical application.

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This study suggests that the sociocultural variables found to influence body image and eating disturbances in Japan are similar to those observed with US samples. The implications for prevention and intervention programs are discussed.

Women's bodies are often objectified and evaluated, which may result in body dissatisfaction associated with sexual difficulties. This study of 384 college women confirmed that contextual body image during sex was more associated with a lower self-confidence to refuse sex, poorer sexual functioning, and reduced sexual assertiveness than general body dissatisfaction, and the level of contextual body image mediated the effect of body dissatisfaction. Moreover, greater contextual body image was associated with lower sexual self-efficacy, more ambivalence in sexual decision-making, and more emotional disengagement during sex with a partner, implying that contextual body image is a better predictor of women's sexuality than general body image. Findings are discussed in relation to needed research and their implications for clinical interventions.

The Breast Size Satisfaction Survey (BSSS) was established to assess women's breast size dissatisfaction and breasted experiences from a cross-national perspective. A total of 18,541 women were recruited from 61 research sites across 40 nations and completed measures of current-ideal breast size discrepancy, as well as measures of theorised antecedents (personality, Western and local media exposure, and proxies of socioeconomic status) and outcomes (weight and appearance dissatisfaction, breast awareness, and