“I Like My Body; Therefore, I Like Myself”: How Body Image Influences Self-Esteem—A Cross-Sectional Study on Italian Adolescents

Abstract

Puberty is a very important process for adolescents. Physiological changes and body modifications lead to great vulnerability. This vulnerability is connected to the adolescent’s perceptions of the uncertainty of outcomes due to the transformation of their infant body into an adult one. This cross-sectional study aims to better understand whether body image perception and satisfaction influence self-esteem in a sample of Italian male and female adolescents. A total of 242 adolescents (120 male and 122 female individuals) aged 11 to 17 years (M= 13.33;SD= 1.7) completed the study measures. Quantitative and qualitative instruments were used. In particular, adolescents completed self-report questionnaires to assess their pubertal status (Pubertal Developmental Scale, Peterson, Crockett, Richards, & Boxer, 1988), their body esteem (Body Esteem Scale, Mendelson, Mendelson, & White, 2001), their body image (Body Image Satisfaction Questionnaire, Rauste-von Wright, 1989), and their self-esteem (Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, Rosenberg,1965). Adolescent were also invited to depict themselves to assess their body representations by completing the Drawing Me test (Confalonieri, 2011). Results from MANOVAs confirm that gender and age are two factors that influence body image perception and satisfaction. SEM analyses show that good self-esteem is reached through good body satisfaction following different trajectories in male and female individuals. Data from adolescents’ body representations obtained via drawings confirm that females are more concerned about their body changes and about the appearance of secondary sexual features than males. This research, stressing the influence of various individual factors and highlighting the psychological distress and dissatisfaction of adolescents, especially females, confirms the importance of studying this topic in order to generate preventive measures to help adolescents through this developmental task.

The Relation between body image satisfaction, self-esteem and the academic behavior among the first and fourth year students in the faculty of nursing Tanta University

“…This is in accordance with Gatti E in 2014, who mentioned that Girls appeared more dissatisfied with their bodies and seemed to be at more risk of engaging in dysfunctional eating behaviors than boys. [18] Also this is in agreement with Gillen MM et al who mentioned that male students were more satisfied with their body image than female students. [29] In addition, Yahia N et al stated that male students were less worried about their body image compared to females.…”

“…[18,19] Body image is one of the most important psychological factors that affects adolescents' personality and behavior, because the adolescents view their body organs as separate parts, and each part plays a role in his/her personality. [20,21] The intense concern of body image would cause unfavorable outcomes such as poor health status, anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, and poor quality of life which eventually lead to body shape dissatisfaction.…”

Body Image, Self-Esteem, and Depression in Korean Adolescents

“…In a study with Italian adolescents, Gatti and colleagues (2014) found significant relationships among weight, overall feelings towards one's appearance, the presence/absence of menarche, and self-esteem for girls. In contrast for boys, the only significant relationship was between height and self-esteem (Gatti et al 2014). Findings from this study underscore the importance of recognizing adolescence as an important time in the development of body image and that girls and boys differ in what may influence their body image.…”

“…Body fat changes linked to puberty (Gatti et al 2014;Siegel 2002) and rising rates of obesity in developed nations come in conflict for those living in societies that place a cultural emphasis on being thin. Perceptions of body image have a wide range of influences on an individual's life, and therefore research on body image is especially meaningful (Borges et al 2010).…”

A study on relationship between body-image and self-esteem among medical undergraduate students

“…Adolescence and youth is a period of life during which many important body changes take place that are determined by pubertal development. 2 Body image is one of the most important psychological factors that affects adolescents' personality and behaviour, because they view their body organs as separate parts, and each part plays a role in his/her personality. 3,4 Research has shown that the intense concern of body image can cause unfavourable outcomes such as poor health status, anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, and poor quality of life which eventually lead to body shape dissatisfaction.…”