Body Image and Self esteem among Adolescents

ASSESSMENT OF BODY
IMAGE AND SELF ESTEEM
AMONG YOUNG
ADOLESCENTSDr. Nikhil S. Gupta, Dr. Gayatri R. Bhatia,
Dr. Jyoti V. Shetty, Dr. Nilesh M. Naphade
DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHIATRY
BHARATI VIDYAPEETH DEEMED UNIVERSITY MEDICAL COLLEGE
& RESEARCH HOSPITAL, PUNE-411043

Introduction
 Body image refers to the picture that a person forms of
his body in his mind and is influenced by his own beliefs
and attitude as well as ideals in society.
 Body image is a multifactorial construct, encompassing
perceptual, affective, cognitive and behavioral aspects of
body experience, depending on which it can be:
Positive Body image or Negative Body image.
 The way a person perceives his/her body is influenced by
a variety of factors including the degree of importance
their physical appearance has to their overall sense of
self.

 Adolescence is the approximate time of development
of personality along with self consciousness and self
worth.
 Among adolescent population, body shape and body
weight dissatisfaction have been associated with a
plethora of psychological ills ranging from eating
disorders to major depression.

 Important co-relations of good self esteem are one’s
positive physical appearance and high value to peers
and family, academic achievements, athletic abilities
and special talents.
 This study aims at evaluating body image among
school-going adolescents and assessing the strength
of relationship between body image, self esteem and
psychological distress among adolescent population.

Aim & Objectives
AIM
 To evaluate body image in relation to self esteem among
school-going adolescents.
OBJECTIVES
 To assess body image disturbances in school-going
adolescents.
 To correlate prevalence of body image disturbances with
gender.
 To determine strength of relation between body image
disturbances and self esteem.

Detailed Research Plan
STUDY DESIGN
 This is a cross sectional research analysis carried out
from 1st September to 30th October 2015 in students
studying in IX and X Standard of Bharati Vidyapeeth
English Medium High School (CBSE), Pune after seeking
approval from the Institutional Ethics Committee of
Bharati Vidyapeeth University and School authorities.

INCLUSION CRITERIA
 All students studying in IX and X standards in Bharati
Vidyapeeth English Medium High School, Pune.
 All students willing to participate in the study by
means of a written assent form.
EXCLUSION CRITERIA
 Students whose parents do not consent to their
participation in this study.

SAMPLE SELECTION
 All the students were provided detailed information
about study.
 A total of 139 students including 87 boys and 52 girls
consented to take part in study by means of written
assent and parental consent forms.
METHODOLOGY
Students were asked to fill out a set of questions
comprising of:
 Specially designed Socio-demographic proforma
 General Health Questionnaire-28
 Rosenberg’s Self Esteem Scale
 Body Image Questionnaire

Tool Description
 GENERAL HEALTH QUESTIONNAIRE 28 – is divided into
four sub-scales each containing Somatic symptoms,
Anxiety/Insomnia, Social dysfunction, Severe depression.
A score of >4 out of 28 indicates probable psychological
distress.
 ROSENBERG’S SELF ESTEEM SCALE- is a ten item likert
scale to measure self-esteem by asking respondents to
reflect on their current feelings and higher score
indicates higher self esteem.
 BODY IMAGE QUESTIONNAIRE – co-relates perceived
body image with gender, health and current and future
emotional adjustment and interpreted on factors like
Satisfaction (Positive) / Dissatisfaction (Negative),
Activity/ Passivity.

Results
72
22
15
30
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
Boys (n=87) Girls (n=52)
Numberofparticipants
Gender
Body Image vs Gender
Positive
Negative

26
0
12
5
46
15
10
25
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
Positive (72) Negative (15) Positive (22) Negative (30)
Boys (n=87) P-value=0.004 Girls (n=52) P-value=0.007
Gender and Body Image
Body Image VS GHQ-28
Normal
Abnormal

64
9
20
17
8 6
2
13
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Boys (n=87) P-value=0.013 Girls (n=52) P-value=0.012
Gender and Body image
Body Image vs RSES
Normal
Abnormal

14 14
9
30
58
1
13
0
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Boys (n=87) P-value<0.001 Girls (n=52) P-value<0.001
Body Image vs Effect Of Others Opinion
Yes No

0
7
1
14
72
8
21
16
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
Boys (n=87) P-value<0.001 Girls (n=52) P-value=0.001
Body Image vs Subjects went on DIET
Yes No

Discussion
 These results demonstrate disparity in Body image
dissatisfaction as girls were found to have more
Negative Body image (58%) as compared to boys
(17%) which co-relates with several previous studies
(Paxton et al 1991, Kostanski et al 1998, Huang et al
2007) and indicates that girls are more concerned
about their physical appearance and behavioral body
experiences.

 In relation with self esteem; 89% boys and 91% girls
with Positive Body image were found to have higher
levels of self esteem and self worth in contrast with
their physical appearance rather than other traits
such as special talents and abilities, academical
adjustment and achievements, family and social
support and these findings are comparative with
current literature that Positive body image report
higher self esteem (Huang et al 2007).

 Although most of the participants (69%) were found
to be scoring high for psychological distress on GHQ-
28 which seems to be due to academic pressure and
high parental expectations in this age group,
but in relation to Body image; as high as 100% boys
and 83% girls with Negative Body image were found
to be having psychological distress which is
comparative with current literature that Negative
body image and low self esteem has negative
psycho-social effects and increase the risk for
psychological distress (Huang et al 2007).

In relation with effect of others opinion, 93%
boys and 100% girls with Body dissatisfaction
reported that others opinion about their physical
appearance is important for them and they even
feel discriminated because of their physical
appearance.
Whereas equal number of boys and girls with
Body dissatisfaction (47%) have been on diet in
the past or present which relates to
dissatisfaction with their body mass distribution
either underweight or overweight (Kostanski et
al 1998).

Conclusion and Future Directions
 These findings demonstrate that adolescent girls
have more Body image dissatisfaction as compared
to boys and Positive body image will lead to higher
levels of self esteem and self worth.
 Others opinion also plays important role in the
physical appearance and overall sense of self in
adolescents with Body image dissatisfaction.

 Since a large proportion of adolescents with Negative
Body image and even with Positive body image were
found to be having psychological distress plans have
been discussed with school authorities to have
ongoing Counseling sessions/ Stress management
workshops to help with the same.
 The constancy of Body image dissatisfaction among
adolescents points to the need for future research
throughout early developmental periods as there is
limited data in this regard.

References
1. Paxton, Wertheim et al
Body image dissatisfaction, dieting beliefs and weight loss
behaviors in adolescent girls and boys. Journal of Youth and
Adolescence, 20, 361-379.
2. Kostanski M, Eleonora G
Adolescent body image dissatisfaction: Relationships with self
esteem, anxiety and depression controlling for body mass. J.
Child psychol. Psychiat. 1998; 39(2):255-262.
3. Huang JS, Norman GJ et al
Body image and self esteem among adolescents undergoing
an intervention targeting dietary and physical activity
behaviors. J. Adolesc. health. 2007 March;40(3):245-251.

Body Image and Self esteem among Adolescents

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