1. Body Image Changes In College-aged Females Over The Past 20 Years.
- Author
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Henry, Ruth N. and Jones, Megan D.
- Subjects
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COLLEGE students , *CONFERENCES & conventions , *BODY image , *WOMEN'S health - Abstract
PURPOSE : Before the introduction of social media, researchers had already found that the traditional media had a negative impact on body image in young women because of a constant comparison of self vs. others or societal ideals. Now that social media platforms have become so prevalent, beginning with the introduction of Facebook in 2004, the question arises: since many young women spend substantial time on various social media, has body image become worse in the last 20 years? METHODS: College students at a southern university were given a body image questionnaire, the Body Self-Image Questionnaire (Rowe, 1991) in both 2000 (n=72) and 2020 (n=62). The BSIQ measures 9 separate components of body image: Overall Appearance Evaluation, Fatness Evaluation, Health/Fitness Evaluation, Health/Fitness Influence, Social Dependence, Negative Affect, Attention to Grooming, Height Dissatisfaction, and Investment in Ideals. The BSIQ does not report a composite body score, but rather scores from the individual components. RESULTS: In five of the components of body image, there was no significant difference from 2000 to 2020 (Overall appearance evaluation, p=0.7072; Health/Fitness Evaluation, p=0.8197; Health/Fitness Influence, p=0.0522; Height Dissatisfaction, p=0.7404; and Negative Affect, p=0.2858. In four of the categories, however, body image changed over the 20-year period: Fatness Evaluation decreased, p=0.0364; Attention to Grooming decreased (p=0.0004); Social Dependence decreased (p=0.0435); and Investment in Ideals decreased (p=0.0006). CONCLUSIONS: These results are somewhat surprising, given that researchers hypothesized the social media occurrence would correspond with worsened body image. However, the more recent sample of females did not seem to subscribe to a great extent to societal ideals, as evidenced by the decline in II, SD, and AG. And although the 2020 sample was significantly higher in percent body fat, their Fatness Evaluation score was lower than that of the 2000 group. These results suggest that in spite of social media use, body image societal norms have relaxed in the past 20 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2021
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