CULTURAL IMPACT

Body image and body esteem/cathexis are components of self-concept and self-esteem. Responses to individuals are moderated by cultural standards learned throughout growth and maturation via formal and informal acculturation.



Abrams, K. K. (1991). Eating disorder behaviors and attitudes about body image as related to negative psychological adjustment and cultural assimilation: A comparison of white and black female college students. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Maryland College Park.

ABSTRACT: A total of 100 white and 100 black female college students completed self-report measures assessing disordered eating behaviors, attitudes about body image, psychological correlates, as well as attitudes and behaviors related to cultural assimilation. Results indicate that restraint, body dissatisfaction, drive for thinness, and fear of fat were each significantly positively related to depression, anxiety and low self-esteem for both groups. Binge eating was significantly related to depression but not to anxiety or low self-esteem for white females. For black females, binge eating was not significantly related to any of the three psychological correlates. Cultural assimilation was significantly positively related to restraint, drive for thinness and fear of fat for black and white females.

KEYWORDS: Body weight; Eating disorder; Body image


Adams-Campbell, L. L., Wing, R., Ukoli, F. A., Janney, C. A., & Nwankwo, M. U. (1994). Obesity, body fat distribution, and blood pressure in Nigerian and African-American men and women. Journal of the National Medical Association, 86(1), 60.

ABSTRACT: (None)

KEYWORDS: Body; Body fat distribution; Obesity


Agrawal, P. (1978). A cross-cultural study of self-image: Indian, American, Australian, and Irish adolescents. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 7(1), 107-116.

ABSTRACT: The study examined the self-image, ego strength, self-esteem, or level of psychological well-being of a normal adolescent groups of Indians and compared this with youth of three other nationalities: American, Australian, and Irish. It is concluded that American and Australian adolescents, in general, have higher self-esteem or ego strength than do Indian and Irish adolescents, respectively.

KEYWORDS: Self-esteem


Akan, G. E., & Grilo, C. M. (1995). Socio-cultural influences on eating attitudes and behaviors, body image, and psychological functioning: A comparison of African-American, Asian-American, and Caucasian college women. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 18(2), 181-187.

ABSTRACT: The nature of variability in eating behaviors, attitudes, and body image was examined among African-American, Asian-American, and Caucasian. Low self-esteem and high public self-consciousness were associated with greater levels of problematic eating behaviors and attitudes and body dissatisfaction.

KEYWORDS: Self-esteem; Body image; Eating attitudes; Emotional adjustment


Anderson, J. L., Crawford, C. B., Nadeau, J., & Lindberg, T. (1992). Was the Duchess of Windsor right: A cross-cultural review of the socioecology of ideals of female body shape. Ethology and Sociobiology, 13(3), 197-227.

ABSTRACT: The study investigated the reasons that some cultures prefer thin women, while others value female fatness. G.P. Murdock and D.R. White's (1980) standard cross-cultural sample was surveyed to investigate predictions derived from socioecological hypotheses related to biological functions of human female body fat. Attitudes toward fatness in women appeared to vary across cultures to be related to (1) reliability of food supply, (2) climate, (3) relative social dominance of women, (4) the value placed on women's work and the conflict between women's work and child rearing, (5) the probability that the expression of adolescent sexuality will have adverse consequences on girls.

KEYWORDS: Body shape


Anonymous. (1986). Thin dreams. (Videocassette). Ottawa: The board.

ABSTRACT: The presentation combines documentary-style interviews with a dramatic improvisation to explore some of the personal, familial, and societal issues surrounding the drive toward thinness. Geared toward young women between the ages of ten and 21 as a tool for both the prevention and treatment of eating disorders.

KEYWORDS: Body image; Eating disorders


Anonymous. (1990). The famine within. (Videocassette). Santa Monica, California: Direct Cinema.

ABSTRACT: North American women have come to judge their bodies according to the unrealistic standards of our culture's beauty ideal. The ultra-lean silhouette of the fashion mannequin and the manipulated image of the magazine model have become not only physical standards, but also symbols of competence and success. In pursuit of this simulated body centered ideal, many women are laying waste to their energies and self-esteem, and going on to develop the serious eating disorders bulimia and anorexia.

KEYWORDS: Body image; Femininity (Psychology);Sex role; Eating disorders


Anonymous. (1991). Bigger is better: Bicultural dynamics of body shape. Philadelphia: Gordon and Breach Science Publishers.

ABSTRACT: (None)

KEYWORDS: Body weight; Body image; Cross-cultural comparison; Obesity


Anonymous. (1994). Women, sport, and culture. Champaign, Illinois: Human Kinetics.

ABSTRACT: The book includes bibliographical references: Feminist cultural studies; sport, and technologies of the body; Women in sport in ideology; Toward a feminist alternative to sport as a male preserve; Gender stereotyping in televised sports; Active women, media representation, and ideology; crushes, competition, and closets: the emergence of homophobia in women's physical education, etc.

KEYWORDS: Body; Sport for women


Bailey, C. A. (1986). Familial characteristics, self-esteem, and the cultural value of thinness: A social deviance analysis of bulimia. Dissertation Abstracts International, Washington State University, Pullman.

ABSTRACT: This study provides an alternative to defining, explaining, and reacting to bulimia as a medical problem by viewing it as a social problem. The theory of deviant behavior specifies that the need to enhance low self-esteem is the primary motivation for engaging in behaviors which lead to bingeing and purging. It is hypothesized that families which emphasize thinness and physical attractiveness and place a high value on achievement and a low value of independence lead to the internalization of the cultural value of thinness, lack of a clearly defined identity, and low self-esteem. These hypotheses were supported.

KEYWORDS: Self-esteem; Eating disorders; Dieting


Boris, H. N. (1993). Body self and psychological self. The Psychoanalytic Review, 80(2), 313.

ABSTRACT: (None)

KEYWORDS: Body


Bushy, A. S. (1987). Body image and self-esteem during pregnancy: A comparison of rural and urban populations. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Texas, Austin.

ABSTRACT: (None)

KEYWORDS: Self-esteem; Body image


Cassidy, C. M. (1991). The good body: When big is better. Medical Anthropology, 13(3), 181-213.

ABSTRACT: The study explores the logic that makes large body size culturally desirable. Physical bigness both permits and proves good survivorship skills and symbolizes such as widely desired social goods as abundance, fertility, health, success, wealth, prestige, admirability, and beauty.

KEYWORDS: Body size; Body shape


Chow, L. W.-C. (1944). A study of the height and weight of Chinese school children on some Northern Californian cities. Unpublished master's thesis, College of The Pacific, Stockton.

ABSTRACT: (None)

KEYWORDS: Body; Body height; Body weight


Conto, L. L. (1975). The police uniform: Its effects of self-image and role performance. Unpublished master's thesis, University of Massachusetts.

ABSTRACT: (None)

KEYWORDS: Self-image; Self-respect; Uniform


Davis, C., Durnin, J. V. G. A., & Elliott, S. (1995). Social, psychological, and behavioral factors related to body size in adult men and women: A comparison of methods. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 17(1), 25-31.

ABSTRACT: The study investigated possible differences in the relationships between (1) a number of psychosocial and behavioral independent variables previously associated with obesity and (2) body size when assessments are made by body mass index (BMI) vs estimation of percent body fat from skin fold thicknesses. A higher percent body fat was associated with less frequent exercise participation, slower walking speed, reduced levels of trait anxiety, and a greater tendency to diet. Findings underscore the importance of measurement techniques and classification procedures in obesity research.

KEYWORDS: Body size; Body image


Dolan, B. M., Lacey, J. H., & Evans, C. (1990). Eating behavior and attitudes to weight and shape in British women from three ethnic groups. British Journal of Psychiatry, 157, 523-528.

ABSTRACT: The study examined attitudes toward eating, weight, and shape by surveying 365 Caucasian, 71 Afro-Caribbean, and 43 Asian British women. Results found no difference among the three groups in their concern with body weight and shape. Caucasian subjects' disordered eating attitudes were indicated to have a significantly positively correlated with feelings of anxiety and depression compared to the other two groups.

KEYWORDS: Body image; Racial and ethnic differences; Eating behavior


DuBois, K. E. (1984). The social judgment scale of body composition. Unpublished master's thesis, North Texas State University.

ABSTRACT: (None)

KEYWORDS: Body image; Somatotypes; Obesity


Dutton, K. R. (1995). The perfectible body: The Western ideal of physical development. St. Leonards, North South Wales: Allen & Unwin.

ABSTRACT: (None)

KEYWORDS: Body image; Body building


Ellis, L. (1994). The high and the mighty among man and beast: How universal is the relationship between height (or body size) and social status. Westport: Praeger Publishers/Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc.

ABSTRACT: (None)

KEYWORDS: Body size


Esposito-Del Puente, A., Scalfi, L., De Filippo, E., & Peri, M. R. (1994). Familial and environmental influences on body composition and body fat distribution in childhood in Southern Italy. International Journal of Obesity and Related Metabolic Disorders: Journal of The International Association for The Study of Obesity, 18(9), 596.

ABSTRACT: (None)

KEYWORDS: Body; Body composition; Body fat distribution; Childhood


Esty, D. M. (1994). Racial identity and self-esteem as factors in the body image of African-American women. Unpublished master's thesis, Loyola University of Chicago.

ABSTRACT: (None)

KEYWORDS: Self-esteem; Body image


Furnham, A., & Alibhai, N. (1983). Cross-cultural differences in the perception of female body shapes. Psychological Medicine, 13(4), 829-837.

ABSTRACT: The study examined how fifteen Kenyan Asian women (mean age 24 ), fifteen Kenyan Asian women (mean age 23.4 years) who lived in the UK at least four years, and fifteen White British women (mean age 22.5 years) perceived female body shapes. Subjects were asked to score twelve sketches of naked female shapes, ranging from anorexic to extremely obese, as well as a card labeled "Me as I am now." As predicted, results indicate that the Kenyans rated larger figures more favorably, whereas the Kenyan Asian British were more similar to the British group in their perceptions. Study results support the view that social and cultural factors play a dominant role in the perception of one's own and others' body shapes.

KEYWORDS: Body cathexis; Body shape


Gitter, A. G., Lomranz, J., Saxe, L., & Bar-Tal, Y. (1983). Perceptions of female physique characteristics by American and Israeli students. Journal of Social Psychology, 121(1), 7-13.

ABSTRACT: The study investigated perceptions of the attractiveness of female body characteristics to determine preferences of both men and women concerning four characteristics: head posture, shoulder posture, breast size, and body shape among 90 Israeli and 87 US University students. Subjects were asked to rate sixteen drawings of female physiques and were themselves rated in terms of attractiveness by the same-sex experimenter. Results show that the most preferred characteristic was an hourglass shape and figure with large breasts. No significant effects were obtained for subjects' culture or personal attractiveness.

KEYWORDS: Body cathexis; Body shape


Glugoski, G. G. (1989). A participatory study of the self-concept of elderly Hispanic women: Dialogo con las ancianas. Dissertation Abstracts International, 51(02), 435A, University of San Francisco.

ABSTRACT: Self-concept among a group of eight elderly Hispanic women was examined to understand how minority elderly women approach old age and meet the changes and challenges related to the aging process. This study contributes data on elderly Hispanic women, supports the use of phenomenological-existential and critical hermeneutic theories in the study of aging and adds to the educational and cultural understanding of the dynamics of ethnicity. The findings show that these women's self-concept was affected by the circumferences under which they have lived including their country of origin and residence. The subjects had both positive and negative self-concept in various areas relating to the main themes, which interacted as a balance allowing the participants to maintain a functional self in society.

KEYWORDS: Body weight; Self-concept; Elderly


Goodman, W. C. (1995). The invisible woman: Confronting weight prejudice in America. Carlsbad, California: Gurze Books.

ABSTRACT: (None)

KEYWORDS: Body weight; Body image; Obesity; Self-esteem in women


Hall, S. K. (1987). Judgments of body size and attractiveness by Mexican-American mothers and daughters. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Houston.

ABSTRACT: This study was initiated to examine the relationship between parents' and children's judgments of attractiveness and the role of body size in these judgments. Mexican-American mothers who participated in a diet intervention (N=19) and their 7-to 12-year old daughters, judged drawings of five girl figures, ranging from a very thin to an obese body size, for attractiveness. A control group of mothers who had not participated in a diet intervention (N=18) and their daughters were also examined. Findings show that the average relationship between body size and attractiveness did not differ between the diet intervention and the control group. Daughters' overall self-concept was negatively related to their age, and their own and their mothers' body size. Mothers' self-esteem was not predicted by their body sizes. However, the control group mothers' self-concept was negatively correlated with their body size.

KEYWORDS: Body size; Obesity in children


Hamill, P. V. V. (1972). Height and weight of children: Socioeconomic status, United States. Rockville: US Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Public Health Service.

ABSTRACT: (None)

KEYWORDS: Body weight; Body height; Socioeconomic factors


Hamilton, J. A., & Chowdhary, U. (1989). Body cathexis assessments of rural Scottish and American women. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 69(1), 11-16.

ABSTRACT: The study compared demographic data and scores on a modified version of Body Cathexis Scale for 30 American and 30 Scottish rural women. The scale excluded items referring to body processes and tested subjects' satisfaction with 28 body parts. Results are consistent with other studies in which body cathexis most likely varies by, and is a function of, individual psychology/history, social affiliation, and cultural world view.

KEYWORDS: Body cathexis


Harris, S. M. (1994). Racial differences in predictors of college women's body image attitudes. Women and Health, 21(4), 89-104.

ABSTRACT: Racial differences in women's body image attitudes in relation to personal/physical and sociodemographic characteristics was examined among 68 African-American women (aged 18-23 yrs) and 144 Euro-American women (aged 17-23 yrs). Results highlight the importance of fitness and health as a significant factor influencing prediction of body image attitudes for African-American women compared to Euro-American women. It appears that the relationship between personal/physical characteristics were the best model of appearance evaluation for African-Americans, while personal/physical and sociodemographic factors best predicted appearance evaluation for Euro-Americans.

KEYWORDS: Body image; Physical appearance; Racial and ethnic


Harris, S. M. (1995). Family, self, and sociocultural contributions to body image attitudes of African American women. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 19(1), 129-145.

ABSTRACT: The study examined 90 African-American college women by asking them to complete the Body Self-Relations Eating Disorder Inventory, Texas Social Behavior Inventory, Racial Identity Attitude Scale, and self and family measures. Data analysis indicated that self and sociocultural variables were associated with evaluations of physical appearance, fitness, and investment in health. Fathers' education, body mass, and social self-esteem appeared to be the best predictor of body areas satisfaction, appearance evaluation, fitness evaluation, and health orientation.

KEYWORDS: Body mass; Body image; Body satisfaction


Heath, D. L. (1994). A cross-ethnic study of body image and its effects on pregnant Mexican American and Anglo women. Unpublished master's thesis, Arizona State University.

ABSTRACT: (None)

KEYWORDS: Body image; Pregnancy


Heinberg, L. J., & Thompson, J. K. (1992). Social comparison: Gender, target importance ratings, and relation to body image disturbance. Journal of Social Behavior and Personality, 7(2), 335-344.

ABSTRACT: A total of 189 female and 108 male undergraduates was recruited to rate the importance of six groups (e.g. family, friends) as comparison targets for seven attributes (e.g. figure/physique, intelligence). Results indicated gender by target effects as an indicator of male-female differences in comparison tendencies. Strong gender differences emerged when factor scores were correlated with indices of body dissatisfaction and eating disturbance, reflecting significant relationships only for females. Findings indicate that the ascribed importance of a comparison group is a better predictor of body image disturbance than is the similarity between the subject and the comparison target.

KEYWORDS: Body image


Herzig, C. P. (1993). Women and body image in Western culture: A phenomenological and sociological approach. Unpublished master's thesis, Sonoma State University, Rohnert Park, California.

ABSTRACT: (None)

KEYWORDS: Body image


Holloman, L. O. (1981). Self-esteem, locus of control and demographic variables as influencing factors on the clothing of Black people. Dissertation Abstracts International, 42(03), 980B, Michigan State University.

ABSTRACT: The study investigated factors that contribute to the self-esteem of Black adults and to determine the relationship between self-esteem and clothing attitudes, clothing consumption practices and locus of control. Subjects consisted of 80 respondents ( 39 women and 41 men) as a subsample of a larger Quality of Life research study at Michigan State University. The study concluded that: (a) self-esteem appeared to be rather weakly related to clothing attitudes and clothing consumption variables, (b) self-esteem and locus-of-control showed moderate correlations with each other, (c) men tended to view handmade and used clothing quite negatively in general and specifically more than did women, (d) age was the most important factor in determining feelings about clothing for both women and men.

KEYWORDS: Self-esteem; Locus-of-control


Huon, G. F., Morris, S. E., & Brown, L. B. (1990). Differences between male and female preferences for female body size. Australian Psychologist, 25(3), 314-317.

ABSTRACT: The study was administered to 40 male and female Australian undergraduates to identify their ideal female body and the body they believed men and women in general would prefer. Female subjects were found to be misinformed about the size of the female body males preferred. Female subjects consistently evaluated their own body more negatively than their ideal or preferred body.

KEYWORDS: Body size


Kaye, S. A., Folsom, A. R., Jacobs, D. R., Hughes, G. H., & Flack, J. M. (1993). Psychosocial correlates of body fat distribution in Black and White young adults. International Journal of Obesity, 17(5), 271.

ABSTRACT: (None)

KEYWORDS: Body; Body fat distribution


Keas, S., & Beer, J. (1992). Stereotypes about women's body types associated with occupations. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 75(1), 223-230.

ABSTRACT: The study surveyed 75 female undergraduates to examine stereotypes related to body build (endomorph, mesomorph, and ectomorph). Subjects held stereotypes about female body build and personality. Subjects also held stereotypes about the type of body build expected in specific occupations.

KEYWORDS: Body type; Body build


Kemper, K. A. (1992). Black and White adolescent females' perceptions of ideal body size and social norms. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of South Carolina.

ABSTRACT: (None)

KEYWORDS: Ideal body; Body image; Self-perception in adolescent; Body size


Klassen, M. L., Jasper, C. R., & Harris, R. J. (1993). The role of physical appearance in managerial decisions. Journal of Business and Psychology, 8(2), 181-198.

ABSTRACT: The study examined stereotypical beliefs about the physical appearance of employees and the effects of these beliefs on decision-making. Findings from 216 females indicate that subjects used information about employees' weight and body build differently, depending on whether they were responding to questions about discipline, the likelihood of recurrence of behavior, or their desire to work with certain employees.

KEYWORDS: Body build


Lackland, D. T. (1990). The effects of body size on blood pressure levels in a biracial community. Dissertation Abstracts International, University of Pittsburgh.

ABSTRACT: Body mass and body fat distribution were measured among a randomly selected group of 3193 adults to investigate the effects of body size on blood pressure levels with regard to race differences. Major race differences were found in the prevalence of hypertension and blood pressure levels, as well as differences in body mass index, waist to hip ratio, socioeconomic status, glycosylated hemoglobin, and family history of high blood pressure. Although results indicate a strong relationship between body size and blood pressure in each race-sex group, these anthropometric measurements do not explain all of the race differences with regards to blood pressure levels.

KEYWORDS: Body size


Lantz, C. D. (1991). The effects of social physique anxiety, gender, age, and depression on perceived exercise behavior. Unpublished master's thesis, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

ABSTRACT: (None)

KEYWORDS: Body; Exercise; Body image


Lawrence, C. M., & Thelen, M. H. (1995). Body image, dieting, and self-concept: Their relation in African-American and Caucasian children. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 24(1), 41-48.

ABSTRACT: The study examined the relationship among body image concerns, dieting behaviors, self-concept in African-American and Caucasian students in Grade 3 and Grade 6. Results indicate that girls were more concerned than boys about issues related to being overweight. Caucasian students had less body image satisfaction than did African-American students.

KEYWORDS: Body image; Self-concept; Dietary-restraint


Lin, C.-h. (1992). A cross-racial comparison of the relationship of personality traits, body mass, and physical fitness among junior high school students in Taiwan. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Oregon State University.

ABSTRACT: (None)

KEYWORDS: Body mass; Physical fitness


Matacin, M. L. (1994). Body image and culture: Body satisfaction, perception, and ideals in Italian women and men. Unpublished master's thesis, University of Cincinnati.

ABSTRACT: (None)

KEYWORDS: Body image


Mayo, K. (1990). Patterns and processes of physical activity among Black working women: An ethnographic study. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Texas, Austin.

ABSTRACT: The purpose of this study was to investigate lifelong patterns of physical activity, processes of managing physical activity, and the relationship between physical activity, body size and health among Black women using ethnographic methods of intensive interviewing, participant observation, an instrument measuring body size values (Massara & Stunkard, 1979), and anthropometric measurements. A sample of 14 middle class and 10 working class black working women between 18 and 55 years of age was selected using snowball and theoretical sampling techniques. Results indicate that more middle class and fewer working class women participated in health promoting physical activities. Motivation to be physically active was not prevalent among working class women; they were overburdened and socially isolated by the demands of family and work. Results also indicate that middle class women were less likely to perceive their lives as troubling, but also were sedentary when work and family demands were perceived as taxing.

KEYWORDS: Physical activity; Body weight


McClellan, M. A. (1993). Weight, body image, and physical ability: An exploration of gender differences in psychosocial development. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University.

ABSTRACT: (None)

KEYWORDS: Body weight


Melamed, T. (1994). Correlates of physical features: Some gender differences. Personality and Individual Differences, 17(5), 689-691.

ABSTRACT: The effect of height and body mass on personality and salary based on questionnaire data collected from 208 male and 227 female British employees (aged 18-65 yrs) across different industries was examined. Results suggest that the effect of physical features on salary was not moderated by personality. Physical characteristics were not strongly related to women's career success. The ideal physique for success among men was tall with an average body mass.

KEYWORDS: Body mass; Body height; Body weight


Mendoza-Walker. (1994). Ness/body, movement, and culture: Kinesthetic and visual symbolism in a Philippine community. American Ethnologist, 21(4), 1010.

ABSTRACT: (None)

KEYWORDS: Body; Kinesthetic


Messer, E. (1989). Small but healthy: Some cultural considerations. Providence: Alan Shawn Feinstein World Hunger Program, Brown University.

ABSTRACT: The study investigated the relationships among health, body size, food intake, and eating behaviors from various cultural points of view. Four lines of evidence against "the small but healthy" (SBH) hypothesis of D. Seckler (1980,1982) are presented: (1) anthropology data on the health of SBH population are scant; (2) a high valuation on large size (both height and weight) is not only a Western perspective; (3) where cultural values on abstemious eating do contribute to short stature and leanness, they occur in contexts of potential or actual food scarcity; and (4) the SBH hypothesis does not distinguish cultural concepts of what is good for the individual from what is good for the population as a whole.

KEYWORDS: Body size


Mishkind, M. E., Rodin, J., & Silberstein, L. R. (1986). The embodiment of masculinity: Cultural, psychological, and behavioral dimensions. American Behavioral Scientist, 29(5), 545-562.

ABSTRACT: The study investigates the male body ideal, and the various pressures for men to conform to it that may be producing psychological and physical ill effects, that will increase as they reflect a historical trend. It is argued that the body plays a central role in men's self-esteem, and men are striving in growing numbers to achieve the male body ideal of muscular mesomorphy. The causes and consequences of bodily concern may represent a growing cultural trend, which is attributable to increased emphasis on self-determination of health and the ambiguity of current male and female sex roles.

KEYWORDS: Self-esteem; Masculinity


Mossavar-Rahmani, Y., Pelto, G. H., Ferris, A. M., & Allen, L. H. (1996). Determinants of body size perceptions and dieting behavior in a multiethnic group of hospital staff women. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 96(3), 252-256.

ABSTRACT: This study was designed to identify determinants of body size perceptions and their relationship to dietary behavior in multi-ethnic group of women. Results indicate that body size is a stronger predictor of accuracy of perceived body size than ethnicity, and that dieters overestimate their body size and believe it to be heavier than their social group would prefer.

KEYWORDS: Dieting; Eating patterns; Body weight; Body size


Nagel, K. L., & Jones, K. H. (1992). Sociological factors in the development of eating disorders. Adolescence, 27(105), 107-113.

ABSTRACT: An investigation of sociocultural, socioeconomic, and sex-related factors that contribute to the development of eating disorders. Results suggested that professionals in the educational and physical and mental health care fields need to help adolescents resist societal pressure to conform to unrealistic standards of appearance, and provide guidance on nutrition, realistic body ideals, and achievement of self-esteem, self-efficacy, interpersonal relations, and coping skills.

KEYWORDS: Self-esteem; Sociocultural factors; Socioeconomic status; Psychosocial factors; Sex role stereotyping; Eating disorders


Neal, A. M., & Wilson, M. L. (1989). The role of skin color and features in the Black community: Implications for Black women and therapy. Clinical Psychology Review, 9(3), 323-333.

ABSTRACT: The study presents a historical account of the role of skin color, facial features, and hair have played in the lives of US Blacks. Special attention is given to the effect these issues have had on Black females, as they strive for feelings of attractiveness, positive self-esteem, and identity in a White dominant society.

KEYWORDS: Self-esteem; Skin color


Nichter, M., & Nichter, M. (1991). Hype and weight: Biocultural dynamics of body shape. Medical Anthropology, 13(3), 249-284.

ABSTRACT: A discussion on the ideology that promotes dieting as a way of life, accompanies technical fix diet products, fosters self-dissatisfaction and envy of others, and leads to objectification as well as commodification of self. The importance of advertising in the specialization of adolescents into a thin body ideal is noted.

KEYWORDS: Body size; Body shape


Noesjirwan, J. (1982). Variations in perception of clothing as a function of dress form and viewer's social community. Perceptual-and-motor-skills, 54(1), 155-163.

ABSTRACT: Tested the prediction that social attributions made on the basis of clothing cues vary both as a function of the dress form and as a function of the particular social community at the viewer. ...(abridged)... A significant effect for the covariate indication of the figure.

KEYWORDS: Perceptions; Clothing; Function; Dress form


Powlishta, K. K., Serbin, L. A., Doyle, A.-B., & White, D. R. (1994). Gender, ethnic, and body type biases: The generality of prejudice in childhood. Developmental Psychology, 30(4), 526.

ABSTRACT: (None)

KEYWORDS: Body type


Prudhomme, C. J. (1990). The indigenous psychologies of body weight for three American cultures: Anglo-American and Mexican-American. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Columbia University.

ABSTRACT: The study compared 238 Anglo-Americans (N=91), African-American (N=70), and Mexican-American (N=77) in their implicit beliefs about male and female figures (exemplars) that differed in body weight (fat male, fat female, thin male and thin female). Each subject responded to a six-part questionnaire, administered in a group setting. Subjects wrote a description of each of the four examplers; rated on the strength of specific psychological needs; indicated which exempler was most similar to themselves; selected the figure that represented their ideal weight; and indicated whether or not they were satisfied or dissatisfied with their current weight. Results revealed that subjects in the three ethnic groups differed in their descriptions of the four exemplars, especially in the use of psychosocial and physical characteristics. Subjects also differed in their ratings of psychological needs for the four exemplars. There were no differences evident between male and female subjects on the characteristics or needs, although men and women within ethnic groups frequently differed from each other. Ethnic differences were found for four of the six weight-related terms: ideal, masculine, feminine, and fat.

KEYWORDS: Body weight


Raiwet, C. (1990). As long as we have health: The experience of age-related physical change for rural elderly couples. Unpublished master's thesis, University of Alberta.

ABSTRACT: The purpose of the study was to understand the meaning of physical changes to a group of elderly couples living in a remote area of northern Alberta. Unstructured, open-ended face to face interviews with 11 couples were conducted. Maintaining health was the informants' goal. Informants used strategies such minimizing and altering expectations and priorities in order to match what they were able to do with what they wanted to do. If the matching was successful, people perceived themselves as healthy.

KEYWORDS: Body weight; Physical change; Elderly


Robinson, J. L. I. (1992). African-American body images: The role of racial identity and physical attributes. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Virginia Consortium for Professional Psychology.

ABSTRACT: (None)

KEYWORDS: Body image


Rodin, J., & Larson, L. (1992). Social factors and the ideal body shape. Philadelphia: Lea & Febiger.

ABSTRACT: Content representation: (a) societal pressures to achieve an ideal body shape and the ways in which developmental and psychological factors interact with these sociocultural influences, (b) consider how the pressure to have the ideal body shape is intense for many athletes, (c) sociocultural influences (social importance of attractiveness, the fitness movement, attractiveness, body image, and self-worth), (d) psychological determinants of body image (private and public aspects of the self).

KEYWORDS: Body image; Body shape; Physical attractiveness; Physical development


Rosen, E. F., Brown, A., Braden, J., & Dorsett, H. W. (1993). African-American males prefer a larger female body silhouette than do Whites. Bulletin of the Psychonomic Society, 31(6), 599-601.

ABSTRACT: A total 91 African-American and 80 White college males participated in a study of preferences for a side-view silhouette of a female figure. Subjects indicated their thinnest and largest acceptable and preferred female body shape for women in several roles: date, sexual partner, wife, mother, sister, teacher, employer, grandmother, girlfriend, and female friend. Results confirmed the hypotheses that African-American males always chose a larger ideal female silhouette and were not as tolerant as Whites of very thin figures.

KEYWORDS: Body size; Body shape


Rothblum, E. D. (1992). Women and weight: An international perspective. Armsterdam: Swets & Zeitlinger.

ABSTRACT: Discussion of stigmas that are connected with obesity in the US, attitudes toward increased body weight in Japan, Philippines, China, India, Latin America and Puerto Rico, Europe, and Africa.

KEYWORDS: Obesity; Stigma; Cross-cultural differences; Body weight


Rucker, C. E., & Cash, T. F. (1992). Body images, body-size perceptions, and eating behaviors among African-American and white college women. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 12(3), 291-299.

ABSTRACT: The study examined multiple facets of body image and eating behaviors among 59 African-American and 61 White female college students. Primary domains assessed were: (1) body image attitudes, (2) body image perceptions, (3)weight concerns and eating behaviors, and (4) judgments of the thinness-fatness of varying body sizes. As hypothesized, Black subjects held more favorable body-image attitudes than White subjects on both global and weight related body-image affects, cognitions, and behaviors.

KEYWORDS: Body weight; Body image; Racial and ethnic differences


Ryan, J. K. (1993). The psychosocial impact of femininity on the body/self of women: A project based upon an independent investigation. Unpublished master's thesis, Smith College School for Social Work.

ABSTRACT: (None)

KEYWORDS: Body image


Schendel, D. E. (1989). Sex differences in factors associated with body fatness in western samoans (Samoa). The Pennsylvania State University, Unpublished doctoral dissertation.

ABSTRACT: The study examines the relationships among lifestyle, activity, diet and body weight, size and fatness variation with modernization in western Samoan men and women. Comparisons were made of the activity, dietary and anthropometric characteristics of 242 adults, ages 25 to 53 years, residing in three socioeconomically distinct communities of Western Samoa: an urban neighborhood and two rural villages differing in the extent of their urban market participation. In both sexes the urban residents were larger, heavier and fatter than their rural counterparts. For both sexes, greater weight, size and fatness were associated with a more sedentary activity pattern achieved only in a urban environment among men. There were few sex differences in patterns of food used and energy and nutrient intake. The similarity in the level of activity of urban men and women and some rural women suggests that they may have assumed a common pattern on energy expenditure which can not, under the dietary conditions of contemporary Western Samoa, regulate energy intake, thereby leading to an accumulation of body fact in excess of their more active peers.

KEYWORDS: Body weight; Body fatness


Schlater, J. A. (1969). Body perception as a function of self: World orientation. Unpublished master's thesis, Clark University.

ABSTRACT: (None)

KEYWORDS: Body image; Self-perception


Schmelzer, G. L. (1993). Gender differences in social physique anxiety and body esteem in elite and non-elite competitive rowers. Unpublished master's thesis, Springfield College.

ABSTRACT: (None)

KEYWORDS: Self-esteem; Body image; Body satisfaction


Schneider, M. E. (1995). How ethnic identity functions as a group identity to affect self-esteem. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, State University of New York, Buffalo.

ABSTRACT: (None)

KEYWORDS: Self-esteem


Scott, M. W. (1980). Patterns of influence of some known correlates of obesity in middle-class black women. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Maryland College Park.

ABSTRACT: The study examines the incidence of obesity and the patterns of influence of some known cultural, psychosocial and physiological factors contributing to its existence among middle-class Black women. The participants were 349 middle-class Black women, with a mean age of 41.06 years, who responded to a questionnaire distributed to a randomly selected sample. Group affiliation and activity levels within the affiliations are positively correlated with obesity among these participants. The study affirms the complex nature of obesity in middle-class Black women and the need for additional research on the cultural, psychosocial and physiological factors contributing to this important health derangement in this population.

KEYWORDS: Body weight; Obesity


Seid, R. P. (1991). Never too thin: Why women are at war with their bodies. (1st ed.). New York: Prentice Hall Press.

ABSTRACT: (None)

KEYWORDS: Body weight; Body image; Obesity; Social aspects; Health and hygiene


Seid, R. P. (1994). Too "close to the bone": The historical context for women's obsession with slenderness. New York: Guilford Press.

ABSTRACT: This book discusses topics on why have Americans, particularly American women, become fatphobic, why and how have they come to behave as though the shape of their lives depends on the shape of their bodies. The questions are addressed by placing the phenomenon in a broad historical context by focusing on fashion and the unique and dangerous twist it has taken in our era.

KEYWORDS: Phobias; Fads and fashions; Body weight


Simmering, M. J. (1993). Effects of social and non-social messages regarding weight on women's weight loss intentions as a function of self-presentation style. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Columbia University.

ABSTRACT: (None)

KEYWORDS: Body weight; Body image; Self-presentation; Social pressure


Singh, D. (1994). Body fat distribution and perception of desirable female body shape by young black men and women. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 16(3), 289-294.

ABSTRACT: The relation between body fat distribution as measured by waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) and perception of desirable female body shape was investigated in 87 undergraduate Black men and women (aged 18-23 yrs). Subjects judged attractiveness, various personal qualities, and desirability for long-term relationships of 12 line drawings of female figures that represented 3 body weight categories and 4 levels of WHRs. Findings do not support the notion that Black young men and women find overweight female figures as desirable and attractive.

KEYWORDS: Body weight; Body image; Physical attractiveness; Body size; Body shape


Singh, D., & Luis, S. (1995). Ethnic and gender consensus for the effect of waist-to-hip ratio on judgment of women's attractiveness. Human Nature, 6(1), 51-65.

ABSTRACT: The study was intended to investigate whether 71 Indonesians (aged 17-25 yrs) and 77 Afro-Americans rate similarly with US Caucasian men and women's judgment on female figures with feminine waist-to-hip circumference ratios (WHRs) as attractive and healthy. Results show that neither Indonesian nor Afro-American Subjects judge overweight figures as attractive and healthy regardless of the size of WHR. The consensus on women's attractiveness among Indonesian, Afro-American, and US Caucasian subjects suggest that various cultural groups have similar criteria for judging the ideal women's shape.

KEYWORDS: Cross-cultural differences; Physical attractiveness; Physical appearance; Body weight


Smith, L. R., Burlew, A. K., & Lundgren, D. C. (1991). Black consciousness, self-esteem, and satisfaction with physical appearance among African-American female college students. Journal of Black Studies, 22(2), 269-283.

ABSTRACT: An investigation of the extent to which Black consciousness (BC) and self-esteem (SE) were associated with satisfaction and physical appearance (SPA) was conducted among 152 female African-American college students. No relationship was found between SE and satisfaction with facial features and BC. However, a strong correlation was found between SE and satisfaction with both facial and overall appearance.

KEYWORDS: Self-esteem; Ethnic identity; Physical appearance; Body image


Stalker, L. A. (1987). The relationship of body image with psychosocial characteristics, perception of body size, weight, and pubertal timing in young adolescent females. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, The Pennsylvania State University.

ABSTRACT: The study examines the relationships between satisfaction with one 's body and four of variables (psychosocial characteristics, perception of pubertal timing, percent of normal weight, and perception of body size) in a normative rather than clinical sample. Three self-report measures of body satisfaction ranging from a specific question regarding satisfaction with weight to a broader assessment of satisfaction with appearance and physical development were used. The results indicated that all four variables hypothesized to influence body satisfaction yielded some significant results. More satisfying social relationships and more frequent positive affect were associated with higher body satisfaction. Analyses on pubertal timing revealed that although on-time females had the highest body satisfaction scores, they were not always significantly more satisfied than early and late females. Findings revealed that females who overestimated their body sizes were less satisfied with their bodies than females who accurately perceived their body sizes.

KEYWORDS: Body weight; Body size; Body image; Adolescent


Stevens, J., Sumanyika, S. K., & Keil, J. E. (1994). Attitudes toward body size and dieting: Differences between elderly black and white women. American Journal of Public Health, 84(8), 1322-1325.

ABSTRACT: The study examined attitudes toward eating and body size perceptions in elderly African-American (AA) and White (WH) women. A total of 278 WH and 126 AA women were interviewed. Results indicated that AA women were more satisfied with their body size than WH women. The differences between AA and WH women in body-size perceptions suggest underlying differences in cultural attitudes toward weight.

KEYWORDS: Body size; Body image


Stonebraker, P. M. (1988). Biocultural influences on male and female body images, eating and activity behaviors. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Oregon.

ABSTRACT: (None)

KEYWORDS: Body image; Mind and body; Eating disorders


Thomas, V. G., & James, M. D. (1988). Body image, dieting tendencies, and sex role traits in urban black women. Sex roles, 18(9-10), 523-529.

ABSTRACT: The study examined body image satisfaction, dieting tendencies and sex-role traits in 102 Black urban women. Results indicate that subjects who felt "too fat" were more likely than others to engage in both restrictive and nonrestrictive dieting tendencies. The subjects' body weight and body image did not compel them to utilize extremely restrictive dieting practices.

KEYWORDS: Body weight; Body image; Sex role


Thomas, V. G. (1989). Body image satisfaction among black women. Journal of Social Psychology, 129(1), 107-112.

ABSTRACT: The study investigated the relationship of body image satisfaction (BIS) to body weight, self-esteem, and perceptions of significant others among 102 Black women whose majority age under 35 years. Results indicated body weight was inversely related to BIS, whereas self-esteem was positively related to BIS. Perceptions of significant others were related to both self-esteem and BIS.

KEYWORDS: Body weight; Body size; Self-esteem


Thompson, J. K., & Thompson, C. M. (1986). Body size distortion and self-esteem in asymptomatic, normal weight males and females. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 5(6), 1061-1068.

ABSTRACT: The relationship between self-esteem and body size distortion was assessed in 30 male and 30 female undergraduates with a weight range within 10% of the ideal and no history of eating disorder behaviors. Subjects completed the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale and estimated the size of 4 body sites using an adjustable light beam. Estimations were compared with actual sizes assessed with body calipers. Subjects tended to overestimate their body size. Findings show that there was a significant negative correlation between overall distortion level and self-esteem.

KEYWORDS: Body size; Self-esteem


Tiggemann, M., & Pennington, B. (1990). The development of gender differences in body size dissatisfaction. Australian Psychologist, 25(3), 306-313.

ABSTRACT: The study replicated A. E. Pallon and P. Rozin's (1985) research of gender differences in body dissatisfaction. A total of 52 female and 40 male undergraduates, 40 female and 38 male 15-16 yr. old, and 34 female and 37 male 9-10 yr. olds were asked to rate a set of 9 age-relevant silhouette drawings ranging from very thin to very happy. Adult women rated their current figure as significantly larger than their ideal and attractive figure, whereas there were no differences in rating for men.

KEYWORDS: Body size; Body image


Tiggemann, M. (1992). Body size dissatisfaction: Individual differences in age and gender, and relationship with self-esteem. Personality and Individual Differences, 13(1), 39-43.

ABSTRACT: The study investigated the effect of individual differences in age and gender on body size dissatisfaction. 338 undergraduates were presented with 9 silhouette drawings ranging from very thin to very fat. Results show that young women were rated their current figure as significantly larger than their ideal and attractive figures, whereas there was no differences in ratings for young men. Only for the older women was body dissatisfaction correlated with self-esteem.

KEYWORDS: Body size; Self-esteem; Body weight


Tiggemann, M., Winefield, H. R., & Winefield, A. H. (1994). Gender differences in the psychological correlates of body-weight in young adults. Psychology and Health, 9(5), 345-351.

ABSTRACT: The study investigated the activity and psychological correlates of body weight and attitudes in a sample of young adults. Body mass indexes were calculated for 235 men and 248 women (aged 21-23 yrs). Women tended to view themselves as more overweight than did men, regardless of their true weight. This trend has consequences for women's health (e.g. eating disorders, unnecessary diets) and self-esteem.

KEYWORDS: Body weight; Health attitudes; Personality correlates; Body mass


Todd, J. (1995). Physical culture and the body beautiful: An examination of the role of purposive exercise in the lives of American women, 1800-1870. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Texas, Austin.

ABSTRACT: (None)

KEYWORDS: Body; Exercise for women


Valleroy, L. A. (1987). Blood pressure and body size, body composition and subcutaneous fat in Black American adolescents. Dissertation Abstracts International, University of Pennsylvania.

ABSTRACT: The research investigates the relative contribution of blood pressure variation during adolescence. The sample composed of 621 Black American adolescents who were seen once a year for three years as part of the Philadelphia Blood Project. Anthropometric variables measure body size, body composition, and subcutaneous fat. Results indicate a significant effect of body mass, linearity, and breadth to blood pressure. The association between body composition and blood pressure changes with age and maturational status during adolescence, and is different in males and females.

KEYWORDS: Body size; Body composition; Blood pressure


Ware, S. E. (1991). Looking at Barbie: Social comparison processes and body esteem among women. Unpublished master's thesis, University of Nebraska, Omaha.

ABSTRACT: (None)

KEYWORDS: Body esteem; Self-esteem


Washington, A. L. (1977). Self-esteem of Black females in relation to gaining attention, body satisfaction and the use of sensuous clothing. Unpublished master's thesis, University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

ABSTRACT: (None)

KEYWORDS: Self-esteem


Wiseman, C. V., Gray, J. J., Mosimann, J. E., & Ahrens, A. H. (1992). Cultural expectations of thinness in women: An update. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 11(1), 85-89.

ABSTRACT: The study examined American Society's depiction of the ideal female body. Body measurements of Playboy magazine centerfolds and Miss America contestants for 1979-1988 indicate body weight 13-19% below expected weight for women in that age group. Results also indicate that the overvaluation of thinness continues, and thinness is sought through both dieting and exercise.

KEYWORDS: Body image; Culture anthropological; Body weight


Wiseman, C. V., Gray, J. J., & Mosimann, J. E. (1992). Cultural expectations of thinness in women: An update. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 11(1), 85-89.

ABSTRACT: The study examined American society's depiction of the ideal female body. Body measurements of Playboy magazine and Miss America contestants for 1979-1988 indicate body weight 13-19% below expected weight for women in that age group. Findings suggest that the overvaluation of thinness continues, and thinness is sought through both dieting and exercise.

KEYWORDS: Body size; Body image


Wright, E. J. (1986). Sociocultural aspects of body image: Explorations of body size and weight problem perceptions in a southern rural community. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

ABSTRACT: (None)

KEYWORDS: Body size; Body image