Body Image, Self-Esteem, and Health-Related Behaviors Among Male and Female First Year College Students

Journal of College Student Development, Nov/Dec 2005 by Lowery, Sarah E, Kurpius, Sharon E Robinson, Befort, Christie, Blanks, Elva Hull, Et al

This study examined the relationships among self-esteem, body image, and health-related behaviors of 267 female and 156 male first-year college students. Data were collected in 23 classrooms. Instruments included a demographic sheet, the Objectified Body Consciousness Scale, the Weight and Appearance Visual Analogue Scales, the Contour Drawing Rating Scale, the Rosenberg Self Esteem Scale, and a measure of physical fitness/health-related behaviors. Self-esteem was consistently related to body image dissatisfaction for women, and women consistently exhibited a more negative body image than did men. Even when both men and women were consistent exercisers, the women had poorer body image. Finally, for both men and women, more positive physical fitness/health-related behaviors were positively related to self-esteem and body image.

For women, being beautiful is important for social success. This may be especially true on college campuses where people are rapidly assessed for physical attractiveness (Pipher, 1994). Although the idealized standard for feminine beauty demands that women be thin (Cash & Green, 1986; Garner, Garfinkel, Schwartz, & Thompson, 1980), men typically have been exempt from this standard (Adame & Frank, 1990). However, cultural pressure for men to conform to a thin and muscular ideal has intensified since the 1970s (Lien, Pope, & Gray, 2001), and men are increasingly dissatisfied with their bodies (Cash, Winstead, & Janda, 1986) and want to lose weight or increase muscle tone (McCabe & Ricciardelli, 2004).

In 1950, Schilder described body image as "the picture of our own body which we form in our mind ... [it is] the way in which the body appears to ourselves" (p. 11). More recently, the term body image has been used to reflect one's ability to regard parts of one's body as belonging to the self or to define the boundaries of one's own body (Thompson, 1990) and one's subjective, mental representation of his or her physical appearance. Body image is constructed from self-observation, the reactions of others, and a complicated interaction of attitudes, emotions, memories, fantasies, and experience, both conscious and unconscious. Grogan (1999) described body image as "a person's perceptions, thoughts and feelings about his or her body" and as "subjective and open to change through social influence" (pp. 1-2).

While there are various conceptualizations of body image, few would deny its importance and its link to well being. Research data indicate that body image dissatisfaction, often called body image disturbance (Thompson, 1990), has become more prevalent since the 1980s and has been associated with incidences of depression (Denniston, Roth, & Gilroy, 1992), heightened anxiety, and lowered self-esteem (Thompson & Altabe, 1991), as well as the development of maladaptive eating behaviors and dieting (Cooley & Toray, 2001).

Dissatisfaction with one's body has become "a normative discontent" (Thompson, 1990) in today's culture and is closely related to a drive for thinness (Cooley & Toray, 2001). The inability to shed unwanted pounds can have a drastic effect on overall mood and self-confidence. Body image dissatisfaction, weight concerns, eating problems, and physical attractiveness have become especially significant issues on college campuses (Harris, 1995; Mintz & Betz, 1988), with up to 90% of college students reporting that they worry about body image (Delene & Brogowicz, 1990).

Historically, there have been sex differences in body image. In two large national surveys, women have reported greater body dissatisfaction than have men (Cash & Henry, 1995; Garner, 1997). Across all ages, women have reported being more concerned with body weight and appearance (Pliner, Chaiken & Flett, 1990). Moreover, women report experiencing more negative feelings when they are attentive to their bodies than do men (Franzoi, Kessenich, & Sugrue, 1989), they have a greater discrepancy between their ideal and actual body figures (Rozin & Fallon, 1998), and they tend to perceive themselves as larger or heavier than they actually are (Cash & Green, 1986). Adame and Frank (1990) found that among normal weight women (women who are neither medically underweight nor overweight), 61% perceived themselves to be overweight. In contrast, men, regardless of their actual weight, usually report more positive body images than do women (Demarest & Langer, 1996). Women tend to "feel" overweight much more than do men (Tiggemann, 1992), and men appear to be less obsessed with weight and becoming fat; therefore, pathogenic values related to eating and body size is lower among men (Akande, 1993). It is evident that potential sex differences need to be considered when doing research on body image.

Another variable that needs to be considered is self-esteem, defined as liking and respecting oneself (Crandall, 1973). According to Rosenberg, Schooler, Schoenberg, and Rosenberg (1995), domain-specific self-esteem, or elements of self-esteem related to different self-perceptions, explains behavior. Franzoi and Shields (1984) suggested that physical self-worth is a component of self-esteem that relates to constructs such as perceived sport competence, physical condition, attractiveness, and weight concern. As an aspect of physical self-worth, body image dissatisfaction is related to global self-esteem. Indeed, the association between body image dissatisfaction and self-esteem has been well established (Harris, 1995; Stowers & Durm, 1996).