Paper 1: Study one investigates the relationship between the ages of children and young people in years 5-9 and their levels of body esteem, perceived pressure from family, friends and the media, internalisation of societal standards of attractiveness and social comparison.169 participants aged 9-14 years completed four questionnaires: the Body Esteem Scale for Children, the Perceived Sociocultural Pressure Scale, the general internalisation subscale of the Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Scale-3 and the Physical Appearance Comparison Scale. Results indicated that relationships existed between the age of participants and their scores on these questionnaires, but only for girls. For girls, a significant negative correlation was found between age in months and scores on the Body Esteem Scale for Children, and a significant positive correlation was found between age in months and scores on the Perceived Sociocultural Pressure Scale, the general internalisation subscale of the Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Scale-3 and the Physical Appearance Comparison Scale. No relationship between age in months and scores on the questionnaires were found for boys. Boys also had significantly higher body esteem than girls and there were significant correlations between scores on the Perceived Sociocultural Pressure Scale, the general internalisation subscale of the Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Scale-3, the Physical Appearance Comparison Scale and the Body Esteem Scale for Children. Results are discussed with reference to the gender differences, as well as the role of pressure, internalisation and social comparison in the development of body esteem in children and young people. Paper 2: Study two has a positive psychology focus and is a qualitative study of children and young people with positive body esteem. 10 participants from the initial sample of 169 participants from study one with the highest levels of body esteem were selected for interview. The aim of the research was to discover what children with positive body esteem say about their own appearance, exercise, the influence of family, friends and school, and also about appearance ideals. Thematic analysis revealed that children and young people with positive body esteem have a sense of global satisfaction with their appearance but did not place great importance on appearance. Appearance was rarely discussed with significant others in their lives, although many participants described receiving compliments about their appearance. Where negative comments had been received, these were dismissed as jokes or not important. When asked about appearance ideals, the children and young people in the current study discussed controllable aspects of appearance such as clothes and hairstyles; however, they often rejected appearance ideals and instead defined beauty more widely. Finally, exercise and sport were an important part of these children and young people’s lives, with a number of participants competing at a high level. Findings are discussed with particular reference to previous work with Swedish adolescents by Frisén and Holmqvist (2010) and Holmqvist and Frisén (2012).

<p>Det kulturella smalhetsidealet innebär negativa konsekvenser för individens psykologiska välbefinnande. Individen upplever en diskrepans mellan den ideala kroppsformen och hur de själva ser ut. Den sociala konstruktionen av den kvinnliga och manliga kroppen skapar olika villkor för kvinnor och män att förhålla sig till sin kropp som ett subjekt eller objekt. Syftet med föreliggande studie var att med hjälp av självskattningsskalor mäta upplevelse av objektifiering, body-esteem, restriktivt ätande och motionsvanor hos kvinnor (n= 61) och män (n= 53). Kvinnor upplever större objektifiering, har lägre body-esteem, äter oftare restriktivt samt motionerar oftare för att kontrollera vikten jämfört med män. Sambandet mellan objektifiering och body-esteem är negativt för kvinnor. Det tyder på att kvinnor är mer utsatta för objektifiering jämfört med män samt att objektifiering kan användas för att förstå kvinnors negativa body-esteem</p>

Det kulturella smalhetsidealet innebär negativa konsekvenser för individens psykologiska välbefinnande. Individen upplever en diskrepans mellan den ideala kroppsformen och hur de själva ser ut. Den sociala konstruktionen av den kvinnliga och manliga kroppen skapar olika villkor för kvinnor och män att förhålla sig till sin kropp som ett subjekt eller objekt. Syftet med föreliggande studie var att med hjälp av självskattningsskalor mäta upplevelse av objektifiering, body-esteem, restriktivt ätande och motionsvanor hos kvinnor (n= 61) och män (n= 53). Kvinnor upplever större objektifiering, har lägre body-esteem, äter oftare restriktivt samt motionerar oftare för att kontrollera vikten jämfört med män. Sambandet mellan objektifiering och body-esteem är negativt för kvinnor. Det tyder på att kvinnor är mer utsatta för objektifiering jämfört med män samt att objektifiering kan användas för att förstå kvinnors negativa body-esteem

Body esteem is the affective aspect of body image, which is shaped by social experience. Compared with men, women have a more negative body image, which is more frequently correlated with depression and dysfunctional thoughts, especially in the case of eating disorders. The purpose of the present study was to examine gender differences in body esteem and its subcategories, and to find out whether there exists a stronger link between negative body esteem and higher levels of dysfunctional thoughts in women. The relationship between body esteem, dysfunctional thoughts and mental illness was examined. Participants were 73 college students doing social sciences and sports training educations. Body esteem questionnaire and dysfunctional thoughts questionnaire as well as a self made questionnaire on mental illness were used. Results showed that women had a more negative body esteem compared to men, especially considering weight. In women, there was a medium-strong negative relation between body esteem and dysfunctional thoughts. The results indicate that the norms for female body ideal that abound in the Western society have a negative affect on women's thinking and body image.Key words: Gender, body esteem, dysfunctional thoughts, mental illness.

I tidigare forskning visas ett samband mellan framställningen av kvinnor i media och kvinnors självbildsuppfattning. Studier har även gjorts med fokus på män där ett samband mellan media och mäns självbild visas. Studien avser undersöka om det finns ett samband mellan medias framställning av ideala modeller och unga vuxnas syn på kroppslig självbild, samt hur mediaanvändning skiljer sig mellan könen och om användningen har en effekt på kroppslig självbild. En enkätundersökning med 90 deltagare (43 kvinnor och 47 män) i ålder 18-30 utfördes. Deltagarna fick fylla i en internetenkät med antingen ideala bilder, alldagliga bilder eller en enkät utan bilder. Mätinstrumentet som används är The Body Self Esteem Scale. Inget signifikant resultat gavs kring effekten av bildexponering, däremot hittades signifikanta skillnader mellan könen på olika BES-Items, däribland lår, vikt och midja. Det förväntade mönstret återspeglade sig i resultatet, om än inte signifikant. I resultatdiskussionen diskuteras studiens svagheter såsom den korta exponeringen av bilderna.

The effects of visual representations of the thin ideal in movies, magazines, and television have been widely explored, but strictly textual representations of the thin ideal in novels have received scant attention. The genre of chick literature has been criticized for depicting characters that constantly worry about their body weight and have poor body esteem. Excerpts from two popular chick lit novels were used to examine the effect of a protagonist's body weight and body esteem on participants' overall body esteem, sexual attractiveness, weight concern, and physical condition. In Study 1 (N = 159), underweight protagonists made participants feel less sexually attractive. Furthermore, protagonists with low body esteem caused participants to report significantly low body esteem scores compared to protagonists with high body esteem. Study 2 (N = 251) examined the role of transportation and identification with the protagonist. Identification with the protagonist with low body esteem was a significant predictor of participants' lower reported scores of body esteem, lower evaluations of appearance, and increased weight concern. The results suggest that textual representations of body size and body esteem in novels have an effect that is similar to the effect of visual images prevalent in movies, television, and magazines. Implications and future directions are discussed. / Master of Arts

The role of mainstream media in women’s views of female beauty and body image has been well documented. However, few published studies have observed ethnic differences in physiological stress reactivity that may occur from pressures to comply with a particular image of beauty. This study examined whether the exposure to the mainstream ideal body image would negatively affect Latina women’s physiological and psychological functioning, and how their responses differed in comparison to their White counterparts. Participants included college-aged female students from Pitzer College who self-identified as Latina or Caucasian. Participants completed questionnaires assessing, body esteem (MSBRQ-AS; SATAQ; CDFRS), ethnic identity (SEE), state anxiety (STAI-State) and affect (PANAS) prior to and following exposure to Victoria’s Secret or Chrysler automobile commercials. Physiological stress reactivity was assessed through changes in systolic and diastolic blood pressure, as well as salivary cortisol. 3-way ANOVA tests indicated a significant 2-way interaction between condition and time on participants’ levels of diastolic blood pressure, F(1, 27) = 4.266, MSe = 29.803, p =.049, η2 =.136, as well as ratings of appearance evaluation, F(1,36) = 5.733, MSe = 3.692, p =.022, η2 =.137, and body satisfaction F(1,36) = 4.27, MSe = 4.747, p = .046, η2 =.106. Women who viewed the Victoria’s Secret commercials demonstrated increased levels of diastolic blood pressure and reported lower ratings of body esteem in comparison to women who viewed the Chevy Sonic commercials. Potential trends in anxiety reactivity and the internalization of mainstream female beauty in Latina women following exposure to the stimuli are further discussed.

This study assessed the relation between weight and weight-related factors (i.e., body dissatisfaction, body esteem, teasing frequency, and the effects of teasing) in a community sample of prepubescent African American girls. African American girls (N = 97) in Grades 3 to 5 completed the McKnight Risk Factor Survey-Third Edition and had their heights and weights taken to calculate body mass index (BMI). Participants were from two public elementary schools with a predominantly African American student population in a Southern metropolitan city of the United States. Increased weight was associated with higher levels of body dissatisfaction and a greater frequency of weight teasing by peers. Weight was not associated with body esteem. These relationships between weight and related factors may be important for understanding how weight affects psychosocial functioning in a community sample of African American girls.

This thesis seeks to explore how young women's body esteem is influenced by their beliefs about ambivalent sexism and stigma consciousness. In this study, a sample of 168 undergraduate female students at the University of Central Florida were asked to complete an online battery containing six psychological measures. The measures in this study included measures of body esteem and objectified body consciousness, perception and attitudes toward sexism, experiences with sexist events, and stigma consciousness. The results showed an association between higher body esteem and higher beliefs in benevolent sexism, and no relationship was found between hostile sexism and body esteem. As expected, body consciousness was positively correlated with stigma consciousness and women who experienced more sexist events had higher stigma consciousness. Additionally, regression models predicting body esteem based on hostile sexism, benevolent sexism, and stigma consciousness were only significant for benevolent sexism. These findings suggest further research to explore body esteem in relation to sexism and stigma consciousness. The results of this study can help highlight the importance of a cultural context when addressing female body esteem issues.

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