Volume 32, Issue 1 (3-2025)
RJMS 2025, 32(1): 1-17 |
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Research code: 01
Ethics code: IR.BUMS.REC.1401.405
Clinical trials code: 01
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Ghollasi A, Sanagovi Moharrer G, Karbalai Herfteh F S. Compiling a Structural Model about Body Dissatisfaction among Teenage Girls in Birjand City: Investigating the Effect of Appearance Schema, Self-Concept, Self-Esteem and Body Verification on Body Image. RJMS 2025; 32 (1) :1-17
URL: http://rjms.iums.ac.ir/article-1-8824-en.html
URL: http://rjms.iums.ac.ir/article-1-8824-en.html
Department of Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Zahedan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Zahedan, Iran , Reza.sanagoo@gmail.com
Abstract: (767 Views)
Background & Aims: Body image involves the image of one's body in one's mind, which may or may not correspond to the actual shape and size of one's body. It includes how one feels about one's appearance. What one thinks about one's body. Body image dissatisfaction is defined as the perception one has of one's physical appearance. It may include one's physical self, thoughts, and feelings surrounding their self-awareness. Feelings and thoughts can be positive or negative and are influenced by environmental and social factors.
Body image dissatisfaction can occur at any age and affects all levels of society, demographics, and culture. It affects both men and women and can lead to negative consequences such as - Body dysmorphic disorder, which is a serious condition in which a person is excessively concerned about their appearance, about minor or imagined physical defects. They constantly check their appearance in the mirror, try to hide their perceived defects, worry about their body image or perceived defects for at least an hour a day, and this worry interferes with their lives in some way. They also have unrealistic expectations of their body image, which increases the likelihood of body dissatisfaction and increases the risk of eating disorders, low self-esteem, depression, and loneliness. (7)
The cognitive-behavioral approach believes that body image arises from various factors such as an individual's past events, attributions, and current experiences, and predisposes an individual to think, feel, and act in a certain way about their body (8).
Many studies in this area focus on measures of body image (with body dissatisfaction as one of the most prominent measures) and eating disorders. As a prominent element in research on the impact of media thin-body ideal images, body image refers to individuals' thoughts, feelings, and perceptions about their own bodies. The development of body image during childhood and adolescence is determined by biological (e.g., gender), psychological (e.g., self-concept), social relationships (e.g., family, peers), and sociocultural (e.g., media) factors. As such, body image is understood as a multidimensional concept that includes a variety of self-perceptions and self-evaluations, such as the experience of (dissatisfaction with) the body. When views of one's own body weight and shape are negative and dysfunctional, it is called body dissatisfaction. Today, it has become clear that body dissatisfaction is so common, especially among young people, that it is referred to as a "dissatisfaction with one's body" . It is considered "normative".
In other words, this term suggests that many people today are dissatisfied with their body weight and shape, which seems natural. As a result, feelings of body dissatisfaction can lead to experiencing other negative mental health outcomes, such as reduced self-esteem, anxiety, and depression (9).
Body dissatisfaction and concerns about its shape, weight, size, and beauty are among the growing concerns and problems in human societies, which have resulted in harmful consequences, including frequent cosmetic procedures and involvement in mental illnesses, including depression. Therefore, in this study, we examined the following issues.
This study aims to investigate the effect of appearance schema, self-concept, and body checking on body image in order to develop a structural model of body dissatisfaction in female students of Islamic Azad University, Birjand Branch.
Methods: Structural equation modeling was correlational and was conducted with a group. For this study, a sample of 253 students was randomly selected using cluster sampling. After answering the Garner Eating Disorders Questionnaire (1), Heinberg and Thompson's Visual Analogue Body Image Scale (2), Marsh's Self-Concept Scale (3), the Revised Appearance Schema Questionnaire (Cash and Fleming et al., (4), Spengler's Appearance-Related Beliefs Test (5), and the Reyes, Weisenheit et al., (6) Body Check Questionnaire, they were evaluated.
Results: The findings of the study showed that the variables of appearance schema, self-concept, and body checking have a significant relationship with body image and body dissatisfaction. Evaluation of the proposed models by structural equation modeling using the maximum likelihood estimation method in the Amos software program and calculation of the model fit indices indicated the goodness of fit of the models. The direct and indirect effects of the variables of appearance schema, self-concept, and body checking on body image in this model were significant and explained more than half of the variability in the body image of the students under study. Also, the effects of the above-mentioned variables on body dissatisfaction also explained more than half of the variability in the body dissatisfaction of the students under study.
Conclusion: These findings are consistent with the results of research on factors affecting body image and body dissatisfaction, as well as with some models of body image and body dissatisfaction, and help to better understand the complex psychological structure of body image and body dissatisfaction.
Body image dissatisfaction can occur at any age and affects all levels of society, demographics, and culture. It affects both men and women and can lead to negative consequences such as - Body dysmorphic disorder, which is a serious condition in which a person is excessively concerned about their appearance, about minor or imagined physical defects. They constantly check their appearance in the mirror, try to hide their perceived defects, worry about their body image or perceived defects for at least an hour a day, and this worry interferes with their lives in some way. They also have unrealistic expectations of their body image, which increases the likelihood of body dissatisfaction and increases the risk of eating disorders, low self-esteem, depression, and loneliness. (7)
The cognitive-behavioral approach believes that body image arises from various factors such as an individual's past events, attributions, and current experiences, and predisposes an individual to think, feel, and act in a certain way about their body (8).
Many studies in this area focus on measures of body image (with body dissatisfaction as one of the most prominent measures) and eating disorders. As a prominent element in research on the impact of media thin-body ideal images, body image refers to individuals' thoughts, feelings, and perceptions about their own bodies. The development of body image during childhood and adolescence is determined by biological (e.g., gender), psychological (e.g., self-concept), social relationships (e.g., family, peers), and sociocultural (e.g., media) factors. As such, body image is understood as a multidimensional concept that includes a variety of self-perceptions and self-evaluations, such as the experience of (dissatisfaction with) the body. When views of one's own body weight and shape are negative and dysfunctional, it is called body dissatisfaction. Today, it has become clear that body dissatisfaction is so common, especially among young people, that it is referred to as a "dissatisfaction with one's body" . It is considered "normative".
In other words, this term suggests that many people today are dissatisfied with their body weight and shape, which seems natural. As a result, feelings of body dissatisfaction can lead to experiencing other negative mental health outcomes, such as reduced self-esteem, anxiety, and depression (9).
Body dissatisfaction and concerns about its shape, weight, size, and beauty are among the growing concerns and problems in human societies, which have resulted in harmful consequences, including frequent cosmetic procedures and involvement in mental illnesses, including depression. Therefore, in this study, we examined the following issues.
This study aims to investigate the effect of appearance schema, self-concept, and body checking on body image in order to develop a structural model of body dissatisfaction in female students of Islamic Azad University, Birjand Branch.
Methods: Structural equation modeling was correlational and was conducted with a group. For this study, a sample of 253 students was randomly selected using cluster sampling. After answering the Garner Eating Disorders Questionnaire (1), Heinberg and Thompson's Visual Analogue Body Image Scale (2), Marsh's Self-Concept Scale (3), the Revised Appearance Schema Questionnaire (Cash and Fleming et al., (4), Spengler's Appearance-Related Beliefs Test (5), and the Reyes, Weisenheit et al., (6) Body Check Questionnaire, they were evaluated.
Results: The findings of the study showed that the variables of appearance schema, self-concept, and body checking have a significant relationship with body image and body dissatisfaction. Evaluation of the proposed models by structural equation modeling using the maximum likelihood estimation method in the Amos software program and calculation of the model fit indices indicated the goodness of fit of the models. The direct and indirect effects of the variables of appearance schema, self-concept, and body checking on body image in this model were significant and explained more than half of the variability in the body image of the students under study. Also, the effects of the above-mentioned variables on body dissatisfaction also explained more than half of the variability in the body dissatisfaction of the students under study.
Conclusion: These findings are consistent with the results of research on factors affecting body image and body dissatisfaction, as well as with some models of body image and body dissatisfaction, and help to better understand the complex psychological structure of body image and body dissatisfaction.
Type of Study: Research |
Subject:
Clinical Psychiatry
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