Relationship of body dissatisfaction to self-esteem and sociocultural pressure

Pages: 1320-1329
Hargun Gill and Sarabjit Kaur Sran (Department of Psychology, Mata Sundri College for Women, University of Delhi, Delhi)

Body dissatisfaction, the attitudinal component of body image, refers to the negative perception and evaluation of one’s own body. This study was carried out to learn about the relationship of body dissatisfaction to self-esteem and socio-cultural influences. Also, domains of body dissatisfaction and internalization were compared among men and women. College students (30 female & 30 male) were surveyed. Women reported more body dissatisfaction than men. Internalization of athletic ideal was more prevalent in men than women, while there was no difference in internalization of thin-ideal. Results also indicated that there is a positive relationship between body dissatisfaction and socio-cultural pressures (family, peer, & media). Self-esteem and body dissatisfaction were negatively correlated with each other.