A test of the moderating role of importance of appearance in the relationship between perceived scar severity and body-esteem among adult burn survivors

This study tested the hypothesis that the relationship between subjective burn scar severity and body-esteem is moderated by importance of appearance. Three hundred and forty-six adult burn survivors completed a mailed or online survey. The three subscales of the Body-Esteem Scale for Adolescents and Adults (BE-Appearance [satisfaction with general appearance], BE-Weight [weight satisfaction], BE-Others [others' evaluations of one's body and appearance]) were regressed onto sex, subjective burn scar severity, importance of appearance and their two- and three-way interactions. With one exception, the hypothesized main effects were significant in each of the regression equations. As hypothesized, importance of appearance moderated the relationship between subjective burn scar severity and body-esteem for BE-Appearance and BE-Other but not BE-Weight. The results of this study are consistent with the cognitive model of body-esteem. Clinical implications are discussed.     

Differences in body esteem by weight status,gender, and physical activity among young elementary school-aged children

Body satisfaction is important for the prevention of disordered eating and body image disturbances. Yet, little is known about body esteem and what influences it among younger children. The purpose of this study was to evaluate body esteem and the relationships between body esteem, weight, gender, and physical activity in elementary school children. A total of 214 third graders in a U.S. Midwestern state participated in this correlational study. The Body Mass Index-for-age, the Body Esteem Scale (BES), BE-Weight, BE-Appearance, and a Physical Activity Checklist were used to examine the relationships between the variables using bivariate correlations and analysis of variance. While children's body esteem did not differ by physical activity, important interactions were identified between weight status and gender in global body esteem and BE-Appearance. It is critical to examine attitudes about weight and appearance and the relationship between body esteem and self-esteem further among middle childhood-aged children.     

Developmental patterns in body esteem from late childhood to young adulthood: A growth curve analysis

This study examines the long-term development of different domains of body esteem (BE), the most salient domain of adolescents' global self-esteem. The 11-year longitudinal study of Swedish youths, covering ages 10–21, showed that BE undergoes significant change from late childhood to young adulthood, with growth curve models revealing different developmental paths between domains and across gender. For girls, general appearance esteem and weight esteem decreased in the early adolescent phase and then stabilized. For boys, similar patterns were evident, but weight esteem was subject to change also in late adolescence. The third BE domain, appearance-evaluations ascribed to others, displayed a distinct developmental trajectory. This was the only domain where no gender differences were noted in terms of mean levels. It was also the only domain that demonstrated positive increases over time. Findings from the present long-term study contribute to a more coherent picture of the development of BE from late childhood and into young adulthood.     

Sexual Self-Esteem and Perfectionism in Women With and Without Overweight

The purpose of this study was to examine sexual self-esteem and perfectionism among Iranian women with and without overweight based on the role of age and education; and to investigate the relationships of sexual self-esteem, perfectionism, and body mass index in a sample of adult women. Participants were 200 women with and without overweight who were selected following a purposive sampling method from Shiraz City, Iran. A demographic questionnaire, Sexual Self-Esteem Inventory for Women (SSEI-W), and Perfectionism Inventory (PI) were used. Resulting data showed that women without overweight had higher total scores of sexual self-esteem and on the WWEI-W subscale of attractiveness compared with women who are overweight. Also, women who are overweight had higher total scores of perfectionism, as well as higher scores on subscales of interpersonal sensitivity and high standards for others compared to women without overweight. There was no significant effect for age and educational level on sexual self-esteem and perfectionism. The results demonstrated significantly negative relationships between overall sexual self-esteem, attractiveness subscale of sexual self-esteem, and body mass index. Also, the overall perfectionism and interpersonal sensitivity, striving for excellence, organization, and standards for others subscales of perfectionism had a significant positive relationship to the body mass index.     

Sources of self-esteem: From theory to measurement and back again

According to some conceptions, self-esteem possesses a moral dimension; according to others, it does not. According to some, the realism of the self-evaluation matters; according to others, it does not. For some investigators, narcissism is just high self-esteem; for others, narcissism involves internal conflicts within one's self-evaluation, which is strongly dependent on admiration extracted from other people. The best known procedure for measuring self-esteem has been a 10 question survey introduced by Rosenberg in 1965. Along with other insensitivities and biases, the Rosenberg scale fails to respond to the different high-level values or “sources” that are constitutive of self-esteem for different individuals. A person's self-esteem can be contingent on internal sources (such as independent thinking, productive projects, and moral commitments), or on external sources (such as fame, wealth, physical appearance, or the approval of peers). A study reported here investigated the relationships among global explicit self-esteem (as assessed with the Rosenberg scale), reliance on internal sources of self-esteem (measured with the Self-Esteem Sentence Completion Instrument), reliance on several external sources (via the External Sources of Self-Esteem scale), and narcissistic tendencies (as per the Narcissistic Personality Inventory). The participants were 97 undergraduate college students enrolled in psychology courses. Rosenberg and NPI scores displayed different patterns of correlation with various subscales of the ESOSES, raising the prospect that profiles of various external sources will enable us to differentiate between self-esteem and narcissism. Meanwhile, scores on the SESCI were not significantly related to any other variable, except for a mild negative correlation with the success recognition subscale of the ESOSES—an outcome that raises both theoretical and measurement questions about internal sources. Contrary to frequent assumptions of direct rivalry, reliance on internal sources of self-esteem may be largely independent of reliance on external sources. At the same time, however, more work obviously needs to be done on measuring internal sources of self-esteem, both explicit and implicit.     

Association between self-concept and body weight, gender, and pubertal development among male and female adolescents

This study examined the effects and interactions of gender, pubertal status, and body weight on the self-concept of 462 young adolescent Australian students from two different schools. All students enrolled in Years 7 and 8 completed the Self-Perception Profile for Adolescents, which includes several self-concept subscales and ratings of the importance of each subscale. The self-concept subscales ranked as most important by male and female students were Close Friendship, Scholastic Competence, and Job Competence. Females rated their ability to form close friendships significantly higher and of greater importance than did males. Standard body weight was related to students' Physical Appearance subscale scores, with higher weight students having lower self-concept, and postmenarcheal females having the poorest opinion of their physical appearance. Higher body weight males had lower scores on Athletic Competence, Job Competence, and Behavioral Conduct than did other males. Overweight females and normal weight males considered athletic competence to be more important than did other students. Pubertal status was related to students' scores on Athletic Competence, with postpubertal males who were not overweight scoring highest, and on Physical Appearance, with postmenarcheal females having the lowest opinion of their appearance. The mean self-concept score was significantly related to students' standard body weight, and there was an interaction between gender and puberty, with postpubertal males having the highest and postmenarcheal females the lowest self-concept score. The discrepancy score suggested that females felt they had failed to meet their ideal self-concept significantly more than did males. The results suggest that school programs should be implemented to provide exercise and job skill training suitable for all students, especially those who are overweight. These programs, while taking into account students' pubertal status, should aim to improve self-image without resulting in feelings of failure.     

Sex differences in the nature,realism, and correlates of body image

The present study examined sex differences in the nature and realism of body-image satisfaction, and the extent to which sex and sex role ideology moderated the relationships of body image to other indices of self-esteem and well-being. Accordingly, scales assessing body cathexis, self-esteem, depression proneness, and sex role ideology, as well as a questionnaire assessing perceptions of weight and dieting activities, were completed by 135 college women and 129 college men. As expected, women indicated significantly greater dissatisfaction with their bodies than did men. Women were likely to perceive themselves as overweight or slightly overweight, regardless of their actual weight, and most wanted to lose weight. Men who were dissatisfied tended to perceive themselves as underweight and wanted to gain rather than to lose weight. For both sexes, less positive attitudes to ward one's body were related to lower levels of self-esteem, although the relationship was significantly stronger for women than for men. The relationship between body attitudes and self-esteem was of approximately equal magnitude among traditional vs feminist women. For both sexes, more negative attitudes towards one's body were related to greater proneness to depression. Implications for further research are discussed.     

Appearance commentary from romantic partners: Evaluation of an adapted measure

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Verbal Commentary on Physical Appearance Scale (VCOPAS; Herbozo & Thompson, 2006b) after modifying it to capture appearance feedback given by romantic partners (VCOPAS-P). Women participants (N = 248) completed the VCOPAS-P, as well as measures of disordered eating, body image dissatisfaction, relationship quality, and socially desirable responding. Exploratory factor analysis identified the best factor structure for the VCOPAS-P, which contained three factors similar to the VCOPAS. Correlations between the VCOPAS-P subscales and measures of disordered eating, body image dissatisfaction, relationship quality, and social desirability responding demonstrated convergent and discriminant validity of the VCOPAS-P. There was a significant positive correlation between the negative comments subscale of the VCOPAS-P and the measures of body dissatisfaction and weight concern (measured by the EDE-Q). Additionally, VCOPAS-P subscales reflecting positive comments about appearance and weight were associated with greater relationship satisfaction.     

An examination of ethnic identity and self-esteem with diverse populations: exploring variation by ethnicity and geography

The current study examined the relationships among ethnic identity and self-esteem across multiple ethnic groups within two distinct geographical locations (N = 1,344). In the current study, for same ethnic group members, the components of ethnic identity (i.e., exploration, resolution, and affirmation) were differentially related to self-esteem based on geographical context. Furthermore, within each geographical context, the strength of the relation between each ethnic identity component and self-esteem varied based on group membership, suggesting that the variables may be more or less influential on self-esteem depending on one's group membership. Based on these results, the exploration and resolution subscales of the Ethnic Identity scale (EIS) appear to be valid and reliable with diverse samples, whereas support for the affirmation subscale of the EIS is more tenuous. Finally, these findings suggest that ethnic identity may have varying salience and meaning for same ethnic group members in different geographical contexts (e.g., Asian Americans in California vs. Asian Americans in the Midwest).     

I Enjoy Being a Girl: Collective Self-Esteem,Feminism, and Attitudes Toward Women

This article examines the self-esteem thatfeminists, anti-feminists, and those who labelthemselves as mixed receive from their gender group.Feminists and anti-feminists were expected to havesimilarly high levels of gender collective self-esteem(CSE) on three of the four CSE subscales: Private, one'sjudgments of the goodness of one's group; Identity, theimportance of one's group to one's self-concept; and Membership, personal evaluation of oneselfas a group member. Similar levels on CSE subscales forfeminists and anti-feminists were expected as a resultof differing levels of adherance to traditional attitudes toward women. Anti-feminists wereexpected to have higher means than feminists on PublicCSE, which measures judgment of how other's evaluateone's group. Participants were undergraduate women (91.4% white, 5.6% Black, 1.3% Hispanic, .4%Asian, .9% biracial) who selflabeled as feminist,anti-feminist or mixed. Feminists and anti-feminists didhave similarly high levels of Membership CSE, higher than those who were more non-committal.Feminists were the highest in Identity CSE, whileantifeminists had the highest overall Public CSE. Thesefindings are relevant to those who work with bothfeminists and those who reject feminism, as they suggesta need to recognize the amount of self-esteem women getfrom their gender.     

Sexual body esteem and mindfulness in college women

Literature suggests that many young women hold negative perceptions of their sexual bodies and facial features. This may be related to deficits in mindfulness, manifested by rigid and automatic thoughts, feelings, and behavior about one's sexual body. The present study examined the relationships between the five factors of mindfulness measured by the Five Factor Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ) and sexual body esteem, measured by the Sexual Attractiveness subscale of the Body Esteem Scale (BES) in 79 college women. A multiple regression was performed to examine the relationship between sexual body esteem and the factors of mindfulness. The Observing and Describing subscales were significantly and positively predictive of sexual body esteem while Non-reactivity to Inner Experience was significantly and negatively predictive of sexual body esteem. This relationship may have implications for future research and clinical practice.     

“That camera adds ten pounds!:” Women's reactions to visual weight-related feedback and the role of trait body checking

In Study 1 women were randomly assigned to viewing: (1) no photo of themselves, (2) an accurate, full-body photo, (3) a photo modified to make them appear thinner than usual, or (4) a photo modified to make them appear heavier than usual. Measures of mood, state self-esteem, and body dissatisfaction were completed. There were no main effects of photo condition; participants were generally poor at perceiving weight change. The heavier that participants thought they looked in their photo as compared to usual, the worse their appearance self-esteem and body dissatisfaction. Study 2 replicated these results and found that participants with higher levels of trait body checking were more likely to report that they looked heavier than usual in the photo. Study 3 replicated these results and found that the correlation between body parts checking and how participants thought they looked in the photo held true even after controlling for appearance investment.     

Body image and psychological well-being in adolescents: the relationship between gender and school type

Adolescents (N=1281; M age = 15.2 years, SD = 0.51 years) from a state-wide sample of schools provided information about their psychological well-being, family functioning, extraversion, and perceived physical attractiveness and weight, using a questionnaire completed at school. Consistent with previous research, girls were significantly more likely than boys to be dissatisfied with their weight and physical appearance, and these factors explained significantly more variation in self-esteem than in life satisfaction or other measures of psychological well-being. The strong relationship between body dissatisfaction and self-esteem for adolescent girls was not moderated by school type (single sex or educational). However, girls who were dissatisfied but psychologically well adjusted tended to be more extraverted, have more close friends and receive greater family support.     

The body as a source of self-esteem: the effect of mortality salience on identification with one's body, interest in sex, and appearance monitoring

The present research investigated the role of the physical body as a source of self-esteem and tested the hypothesis derived from terror management theory that reminding people of their mortality increases self-esteem striving in the form of identification with one's body, interest in sex, and appearance monitoring. The results revealed that individuals high in body esteem responded to mortality salience manipulations with increased identification with their physical bodies in Study 1 and with increased interest in sex in Study 2. Study 3 showed that reminders of death led to decreased appearance monitoring among appearance-oriented participants who were low in body esteem. These findings provide insight into why people often go to extreme lengths to meet cultural standards for the body and its appearance.     

Development and psychometric evaluation of the Male Body Attitudes Scale (MBAS)

A measure of men's attitudes toward their body (MBAS) was developed and evaluated via three independent samples of college men. In Studies 1 and 2, factor analyses determined and cross-validated the MBAS's underlying structure. Three factors emerged from the items: muscularity, low body fat, and height. Studies 1 and 2 provided construct (i.e., convergent, concurrent, and discriminant) validity evidence for the MBAS total scale and subscales; they were related or not related as expected to drive for muscularity, body esteem, internalization of the muscular ideal, pressures for muscularity, pressures for thinness, self-esteem, body comparison, eating disorder symptomatology, and impression management. Study 3 revealed that the MBAS total score and subscale scores were stable over a 2-week period. The internal consistency reliabilities for the total score and subscale scores were high across all three studies. The MBAS should prove useful for researchers and clinicians interested in men's body image assessment.     

The Physical Appearance Perfectionism Scale: Development and Preliminary Validation

Eight studies with data from 2316 students are presented describing the development and preliminary validation of the Physical Appearance Perfectionism Scale (PAPS), a brief measure with two subscales: Worry About Imperfection and Hope For Perfection. Results from exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses confirmed the measure’s two-dimensional structure. Moreover, correlation analyses provided first evidence for the two subscales’ differential validity: Worry About Imperfection showed negative correlations with positive self-perceptions of one’s appearance (e.g., appearance self-esteem) and positive correlations with maladaptive concerns aspects of perfectionism, physical appearance concerns (e.g., body image disturbances), and body weight control whereas Hope For Perfection showed positive correlations with positive striving aspects of perfectionism, positive self-perceptions, and impression management. In addition, all PAPS scores showed high reliability (Cronbach’s alpha) and temporal stability (test-retest). Overall the findings suggest that the PAPS is a reliable and valid instrument to assess positive and negative aspects of physical appearance perfectionism.     

Appearance-based rejection sensitivity: implications for mental and physical health, affect, and motivation

Appearance-Based Rejection Sensitivity (Appearance-RS) is a personality-processing system characterized by anxious concerns and expectations about being rejected based on one's physical attractiveness. People differ in their sensitivity to rejection based on appearance, with consequences for mental and physical health, self-esteem, affect, and feelings of belonging. Study 1 describes the development and validation of the Appearance-RS scale, its relation to personality variables and to health-related outcomes. Study 2 provides experimental evidence that high Appearance-RS people feel more alone and rejected when asked to think about negative aspects of their appearance. Finally, Study 3 tests ways to reduce the negative effects of receiving an appearance threat among high Appearance-RS participants. Specifically, high Appearance-RS participants who engaged in self-affirmation (thought of their personal strengths) or received a secure attachment prime (thought of a close, caring relationship) were buffered from the negative effects of an appearance threat on subsequent state self-esteem and mood.     

Investing in the ideal: Does objectified body consciousness mediate the association between appearance contingent self-worth and appearance self-esteem in women?

Appearance contingent self-worth has been shown to be associated with low appearance self-esteem but little is known about the role that objectified body consciousness may play in this relationship. The purpose of the present study with 465 female undergraduates was to examine whether objectified body consciousness mediates the association between appearance contingent self-worth and low levels of appearance self-esteem. This was accomplished using a multiple mediation model to examine whether components of objectified body consciousness (i.e., body surveillance, body shame, and control beliefs) play unique roles in the connection between appearance contingent self-worth and appearance self-esteem. Results showed that body surveillance and body shame were significant mediators of the connection between appearance contingent self-worth and low levels of appearance self-esteem. Discussion focuses on the implications of these results for the ways in which appearance contingent self-worth may promote heightened body consciousness and possibly contribute to low levels of appearance self-esteem.     

Subjective overachievement: individual differences in self-doubt and concern with performance

We discuss the construct of doubt about one's competence and suggest that doubt can have myriad consequences (e.g., self-handicapping, defensive pessimism). We focus on the effect of self-doubt when it is combined with a concern with performance and assert that this combination leads to the phenomenon of subjective overachievement. In two studies, we present a new 17-item Subjective Overachievement Scale (SOS), which includes two independent subscales measuring individual differences in self-doubt and concern with performance. The first study, consisting of two large samples (Ns = 2,311 and 1,703), provides evidence that the scale has high internal consistency and a clear two-factor structure. Additionally, the subscales have adequate test-retest reliability (Ns = 67 and 115). A second study reveals that the SOS has good convergent and discriminant validity. Both subscales are unrelated to social desirability but exhibit the predicted patterns of associations with other related constructs. The Concern with Performance Subscale is correlated with achievement motivation, whereas the Self-Doubt Subscale is correlated with scales assessing negative affectivity (e.g., self-esteem, social anxiety) and other self-related strategies associated with concerns about one's competence (e.g., self-handicapping, defensive pessimism, impostor phenomenon). The SOS, which combines the two subscales, appears to tap a unique strategy that individuals may use to deal with doubts about their own competence.