Body dissatisfaction and Self-Esteem in Adolescence Populations

Many young teenagers are at risk of poor negative outcomes in most of their life realms because of low life anticipation. Low self-esteem during adolescence is a prerequisite for higher levels of criminal activity, low economic status, and poorer mental and physical health. Low self-esteem is a prerequisite for antisocial behaviour, depression, suicidal ideation
, and eating disturbances in early adulthood. The personal appraisal of an individual has direct consequences on his or her life outcomes. Self-esteem is directly linked to self-concept. Self-concept is the image that a person has of himself or herself. At a young age, an individuals self-concept is general and changeable. As the individual grows older through adolescence and young adulthood, the self-image becomes more detailed, organized, and fixed. According to the social identity theory, self-concept comprises of two key components. This includes personal and social identity. Personal identity includes unique individual qualities, such as personality traits. Social identity includes groups that an individual belongs in, including college, church, community, and other groups. The normative prototypes of self-esteem development and the factors influencing its development are still unclear. The current study aims to clarify the course of self-esteem through adolescence and identify factors moderating the course.
The media and the society at large portrays adolescence as a negative stage of life in which the adolescents engage in gang violence, drug abuse, and alcohol related violence as frequently reflected in the news headlines. This study integrates the available knowledge regarding adolescents in order to identify options, strengths and challenges of adolescents today. This study will also identify the inconsistencies and gaps in the research, public policy, and practices endeavouring to commit the voices of adolescents in terms of age, race, ethnic group, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, and geographical area. These study also takes a particular interests in those who influence the life of adolescents, including parents, teachers, social workers, healthcare professionals, and policymakers. This study will demonstrate how adolescents can emerge from confusion and chaos into competent, strong, considerate adults.
Background
Psychology aims to benefit society by providing a thorough understanding of an individuals behaviour using disciplined scientific studies. The knowledge derived is applicable to the individuals daily life and the treatment of mental problems. A major problem facing adolescences in the modern society is a high level of perceived body image dissatisfaction (PBID). Currently, PBID is a normative component in the western society. Body image is one of the hottest topics in the world today. Adolescents are striving to look like the models they see in TVs, movies, and advertisements. The media has significant influence on the social mind of the modern society. The media equates the cultural values of attractiveness to thinness. The social pressure resulting from the medias definition of beauty has led adolescences, especially the girls to be preoccupied with achieving the ideal thin as portrayed by the media.
The relationship between Body dissatisfaction and Self-Esteem in adolescence populations is strong. The media portrays models with the ideal body image and emphasize the important of image in everyday interaction. By positioning image as an important part of everyday life, the media encourage the adolescents to focus on appearance in making self-evaluation. Body dissatisfaction is therefore inversely proportional to self-esteem. When an individual has high levels of body dissatisfaction, he or she will have low self-esteem. The vice versa is true. Nevertheless, the correlation between body dissatisfaction and self-esteem is not equally strong across all groups. The association varies depending on age, gender, race, weight status, ethnicity, and emphasis each society places on body image. Information about the nature of the association between self-esteem and body dissatisfaction in different groups can significantly improve screening practices and the development of prevention efforts that aim at reducing body dissatisfaction.
At least four factors affect the relationship between body dissatisfaction and self-esteem during adolescence. This includes gender, age, body weight, and ethnicity/race. There is a high rate of body dissatisfaction and therefore low self-esteem during late adolescence than in early adolescence. A majority of overweight people suffer from low self-esteem because of the negative body image they hold of themselves. They have high body dissatisfaction. Body dissatisfaction is higher in women than in men. Boys have a higher self-esteem than girls do. The White race has a higher rate of body dissatisfaction then the Black. Body dissatisfaction has a greater bearing on self-esteem and other psychosocial functioning in females than in males. The influence of body dissatisfaction on an individuals self-esteem is greater in White women than in Black women.
Notwithstanding the limitations in the available studies into the subject, PBID is an outcome of socio-cultural pressures to conform, which forces young adolescents, especially girls to be critical of their bodies. Individual differences in personality, socialization process, and actual body part significantly influence PBID. Body dissatisfaction is well established at the age of 12. Young children are exposed to the media at a very young age. At the age of seven years, the child has formed of an ideal body type. There are reports of children engaging in provisional dietary behaviour.
There are a number of systematic reviews and meta-analyses in the area of body dissatisfaction and self-esteem. This study identifies several meta-analyses on self-evaluation and body image. The focus is on the bearing the media has on body image, difference in body image perception across gender and race, and the impact of peers and parents on body image. Some of the factors associated with body dissatisfaction include images portrayed by the media, social causes, weight, and individual psychological factors. Those affected by body dissatisfaction and low self-esteem can be grouped by age, gender, sexual orientation, and ethnicity. Some of the interventions necessary to protect against body dissatisfaction and to improve self-esteem include education, physical exercise, and psychotherapeutic programmes.
Body dissatisfaction and Self-Esteem in Adolescence Populations
Body dissatisfaction is very prevalent among teenage girls and has earned the title normative discontent in western societies. The trend of the normative discontent is alarming. Children as young as six years desire different body image. Not only are the six year old dissatisfied with their body, some of them have attempted dieting. This begs the question how children as young as six learn about the ideal body image. The thin ideal is conveyed and toughened by primarily the media, peers, and parents. Parents play a significant role in the development of teenagers body dissatisfaction, especially during the earlier phases of adolescence. By the time the child reaches adolescence, body dissatisfaction is firmly established and is a major determinant of social interactions.
Gender is a cultural and psychological term that refers to the expectations the society attaches to being male or female. Gender is distinct from sex that is concerned with the biological aspects of male and female. Expectations on gender roles vary depending on the socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, culture, and age. These expectations present a variety of pressures for the adolescents, especially the girls as they develop into adulthood. The pre-adolescence stage, between the age of eight to 11, girls are asexual and view themselves as strong and confident. At the stage they are not afraid to say what they think, however, as they cross over to adolescence, they begin to experience pressure toward societys definitions of gender roles. This increases their concern of how a woman is supposed to behave. They also become more concerned about their sexual and physical attractiveness. Current research indicates that self-esteem drops for both the boys and the girls, however, the drop is more dramatic for the girls than the boys. A cross comparison of boys and girls the same age reveals that girls are more anxious, stressed, experience reduced academic achievements, suffer from eating disorders, and have lower self-esteem.
Adolescent girls across cultural groups have more liberal attitudes than boys about the rights and role of women in the society. Adolescent girls who hold traditional views of women have lower self-esteem than those who hold views that are more liberal. Many aspects of girls self-perceptions and mental health do not decline during adolescence, however, the variation among the girls is significantly larger compared to the boys. Self-esteem and self-concept of personal abilities vary significantly across ethnic groups and major domains. Competence beliefs are related to gender stereotyping for both girls and boys. Girls expect more from academics and social interactions whereas boys are more confident about their sports and mathematical abilities. During late adolescence, both boys and girls are confident of their success in chosen future careers. Both are equally invested in their future careers but the girls place less important on job status and income. Their career expectations show difference influenced by traditional gender roles. Many young girls still believe there is an inherent conflict between feminine values and competitive achievement activities. This together with their high sensitivity for failure limits their future options.
Declining self-esteem in adolescence is not a consequence of either high school environment or puberty. The girls self-esteem tend to drop over a longer time period than the boys, however, young African American girls tend to have a higher self-esteem than their White counterparts and the boys. The gender patterns are slowly eroding away and young women are currently more likely than in the past to aspire for careers in male dominated fields. Moreover, young women are more involved in athletics than the previous generations. Whereas the issue of body dissatisfaction and self-esteem affect adolescents across all domains, the girls are more at risk of suffering body dissatisfaction because of the cultural demands for female thinness. The physical changes of puberty include considerable weight gain. For some the intense body dissatisfaction contributes to the development of eating disorders. This may include induced vomiting and restrictive dieting, which if left untreated lead to more severe conditions, such as bulimia or anorexia.
Most of the eating disorders ailing the adult population began during their adolescence period. A complex set of biological, personal, social, and cultural factors influence the development of eating disorders. Experiences that threaten the health psychological development of the adolescents also increase the risk for developing eating disorders. Factors that shield the adolescents against body dissatisfaction and eating disorders include an environment that enhances self-esteem and protects them from risk factors that may negatively influence healthy psychological development. A society that accepts diverse appearances play an instrumental role in lowing body dissatisfaction. Factors abound that may influence a teenagers self-esteem. Body image plays a crucial role because it is central in self-definition. The society through the media, peers, and parents socialize the adolescents to believe appearance is the most important basis foe self-evaluation. The adolescents also believe others evaluate them on the same basis.
The correlation between body dissatisfaction and self-esteem is strongest in adolescents growing up in advanced consumer societies. The media through magazines, TVs, and movies emphasize the bearing appearance has on self-worth, especially for women. The media also presents a cultural ideal of beauty and is increasingly unattainable. A recent analysis of content aired through the sit-com channel reveals that 76% of women characters are below average weight. The diagnostic criterion of anorexia nervosa is 15% underweight. A considerable number of the women characters in the programs are more than 20% underweight. Cosmetic surgeries, digital alterations, and airbrushing further increase the unrealistic nature of the media image and the dissatisfaction the adolescents, especially the girls suffer because of their body image (Clay, Viglones, & Dittmar, 2005). This issue is paramount during adolescence because at this stage, individuals form opinions about self and society. It is also a period when the teenager is undergoing physical changes because of the onset of puberty, which seem to further distant them for the societal ideal body image.
Prospective risk factors for the development of body dissatisfaction are of high concern in the modern society because of the negative effects of body dissatisfaction. In a recent community sample, up to 46% of the girls and 26% of boys in their adolescence reported body dissatisfaction (Paxton, Eisenberg, &Neumark-Sztainer, 2006). Only 12 % of the girls and 17% of the boys in the sample indicated they were their desired size. 12% of the girls and 5% of the boys reported using extreme measures, such as diet pills, vomiting, and fasting to loss weight. Another 12% of the boys reported using or considering using steroids and food supplements to gain muscle. Body dissatisfaction is a prospective predictor in the development of depression. According to Paxton, Eisenberg, &Neumark-Sztainer (2006), the major theories in the advancement of body dissatisfaction suggest it is influenced by many factors. Physical characteristics, such as large body size, cultural emphasis on thinness, and psychological factors increase the risk of body dissatisfaction. Ethnicity is a protective factor against the development of body dissatisfaction in adolescents. African American consider a larger body size as ideal thus the adolescents from this group are less likely to experience body dissatisfaction during adolescence because the extent of departure from the ideal is less. Compared to males from other ethnic groups, African American males are less likely to consider they are overweight. Although all men desire more muscular shapes than they have, the African American adolescent boys are more likely to fit their ideal as they move into later stages of adolescence and young adulthood.
Parents with dieting concerns may influence the body dissatisfaction of their adolescents. A study conducted by Field et al. (2001) indicates a higher development of weight concerns in adolescents who had parents with weight concerns. Parents encouragements to diet influence the body mass index (BMI), which is particularly important in the increase of body dissatisfaction over a long period. The parents influence decreases with the increase in age. During adolescence, external factors play a more significant role in influencing the attitudes of the teenagers more than parental influences. Peer environment is especially important in determining body dissatisfaction in adolescents. Adolescents with friends engaging in dieting, experience higher body dissatisfaction. Research also indicates an increase in body dissatisfaction for adolescents who engage in conversations about dieting and appearance. Adolescents also tend to engage in appearance-concerned friendship in which popularity is determined by the extent the individual fits the ideal (Jones, 2004).
Many studies have found a link between body dissatisfaction and depression in adolescents. The relationship between body dissatisfaction and depression exists for both boys and girls. However, girls are more likely to experience depression accompanied with body dissatisfaction than boys. Overweight adolescents are more likely to experience body dissatisfaction and depression. Body dissatisfaction is the link that justifies the relation between weight and depression. There is no statistical relationship between weight and depression when body dissatisfaction is controlled. Body dissatisfaction is also related to other psychological factors, such as social phobia. Adolescents who have suffered social phobia in the past are at risk of suffering body dissatisfaction. Internalizing the media body media is a key component in the development of body dissatisfaction. The societal thin ideal leads adolescents to evaluate themselves against actors they see in the media and is a major contributing factor to body dissatisfaction.
There exist an interaction between parental and peers relationship with body dissatisfaction. Adolescents with good relationship with their parents and peers have a low level of body dissatisfaction compared to adolescents who have poor relationships with their parents and peers. The quality of these relationships predicts the levels of body dissatisfaction overtime. Good relationships during the preadolescent stage predict low body dissatisfaction in adolescence and adulthood.
Conclusion
It is clear from the evidence that girls experience more body dissatisfaction that boys during the adolescence stage, however, the boys contentment scores were gender specific. The boys display most dissatisfaction when they are underweight and dissatisfaction when they are over weight. Although the effect on girls is below that of the boys, the dissatisfaction in girls stimulates more effects that are psychological. There exist a similar dissatisfaction in both boys and girls in the adolescence stage. Self-esteem scores are higher in boys than in girls during the adolescence stage. Body dissatisfaction is inversely proportional to self-esteem. Given the effect of the media on society and the resulting cultural expectation imposed on individuals during the adolescence stage, a degree of dissatisfaction exists in every adolescent. Influencing self-evaluation and negatively influencing self-esteem. Scientific data confirms the factors influencing self-esteem. Body dissatisfaction is of paramount importance and effects negatively. Where as body dissatisfaction is greater in girls than boys, ethnicity plays an important role. Black American girls have higher self-esteem than their White counterparts and the boys during early and mid adolescence. Asian express a higher level of body dissatisfaction then the other races probably because of their society centered cultures. Unlike the western cultures than advocate for individuality, other popular cultures in Asia and Africa advocate for a social mind. People interact as part of a group and consider themselves part of the group.
Consumer based societies demonstrate a higher level of body dissatisfaction because of the high level of media influence in the society. Media presents an ideal thin as the prefect body image. Adolescent girls and boys benchmark themselves against the image presented in the media and by the parents and peers. To solve the issue of low self-esteem, media must accommodate different body images, as they exist in the society. Parents play a significant role in the development of their children, and help shape adolescents nature of self-evaluation.




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