The Influence of Self-Assessed Body Image on Confidence and Self-Esteem

Research in psychology today seems to be drawn towards particular fields of interest especially when it comes to understanding human behavior. One of the most common research topics for social psychology is body image and the perceptions that are related to age groups, genders, and ethnicities. Young people today are pressured by society to make physical appearance a dominant factor in their everyday lives, and the pressure is found not only through media influence but friends and family as well (Pavica, 2010). These pressures can affect many different aspects of a person’s life and significantly influence their actions. The aspects affected by body image can include popularity among peers, social comfort, and the attitudes an individual comes to commit to behavior (Lewis & Rosenblum, 1999). Studies of body image in the past have gained varying results as to the groups that are affected, as well as the amount of impact body image has with these groups. There has also been much debate over the validity of methods used to judge body image, and how well the measurements used actually correlate participants’ actual views of body image (Cash, Morrow, Hrabosky, & Perry 2004). Some factors that have led to this discrepancy in answers are questions that were framed to be more suitable to attain the attitudes of one gender over another. The initial studies of body image focused upon simply body shape which seemed to be more important to women, whereas body image affects were seen for men when questions of muscle definition were included into the questionnaire process (Ridgeway, & Tylka, 2005). This study hopes to gain a more in depth view of a demographic that is believed to put a great amount of focus on body image in the way the... ...ipong, Paul, and Heidi Burkey. "Body mass Index and Body Size Perception: A normalizing of overweight and obesity among diverse college students." Californian Journal of Health Promotion 9.1 (2011): 18-24. Retrieved from http://cjhp.org/Volume9-2011/issue1/18-24ratanasiripong.pdf Ridgeway, R., & Tylka, T. (2005). College men's perceptions of ideal body composition and shape. Psychology of Men & Masculinity, 6(3), 209-220. Retrieved from http://ovidsp.tx.ovid.com Rosenblum, G. and Lewis, M. "The relations among body image, physical attractiveness, and body mass in adolescence." Child Development 70.1 (1999): 50-64. doi: 10.1111/1467-8624.00005 Seidah, Amelie, and Therese Bouffard. "Being proud of oneself as a person or being proud of one's physical appearance: What matters for feeling will in adolescense?." Social Behavior and Personality 35.2 (2007): 255-268.