Body Satisfaction in Adolescence

Body-satisfaction and self-satisfaction scales based on the work of Secord and Jourard (1953) were given to 146 male and 194 female adolescents ranging in age from 11 through 19 yr. Response tendencies of males and females are significantly different, females expressing more dissatisfaction with themselves and their bodies than do males. The expression of body- and self-satisfaction was not related to age for this range. Despite differences in response tendencies, male and female adolescents tended to react to body- and self-satisfaction items in a similar fashion. For both sexes the same degree of relative dissatisfaction was expressed for those aspects of the body experience associated with growth, namely, height, weight, and physique. It is also suggested that the relative expression of dissatisfaction with height, weight, chest, waist, and hips may reflect cultural factors associated with concerns with weight gain in an affluent society, rather than concerns with stylized standards of beauty.