Affiliations 

  • 1 a School of Psychology , Deakin University , Burwood , VIC 3125 , Australia
Ethn Health, 2014;19(5):548-64.
PMID: 24261816 DOI: 10.1080/13557858.2013.857761

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to identify cultural-level variables that may influence the extent to which adolescents from different cultural groups are dissatisfied with their bodies.
DESIGN: A sample of 1730 male and 2000 female adolescents from Australia, Fiji, Malaysia, Tonga, Tongans in New Zealand, China, Chile, and Greece completed measures of body satisfaction, and the sociocultural influences on body image and body change questionnaire, and self-reported height and weight. Country gross domestic product and national obesity were recorded using global databases.
RESULTS: Prevalence of obesity/overweight and cultural endorsement of appearance standards explained variance in individual-level body dissatisfaction (BD) scores, even after controlling for the influence of individual differences in body mass index and internalization of appearance standards.
CONCLUSIONS: Cultural-level variables may account for the development of adolescent BD.
KEYWORDS: GDP; adolescents; body dissatisfaction; culture; sociocultural influences

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.