Another study reported that body satisfaction was stable in a group of 10–15 year old girls followed over a 3-year period. An earlier 5-year longitudinal study found that body satisfaction decreased for girls between the ages of 13 and 15 years and stabilised between the ages of 15 and 18 years. For example, a study of Australian girls in Grades 8 and 10, where data were collected at two time points over 12 months, found a significant decrease in body satisfaction. Research on the body image of adolescent females has predominantly focused on the early to middle adolescent period and has produced conflicting findings. In contrast, later adolescence and young adulthood are characterised by fewer physical changes, greater independence, and the challenges of moving into adult environments in tertiary education and the workplace. During early adolescence, for example, most girls experience marked physical changes associated with puberty and high importance is placed on peer acceptance. The examination of body image during these transition periods is imperative as distinct and significant changes occur at these times. Two key developmental transitions occur in early to middle adolescence and middle to late adolescence. This information will provide direction for research and preventive policy. Given the detrimental outcomes associated with poor body image, it is important to identify: (a) whether negative body image perceptions tend to decrease over time, as adolescents transition into young adulthood, or whether negative body image remains high and (b) subgroups that might be particularly vulnerable to experiencing body image concerns. Importantly, perceptions of body weight and size, rather than actual body mass index (BMI) are more strongly related to these outcomes. Among adolescent females, body dissatisfaction is associated with impaired emotional well-being, low self-esteem, elevated depressive symptoms, low physical activity and disordered eating. For instance, an Australian survey of 14,461 young people aged 15–19 years found that 42.1 % of adolescent females were concerned about body image and body image was the third major issue of personal concern (behind coping with stress and school/study problems). The nurturing of a healthy body image is a challenge during adolescence, particularly for girls. The findings of this study highlight the ongoing need for strategies during adolescence to promote a healthy appreciation of body size and appearance. Further investigation of regional differences in body image perceptions and factors that affect these is warranted. Age and geographic region are important considerations for the timing and targeting of interventions to address body image concerns. Adolescent females experience early and increasing body size dissatisfaction and dieting as they age, but stable perceptions of physical appearance. Conclusionsĭifferences across time, region and grade level were found among adolescent females on body size and dieting behaviour, but not physical appearance. Adolescent female’s perceptions of their appearance were unchanged over time, region and grade level. In non-metropolitan regions, those in the younger cohort were significantly more likely to be dissatisfied with their body size than the older cohort whereas in metropolitan regions, those in the older cohort were significantly more likely to be dissatisfied with their body size than the younger cohort. Region significantly moderated the effect of grade level regarding dissatisfaction with body size but not dieting. Resultsĭieting and dissatisfaction with body size significantly increased over time and more so for older than younger girls.
IMAGE TRENDS SHINEOFF SERIAL NUMBER SERIES
The data were analysed using a series of longitudinal logistic regression models. Participants reported perceptions about their body size and physical appearance and whether they were, or ought to be, on a diet. MethodsĪ sample of 732 adolescent females in Grade 7 ( n = 489, 66.8 %) and Grade 11 ( n = 243, 33.2 %) at randomly selected Australian metropolitan and non-metropolitan secondary schools responded to a questionnaire in three successive years from 2008 to 2010. Specifically, the study examined satisfaction with body size, physical appearance and dieting behaviour for two cohorts at transitional life phases in two geographic regions longitudinally over a 3-year period. This longitudinal study used the Factors Influencing Transitions in Girls’ Active Leisure and Sport (FITGALS) dataset to examine trends in body image of adolescent females. Body dissatisfaction is associated with a range of adverse outcomes, including impaired psychological health, low physical activity and disordered eating.
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