ABSTRACT
With the aid of electronic databases we identified over 600 empirical articles, published in peer-reviewed journals during 2005 and 2006, that addressed aspects of body image. We have attempted to distill from this literature the major themes of the issues addressed and directions and developments in the field. We have reviewed significant research contributions under the following categories: prevalence and developmental trends; assessment of body image; psychosocial correlates and risk factors for body image; male body image; negative impact of poor body image; and intervention for body dissatisfaction. We conclude our review by exploring future directions in this area of research.
A notable recent development in the body image literature has been the growing interest in body image in children. Dohnt and Tiggemann (2006a) examined body image attitudes in girls from reception (the year preceding grade 1) to grade 3. In reception, 48.4% of girls wished to have a larger body. However, in grade 1, 46.7% wished to be thinner, and this level remained quite constant over the following two years. Despite the desire to be thinner, 45.0% and 48.0% of girls described themselves as ‘always’ or ‘usually’ happy, respectively, with their appearance. Thus, cognitive and affective aspects of body image appear to be distinct in this age group. In boys aged 8-11 years, 47.4% wished to be thinner whereas 20.7% wished to have a larger body (Ricciardelli et al. 2006). Rasnake et al. (2005) studied 11-14 year old girls and boys and observed that 57.0% of girls, compared with 32.7% of boys, wished to be thinner, whereas 34.6% of boys, compared with 10.9% of girls, wished to have a larger body. Clearly, the foundation for body dissatisfaction is being laid very early in life.
