Cultural Differences in Body Image: A Systematic Review

Marzieh Abdoli, Marco Scotto Rosato, Avinash Desousa and Paolo Cotrufo ()
Additional contact information
Marzieh Abdoli: Observatory on Eating Disorders, Department of Psychology, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, 31, 81100 Caserta, Italy
Marco Scotto Rosato: Observatory on Eating Disorders, Department of Psychology, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, 31, 81100 Caserta, Italy
Avinash Desousa: Department of Psychiatry, Lokmanya Tilak Municipal Medical College, Mumbai 400022, India
Paolo Cotrufo: Observatory on Eating Disorders, Department of Psychology, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, 31, 81100 Caserta, Italy

Social Sciences, 2024, vol. 13, issue 6, 1-20

Abstract: Culture affects individuals’ perceptions and experiences of their bodies. In order to provide the most effective solutions to body image-related issues, it is necessary to understand cultures and their influences on body image in various populations. This paper focuses on the effects of culture on body image. Therefore, a systematic literature search following PRISMA guidelines was performed in the PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases, yielding 2064 articles published between 1990 and 2023. After applying inclusion and exclusion criteria, 54 articles were selected. Our findings showed a strong influence of culture on body image, highlighting the impact of societal expectations on individuals’ mental well-being. Western cultures, with their preference for thinness, differ from non-Western ideals. The findings also showed the impact of regional variations within the same culture and society on body image. Furthermore, the study found that the young demographic, especially females, is the most vulnerable to body image issues; however, emerging research within our review also indicates a growing concern among males. This study underscores the necessity of culturally considering interventions to address body image issues, which are integral to improving mental health concerns like body dissatisfaction, eating disorders, depression, low self-esteem, and anxiety.

Keywords: body image; body dissatisfaction; cultural differences; cultural variations (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A B N P Y80 Z00 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/13/6/305/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/13/6/305/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jscscx:v:13:y:2024:i:6:p:305-:d:1409400

Access Statistics for this article

Social Sciences is currently edited by Ms. Yvonne Chu

More articles in Social Sciences from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().