Body Esteem among Korean Adolescent Boys and Girls

Sukkyung You and Kyulee Shin
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Sukkyung You: College of Education, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, Seoul 02450, Korea
Kyulee Shin: College of Liberal Arts & Science, Anyang University, Kyeonggido 14028, Korea

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 7, 1-13

Abstract: Establishing a positive body image is a critical factor for adolescents’ physical and mental health as it leads to sustainable individual growth and development throughout their lives. Therefore, possible personality traits need to be examined for their capability as protective factors for a healthy body image. The current study examined how one internal personality trait (self-concept clarity) and three external factors (tripartite influence from media, parents, and peers) are associated with adolescents’ internalization of the thin-body ideal and body esteem in a sample of Korean adolescents ( N = 1127). Self-concept clarity was identified as a powerful factor that is positively related with body esteem. The results showed that greater self-concept clarity, lower tripartite influences and thin body internalization were related to greater body esteem. Gender differences were found in the relationships between body esteem and the predictor variables. The implications of the findings and future research directions are discussed.

Keywords: self-concept clarity; thin body idealization; tripartite influence; body esteem; Korean adolescents (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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