Medicine,
Mind and Adolescence 2002, XVII, 1-2
EVALUATIVE
ASPECTS INVOLVED IN SELF-CONCEPT, BODY IMAGE
AND GENDER IN AN ADOLESCENT SAMPLE
Bonilla, A., Martínez Benlloch, I., and Pastor, R. 1
AND GENDER IN AN ADOLESCENT SAMPLE
Bonilla, A., Martínez Benlloch, I., and Pastor, R. 1
Buy full article
Abstract
The perception and evaluation of one’s own body image has turned out to be one of the main aspects concerning self-concept. It is also related to the different dimensions involved in global self-esteem. This suggests that the way a person perceives his or her own physical appearance may result from certain internal self-evaluations. Thus, higher self-esteem seems to correspond with a more positive body image. At the same time, there appears to be differences in the feelings associated to body parts depending on gender.
The relationship between body image and self-esteem is examined in this research. We take, as a starting point, the hypothesis that the individual’s gender construct significantly influences the different aspects involved in self-concept (competence, self-control, moral self-approval, physical appearance, interpersonal recognition).
Included in a wider research*, multivaried analysis were carried out in a sample of 306 male and female teenagers from six different schools.
Key Words: Self-concept, Self-esteem, Body image, Adolescence.
1. Correspondence to: Amparo Bonilla Campos Ph.D., Dep. Of Personality, Faculty of Psychology, Av. Blasco Ibáñez, 21, 46010 Valencia. E-mail: amparo.bonilla@uv.es.
* This study is part of the research work “Gender, psychosexual development and image disorders: Bases for social and educational action”, and has been carried out thanks to a grant from III Plan Nacional I+D, Programa Sectorial de Estudios de las Mujeres y de Género, 1997-99.
