Sappi Ideas that Matter (grant finalist)
Over the past decade research conducted with both adults and adolescents has established that dissatisfaction with one’s physical appearance, termed body image dissatisfaction, is widespread in our society (e.g., Cash, Winstead, & Janda, 1986; Heinberg, Wood, & Thompson, 1995; Rodin, Silberstein, & Striegel-Moore, 1985). Researchers have often dichotomized “body image” into a perceptual component (size estimation) and a subjective component (satisfaction). Few of the many published measures that assess this subjective satisfaction aspect of body image have received empirical evaluation with adolescents and children (Thompson, 1995). Puberty and adolescence appear to be a period of major transition in body image (e.g., Fabian & Thompson, 1989; Faust, 1987), and the level of satisfaction with one’s body is correlated with depression (Fabian & Thompson, 1989; Rierdan, Koff, & Stubbs, 1988), eating disturbance, teasing history (Cattarin & Thompson, 1994), social role, personality, and perception of self and others (Worsley, 1981). Body image satisfaction has been identified as the greatest single predictor of self-esteem for adolescents of different ethnicities (Verkuyten, 1990).
The purpose of this project is to encourage kids to embrace their physical characteristics by Rocking What You Got!
