TY - JOUR
T1 - Gender and racial/ethnic differences in body image development among college students
AU - Gillen, Meghan M.
AU - Lefkowitz, Eva S.
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was supported by grant R01 HD 41720 from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development to Eva S. Lefkowitz, and the Joachim Wolhwill Endowment in Human Development and Family Studies to Meghan M. Gillen. We gratefully acknowledge Jill Boelter, Tanya Boone, Amber Curtin, Graciela Espinosa-Hernandez, Stephanie Hensen, Shelley Hosterman, Sophia Khan, Eric Loken, Christen Mannino, Shevaun Neupert, and Cindy Shearer for their help with study design, data scoring and entering, data cleaning, and statistical analyses. We also thank Megan Patrick, the editors, and two anonymous reviewers for their thoughtful comments on earlier versions of this manuscript.
PY - 2012/1
Y1 - 2012/1
N2 - In the present study we used longitudinal methods to examine body image development during the early part of college. Students (N=390; 54% female) who identified as African American (32%), Latino/a American (27%), and European American (41%) completed surveys during their first, second, and third semesters at college. There were overall gender and racial/ethnic differences in all three aspects of body image, and both stability and change in body image development. Female students' appearance evaluation became more positive, whereas male students' appearance evaluation showed no significant change. Individuals' body areas satisfaction increased over time, but remained stable when controlling for BMI. Appearance orientation did not change, and there were no racial/ethnic differences in body image development. Experiences in the college environment may play a role in these trends.
AB - In the present study we used longitudinal methods to examine body image development during the early part of college. Students (N=390; 54% female) who identified as African American (32%), Latino/a American (27%), and European American (41%) completed surveys during their first, second, and third semesters at college. There were overall gender and racial/ethnic differences in all three aspects of body image, and both stability and change in body image development. Female students' appearance evaluation became more positive, whereas male students' appearance evaluation showed no significant change. Individuals' body areas satisfaction increased over time, but remained stable when controlling for BMI. Appearance orientation did not change, and there were no racial/ethnic differences in body image development. Experiences in the college environment may play a role in these trends.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.bodyim.2011.09.004
DO - 10.1016/j.bodyim.2011.09.004
M3 - Article
C2 - 21983339
AN - SCOPUS:84355166636
SN - 1740-1445
VL - 9
SP - 126
EP - 130
JO - Body Image
JF - Body Image
IS - 1
ER -