Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 24, 2026

Validation of a Psychosocial Intervention on Body Image in Older People: An Experimental Design
Published on: May 31, 2021
Women's experiences of appearance concern and body control across the lifespan: challenging accepted wisdom
Olwyn Johnston1, Jacqueline Reilly, John Kremer
1Primary Medical Care, University of Southampton, UK. o.johnston@soton.ac.uk
Abstract:
This study adopted a lifespan approach to women's experiences of appearance concern and body control. Thirty-two women (aged 16 to 77) were interviewed about their exercise and food regulation. Results of the grounded theory analysis challenge social constructions of appearance concern as associated principally with the reproductive years, and of the body as malleable, and highlight the complexity of the relationship between appearance concern and body control. Despite frequent persistence of (or increase in) appearance concern beyond young adulthood, 'healthier' responses to appearance concern occurred due to changing priorities and increasing awareness. Findings highlight the utility of an inclusive and qualitative approach, and the absence of simple and sovereign factors determining an individual's levels of appearance concern or body control.
Related Concept Videos
Sources of Self-Esteem I: Family Experience
Impression Management Techniques I: Managing Appearances
Socioemotional Experience and Gender Development
The Sense of Self: Reflected Self-Appraisal and Social Comparison
Factors Influencing Attraction II: Physical Attraction
Revisionist Views of Adolescent and Adult Cognition
