Gender differences in body esteem among older adults

Ninety-five adults aged 60-91 completed measures of Body-as-Object Esteem (BOE) (i.e., appearance) and Body-as-Process Esteem (BPE) (i.e., function) to explore gender differences in body esteem among older adults. As hypothesized, a significant age by gender interaction revealed that men become more disparaging of the appearance and function of their bodies in their last decades of life, while women do not. Level of physical disability was negatively correlated with BOE, particularly for disabled women. Furthermore, as is seen across the lifespan, self-esteem is a significant predictor of BOE. Disabled participants who were older than 74 years had disproportionately low BPE scores and similarly poor global self-esteem. Whether working with older adults or studying body esteem in this population, it is vital that both dimensions of body esteem are assessed along with the impact of disability status, gender, self-esteem, and age.