The influence of weight on adolescent self-esteem

Overweight children have traditionally been thought to have lower self-esteem than other children. Prospective data from the California Child Health and Development Studies were used to test this hypothesis by examination of the relationship between body mass index, self-esteem and locus of control while controlling for demographic and baseline psychosocial traits. Principle components and confirmatory factor analysis were used to derive latent constructs for self-esteem, locus of control and other psychosocial factors. A covariance structure model was developed using the results of the confirmatory factor analysis. In this model, adolescent self-esteem, locus of control and body mass index were not related. These findings from prospective data in a non-clinical population suggest that although some subgroups of obese children may be vulnerable for decreased self-esteem, this does not appear to be a significant problem in the general population.