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Body satisfaction and self-concept of third- and sixth-grade students
L Folk1, J Pedersen, S Cullari
1Psychology Department, Lebanon Valley College, Annville, PA 17003.
Perceptual and Motor Skills
|April 1, 1993
Summary
Puberty impacts body satisfaction and self-concept differently for boys and girls. For girls, this relationship may begin before puberty, while boys show a decrease in body satisfaction during early puberty.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Adolescent Psychology
- Child Psychology
Background:
- Pubertal development is often linked to changes in body satisfaction and self-concept.
- Previous assumptions suggest puberty initiates these shifts, with differing effects on boys and girls.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the onset of changes in body satisfaction and self-concept during pubertal development.
- To test the hypothesis that pubertal changes are the origin of altered body satisfaction and self-concept in children.
Main Methods:
- Survey administered to two groups of boys and girls in Grade 3 (prepubertal) and Grade 6 (early pubertal).
- Utilized the Body Satisfaction Questionnaire and the Piers-Harris Self-concept Scale.
- Compared scores between prepubertal and early pubertal groups for both genders.
Main Results:
- Sixth-grade boys reported lower body satisfaction than third-grade boys.
- Self-concept scores positively correlated with body satisfaction in boys.
- Body satisfaction and self-concept were correlated in girls across both grades, with no significant grade-level differences.
Conclusions:
- The relationship between body satisfaction and self-concept in girls may be established before puberty.
- Boys experience a decline in body satisfaction during early pubertal stages.
- Findings challenge the notion that puberty is the sole origin point for these psychological shifts.