Relationships Between Men's and Women's Body Image and Their Psychological, Social, and Sexual Functioning

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The present study was designed to investigate systematically the role of body image in the lives of men and women throughout adulthood. A cross-sectional design was employed, due to the practicalities of obtaining a sample large enough to consider body image separately among men and women of different age groups. The lack of previous research in this area supports the contribution made by exploratory designs of this kind. Multiple measures of body image, including evaluative, investment, and social aspects, were compared, in order to determine which aspects of body image were most strongly predictive of psychological (i.e., self-esteem, depression, anxiety), social (i.e., relations with members of the same and other sex, social anxiety), and sexual (i.e., sexual optimism, sexual self-efficacy, sexual satisfaction) functioning. It was hypothesized that negative body image would be associated with poor functioning in these areas. Stronger relationships between body image and psychological, social, and sexual functioning were expected for women, and for younger participants, given the emphasis in the literature on the importance of body image for these groups.

METHOD

Participants

The participants were 211 men and 226 women, who ranged in age from 18 to 86 years (M = 42.26 years, SD = 17.11). This age range was divided into three groups, and each participant was assigned to one of the following age groups: young adulthood, 18-29 years (n = 129), middle adulthood, 30-49 years (n = 153), and late adulthood, 50-86 years (n = 145). This division was carried out to create equal groups to meet the requirements of parametric statistical analyses. Reported occupations and postal addresses suggest that participants represented a wide range of socioeconomic backgrounds from metropolitan and rural areas. Over 80% of participants indicated they were originally from Australia; the remainder were predominantly from Western European countries. Nearly all (95.78%) participants identified themselves as heterosexual, and over 70% were in current relationships. The weight and height of the sample corresponded well with national Australian data for men and women (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 1998). These data are documented for men and women, and each age group separately in Table I.

Materials

Body Image Measures

Participants completed two subscales from the Body Image and Body Change Questionnaire (Ricciardelli & McCabe, 2001) that are related to Body Image Satisfaction and Body Image Importance. Each scale contained 10 items. An example item of body image satisfaction is "How satisfied are you with your weight?," and an example item of body image importance is "How important to you is the shape of your body, compared to other things in your life?" Responses were on a 5-point Likert scale from 1 = extremely dissatisfied/unimportant to 5 = extremely satisfied/important. Scores on each scale ranged from 10 to 50; a high score represents a high level of satisfaction with the body or a rating of appearance as highly important. These scales emerged from both exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, and they have demonstrated high levels of internal consistency, satisfactory test-retest reliability, and concurrent and discriminant validity in previous studies with adolescents (Ricciardelli & McCabe, 2001). In the present sample, internal reliability (Cronbach's alpha) for each scale was high among both women and men ([alpha] > .90).

Participants rated their physical attractiveness using a scale specifically designed for this study, the Physical Attractiveness Scale, which measures how attractive they perceived themselves, for example, in terms of general appearance, facial attractiveness, and sexual attractiveness. This scale contains six items, an example of which is "Compared to other men, I am ..." Participants responded on a 5-point Likert scale from 1 = extremely unattractive to 5 = extremely attractive. Scores ranged from 6 to 30; a high score indicates a high self-rating of attractiveness. Internal reliability was high among both men and women ([alpha] > .90).

Two body image behaviors, body concealment (the tendency to conceal one's body from the gaze of others and to avoid discussion about body size and shape) and body improvement (engagement in attempts to improve one's body), were assessed using an instrument constructed for this study, the Body Image Behavior Scales. Items were derived in part from two extant instruments, the Body Image Avoidance Questionnaire (Rosen, Srebnik, Saltzberg, & Wendt, 1991) and the Attention to Body Shape Scale (Beebe, 1995), which were selected through exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. The Body Concealment Scale consists of five items, an example item of which is "I avoid wearing 'revealing' clothes, like shorts or bathing suits." The Body Improvement Scale consists of three items, an example of which is "I exercise in order to get a better body." Participants responded on a 6-point Likert scale from 1 = never to 6 = always. Scores on the body concealment scale ranged from 5 to 30; a high score indicates a high engagement in attempts to conceal the body. Scores on the body improvement scale ranged from 3 to 18; a high score indicates a high engagement in attempts to improve the body. Internal reliability for each scale was high among both men and women ([alpha] > .80).

Concern about others evaluating one's body was assessed using the Social Physique Anxiety Scale (Hart et al., 1989). This scale contains 12 items, an example of which is "In the presence of others, I feel apprehensive about my physique/figure." Following the recommendation of Eklund, Kelley, and Wilson (1997), item 2 was modified (to improve performance) to "I worry about wearing clothes that might make me look too thin or overweight." Participants rated how true each of the items were using a 5-point Likert scale, from 1 = not at all true to 5 = extremely true. Scores ranged from 12 to 60; a high score indicates a high level of concern about others evaluating one's body (the responses to some items were reverse scored). Internal and test-retest reliability have been found to be adequate with a number of adult samples (Hart et al., 1989; Martin, Rejeski, Leary, McAuley, & Bane, 1997; Motl & Conroy, 2000; Petrie, Diehl, Rogers, & Johnson, 1996). Internal reliability was high among both men and women in the present sample ([alpha] > .80).

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Participants indicated their level of appearance comparison by completing the Physical Appearance Comparison Scale (Thompson et al., 1991). This scale contains five items, an example of which is "At parties or other social events, I compare my physical appearance to the physical appearance of others." Responses were made on a 5-point Likert scale, from 1 = never to 5 = always. Scores ranged from 5 to 25; a high score indicates a strong tendency to compare one's own appearance with that of others. Although psychometric characteristics were found to be adequate with a university sample (Thompson et al., 1991), item 4 correlated with others at a low level in the present community sample (squared multiple correlation <.05). Therefore, this item was excluded from the composite variable, which resulted in an acceptable level of internal reliability among men ([alpha] > .70) and women ([alpha] > .80).

Psychological Functioning Measures

Participants completed the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (Rosenberg, 1965). This scale contains 10 items, an example of which is "I feel that I have a number of good qualities." Responses were made on a 4-point Likert scale, from 1 = strongly disagree to 4 = strongly agree. Scores ranged from 4 to 40; a high score indicates high self-esteem (the responses to some items were reverse scored). This instrument has been widely used in research, and has demonstrated good psychometric properties (Rosenberg, 1979). Internal reliability was high among both men and women in the present sample ([alpha] > .80).

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