Dissertation

DESIRED BODY WEIGHT, BODY IMAGE, AND PERCEPTION OF RELATIVE DESIRABILITY OF WEIGHT CONTROL METHODS OF ADOLESCENT FEMALES

STORZ, NANCY S

1981

Overview

Problem. Female adolescents are subject to fad diets, advertising, and peer influence that stress thinness. They are also more subject than their male counterparts to anorexia nervosa and obesity. Research has shown that the latter conditions may produce alterations in body image. Some research has been done on the desired weight of normal adolescent females, but little has been done on the relationship of desired amount of weight loss to other variables. To determine the relationships of desired body weight, body image, and perceived desirability of weight control methods of adolescent girls, descriptive data was collected in this investigation and subjected to statistical analyses. Subjects and Instrumentation. The subjects were 203 adolescent females in home economics classes in several high schools within 50 miles of the Greater Philadelphia area and 20 obese adolescent females in weight reduction sessions held on an outpatient basis under the supervision of clinicians associated respectively with four different Philadelphia hospitals. Instrumentation included five outline drawings of the female figure (20% underweight to 20% overweight), a spring-type scale, Witkin's Articulation of Body Concept (ABC) Scale, and a questionnaire. Research Design and Statistics. The investigation was a field study of intact groups. The variables were attribute variables, i.e., the body image of each subject, her actual body weight, desired body weight, and perception of the relative desirability of methods of achieving weight reduction. Instrumentation was selected to investigate these variables and compile descriptive data. It was hypothesized that female adolescents desire to weigh less than actual weight and that the desired amount of weight loss correlates positively with the perceived desirability of fad type diets. Hypotheses were also formulated to investigate the relation of desired amount of weight loss and body image. A chi-square test was used to compare the observed frequencies and expected frequencies of subjects who desired to weigh less than actual weight and subjects who desired weight gain or maintenance: t tests were used to determine the relationship of desired amount of weight loss to body image and the perceived desirability of fad type diets. Results. The chi-square test revealed that a significantly high percentage (83%) of the high school girls investigated wished to lose weight. A t test revealed that subjects who wished to lose a greater amount of weight, at least 10% of actual body weight, perceived fad type diets as significantly more desirable than did subjects wishing a lesser percentage of weight loss. The former group also showed a significantly larger difference, or mean discrepancy score, when selecting two outline drawings of the female figure perceived to most resemble their actual and ideal body sizes. No significant difference was, found between the two groups in the number of negative, or uncomplimentary, adjectives used to describe present appearance or in articulation of body concept as measured by Witkin's ABC Scale. T tests revealed that the obese girls from the clinical setting and the obese girls found in the high school group showed no significant difference in articulation of body concept or in the number of negative adjectives used to describe appearance. A significant difference was revealed in the two obese groups in the discrepancy of selections of outline figures representing actual and ideal body size, with the clinical girls showing the larger difference.

• Publisher: ProQuest Dissertations & Theses
• Subject: Nutrition
• ISBN: 9798661762382