The Gendered Mirror on the Wall : Satisfaction with Physical Appearance and Its Relationship to Global Self-esteem and Psychosomatic Complaints Among Adolescent Boys and Girls

• The study investigated gender differences in satisfaction with physical appearance as a domain-specific aspect of self-esteem, and its association with global self-esteem and psychosomatic complaints. The data used was from the Stockholm School Survey, conducted among ninth grade students (15–16 years), with pooled information from six cross-sectional surveys in 2004–2014 (n = 32,117). Girls reported lower satisfaction with their appearance than boys. Satisfaction with appearance was more strongly associated with global self-esteem among girls, while the association with psychosomatic complaints was similar for both genders. There was a tendency towards a decline in satisfaction with appearance at the end of the study period for both genders, albeit more strong for girls. We conclude that satisfaction with appearance may contribute to our understanding of poor mental well-being among adolescent girls.

Ämnesord

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Hälsovetenskap -- Folkhälsovetenskap, global hälsa, socialmedicin och epidemiologi (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Health Sciences -- Public Health, Global Health, Social Medicine and Epidemiology (hsv//eng)

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Annan samhällsvetenskap (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Other Social Sciences (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Adolescence

gender

psychological health

self-esteem

subjective health complaints

Publikations- och innehållstyp

ref (ämneskategori)

art (ämneskategori)