Body Image Dissatisfaction Among Third, Fourth, and Fifth Grade Children. Part 2
In this study the researcher examines the level of body image dissatisfaction among a sample of preadolescent children. It is apparent that pressures toward “thinness” and an ideal body shape increase as children reach adolescence, therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine whether pre-adolescent children exhibit any trend toward an “ideal body image,” and if so, at what age do these trends begin to manifest.
Method
Subjects
Participants included 261 pre-adolescent children from public and parochial schools. Permission to participate in the study was obtained through letters to parents. All procedures were approved by the Institutional Review Board for the Protection of Human Subjects. The sample consisted of female (n=122) and male (n=139) children from grades third (n=92), fourth (n=80), and fifth (n=89). The average age of the participants was 9.5. The average body mass index (BMI) for all of the girls was 18.2 and the average BMI for all of the boys was 18.7.
Instrumentation
A pictorial instrument of child figures was used to assess body image perceptions. This scale was developed and validated in previous research (Collins, 1991) and consisted of seven male and seven female child figures illustrating body weight ranging from very thin to obese.