Body Image: Major Concern for Girls as Young as 10 Years

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STUDY FINDS BODY IMAGE IS A MAJOR CONCERN FOR GIRLS AS YOUNG AS 10 YEARS OLD REGARDLESS OF THEIR WEIGHT AND PUBERTAL DEVELOPMENT

Being Teased by Peers Has A Major Impact on Girls' Body Satisfaction

SAN FRANCISCO - New research suggests that girls as young as ten
years old who are teased or socially victimized by peers relate such
experiences to their own body image. This finding, based on an
examination of the relationship between teasing and body image
satisfaction in sixth grade girls, indicates that worries about body
image develop in girls at an age younger than detected in previous
research.

This finding, which will be presented the 106th Annual
Convention of the American Psychological Association (APA), August 14
- 18 in San Francisco, is based on research conducted by L. Kris
Gowen, Ph.D., of the Stanford Center on Adolescence. Dr. Gowen found
that girls who are socially victimized overtly (being hit by a peer),
relationally (being isolated or neglected), or through a lack of
prosocial treatment (not being the recipient of kind acts by peers)
have lower body satisfaction, regardless of their actual weight and
pubertal status. On the other hand, being the recipient of prosocial
treatment was associated with higher body satisfaction. The age range
of the 157 San Francisco Bay Area sixth graders was ten to thirteen
years (mean age was 11.5), and the ethnic distribution was 33 percent
Caucasian, 23 percent Hispanic, 16 percent Asian, 13 percent Pacific
Islander, and 15 percent Other (which included African-American and
Native American).

Dr. Gowen believes that this strong relationship between teasing
and body image concerns among young adolescent girls is a
developmental issue, since they are going through puberty, and a great
deal of attention is focused on their bodies. "Ten to
thirteen-year-old girls who are picked on may question what is wrong
with themselves, and accordingly they tend to believe that if they
were prettier or skinnier, their peers would not tease them," Dr.
Gowen says.

Studies have shown that social victimization is related to
loneliness, depression, social anxiety, and social avoidance among
boys and girls, and teasing has been shown to cause anger and sadness.
Dr. Gowen thus suggests that poor body image and low self-esteem are
related to teasing in young girls. Since body image is such an
important issue for young girls across all ethnicities, Dr. Gowen
suggests that schools need to address this issue and foster dialogue
among young adolescents about body image and the ill effects of
teasing.

Presentation: "Social Victimization, Teasing, and Weight
Concerns in Young Adolescents" by L. Kris Gowen, Ph.D., Stanford
Center on Adolescence, Session 4151, 11:00 AM, August 17, 1998,
Moscone Center - South Building, Room 222.

(Full Text available from the APA Public Affairs Office)

The American Psychological Association (APA), in Washington, DC
is the largest scientific and professional organization representing
psychology in the United States and is the world's largest association
of psychologists. APA's membership includes more than 155,000
researchers, educators, clinicians, consultants and students. Through
its divisions in 50 subfields of psychology and affiliations with 59
state, territorial and Canadian provincial associations, APA works to
advance psychology as a science, as a profession and as a means of
promoting human welfare.

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