title: Self-esteem, body-image and weight in noneating-disordered women.
abstract: The self-esteem of 69 women attending weight-loss centres was examined in relation to attitudes towards body and weight, actual weight, number of diets undergone and weight fluctuations. Rosenberg's Self-esteem Scale was used to measure self-esteem. Attitudes towards the body and weight were assessed using Freedman's Body-Love Questionnaire. The Body Mass Index was used as a weight-range classification for the women. Body image was assessed using the silhouette chart of Bell, Kirkpatrick, and Rinn. Women with stable weight had the highest self-esteem. The number of diets undertaken was associated with lowered self-esteem. High scores on evaluation of appearance were positively correlated with scores on self-esteem. No association was found between self-esteem and either eating restraint or significant others' attitudes. There was good agreement between the women's perceptions of their own bodies and independent raters' perceptions indicating a lack of body-image distortion for this non-eating-disordered group.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology & Sociology, James Cook University, Townsville, North Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: McAllister
authors.forename: M L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Caltabiano
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001828:Body Image; D015992:Body Mass Index; D004038:Diet, Reducing / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D010555:Personality Inventory; D012649:Self Concept; D015431:Weight Loss