Body satisfaction and self-concept of third- and sixth-grade students.
Pubertal development has been implicated as the point of origin for decreased body satisfaction and self-concept for girls from prepubertal levels and an increase in body satisfaction and self-concept for boys. Two groups of boys and girls in Grades 3 and 6 completed a Body Satisfaction Questionnaire and the Piers-Harris Self-concept Scale to test this assumption. The third graders were considered to be prepubertal and sixth graders as early pubertal. The sixth-grade boys scored lower on body satisfaction than third-grade boys, and their self-concept scores were positively correlated with body satisfaction scores. For girls, body satisfaction scores were correlated with self-concept in both grades, and few significant differences were found between grades. For girls apparently the relationship between body satisfaction and self-concept may be present before the onset of puberty.
Folk
L
L
Psychology Department, Lebanon Valley College, Annville, PA 17003.
Pedersen
J
J
Cullari
S
S
D000367:Age Factors; D001828:Body Image; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012574:Schools; D012649:Self Concept; D012737:Sex Factors; D013334:Students; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires