title: Gender differences in body size dissatisfaction among individuals with low, medium, or high levels of body focus.
abstract: The authors designed the present study to test whether women reported higher levels of body dissatisfaction than did men even when the 2 genders were matched on a measure of degree of body focus. Sixty undergraduates (30 men, 30 women) were screened on attention-to-body-shape scores and divided into high, medium, and low body-shape-focus groups. The participants also completed questionnaires that provided information on age, education, vocabulary ability, levels of depression, and body-image assessment. The groups did not differ (ps > .05) on age, education, vocabulary ability, or levels of depression. However, women in all 3 body-shape-focus categories indicated a larger discrepancy between their real vs. ideal body images (p < .01) than did the men. In the high-body-focus group, there was an 11:1ratio between women's and men's reported real-ideal body-shape discrepancies. Women showed greater body dissatisfaction than did men, even when the genders were matched on a measure of body focus.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks 58202-8380, USA.
authors.forename: Kristine
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Lokken
authors.forename: F Richard
authors.initials: FR
authors.lastname: Ferraro
authors.forename: Tara
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kirchner
authors.forename: Margo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bowling
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001824:Body Constitution; D001828:Body Image; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017678:Sex Distribution; D013001:Somatoform Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires