title: Beauty is as beauty does: body image and self-esteem of pageant contestants.
abstract: Self-esteem, dieting, and body image of 131 female beauty pageant contestants (mean age 26.0 years) from 43 states were examined by an anonymous survey. Most (89.6%) reported being a pageant finalist or winner and 55.2% had competed at the nationa/international level Over one-fourth (26%) of the women had been told or perceived they had an eating disorder which reportedly began at 16.25 years. Almost half (48.5%) reported wanting to be thinner and 57% were trying to lose weight. Higher self-esteem scores were significantly associated with increased level of competition (i.e.: from local to international pageants), but not with the number of times the women were pageant finalists or winners. Future study is warranted to determine how pageant participation influences self-esteem, body image, and the development of eating disorders.
authors.affiliation: Coastal Carolina University, College of Education, South Carolina, Conway 29528, USA.
authors.forename: S H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Thompson
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hammond
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001294:Attitude to Health; D001505:Beauty Culture / Q000379:methods; D001824:Body Constitution; D001828:Body Image; D015992:Body Mass Index; D003163:Competitive Behavior; D004038:Diet, Reducing / Q000523:psychology; D001068:Feeding and Eating Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D005260:Female; D005783:Gender Identity; D006801:Humans; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D012648:Self Care / Q000379:methods / Q000523:psychology; D012649:Self Concept; D012945:Social Values; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013851:Thinness / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D015431:Weight Loss; D014930:Women / Q000523:psychology*