title: Body image, relationships, and time.
abstract: The cultural standard of an impossible-to-attain ideal body image has been blamed for a plethora of psychological ills, from low self-esteem to eating disorders. In this study, the authors investigated the importance of current body image dissatisfaction compared with the ideal for married couples and for single people. The results indicated that although body image dissatisfaction exists in both married and single people, this discrepancy is of significantly less importance to married couples. The importance of long-lasting, satisfying relationships decreases the importance of body dissatisfaction and mitigates the impact of unrealistic ideal body image.
authors.affiliation: California State University, Sacramento, Department of Management, College of Business Administration, Sacramento, CA 95819, USA. tomgk@csus.edu
authors.forename: Gail
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Tom
authors.forename: Alice
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Harriet
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Liao
authors.forename: Jian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Shao
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001828:Body Image; D001835:Body Weight; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D012647:Self-Assessment; D012847:Single Person / Q000523:psychology; D018454:Spouses / Q000523:psychology; D013995:Time