A comparative study of body image of Australian and Pakistani young females.
This research compares Australian and Pakistani females on body image attitudes. The sample consisted of Caucasian-Australian and Pakistani first year university students, ranging in age from 17 to 22. The Pakistani sample was subdivided into two groups: Urdu-medium and English-medium, representing the middle and upper social classes, respectively. The results revealed that, although all the groups identified a similar body shape as the 'ideal', the Australian females expressed significantly higher levels of body dissatisfaction on all measures of body image than did the Pakistani females. Within the Pakistani sample, females from the English-medium institutions expressed greater weight concern than did the Urdu-medium females. The findings are discussed in terms of the possible role of cultural values in shaping the body image attitudes of young females.
Mahmud
Nargis
N
Department of Applied Psychology, F.G. College for Women, Pakistan. nargis_m@yahoo.com.au
Crittenden
Nadia
N
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001315:Australia; D001828:Body Image; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D010154:Pakistan; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D012649:Self Concept; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013001:Somatoform Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000208:ethnology*; D013008:Somatotypes; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D015431:Weight Loss