title: Weight discrepancy and body appreciation among women in Poland and Britain.
abstract: Previous studies have suggested that the process of transmigration has detrimental effects on the body image of migrants relative to women in the country of origin. In the present work, we examined the body image of Polish migrants in Britain (n=153), Polish women in Poland (n=153), and a comparison group of British White women (n=110). Participants completed a measure of actual-ideal weight discrepancy and the Body Appreciation Scale (BAS). Contrary to hypotheses, our results showed that Polish women in Poland had significantly higher weight discrepancy than their counterparts in Britain. Further analyses showed that the BAS reduced to two dimensions among Polish participants, with Polish participants in Poland having significantly lower body appreciation than Polish migrants. We suggest that the sociocultural changes that have taken place in Eastern Europe may place women in that region at relatively high risk for developing negative body image.
authors: Department of Psychology, University of Westminster, London, UK. Electronic address: d.taylor4@westminster.ac.uk.
authors: Donna
authors: D
authors: Taylor
authors: Ilona
authors: I
authors: Szpakowska
authors: Viren
authors: V
authors: Swami
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001828:Body Image / Q000523:psychology*; D001835:Body Weight / Q000208:ethnology*; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D011044:Poland / Q000208:ethnology; D013851:Thinness / Q000523:psychology; D014171:Transients and Migrants / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006113:United Kingdom; D044465:White People / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Body appreciation; Communism; Eastern Europe; Poland; Weight discrepancy