title: Do children emotionally rehearse about their body image?
abstract: This study examined the association between propensity for emotional rehearsal, body image self-perception and weight status in Chinese Hong Kong pre-adolescents. Children 8-12 years of age (n = 278) completed measurement of body mass index, body image and emotional rehearsal. Multinomial regression analyses revealed that body mass index was positively associated with body image dissatisfaction and a significant predictor of body size estimation. However, only body size underestimation was associated with lower rehearsal tendencies. The prevalence of body image dissatisfaction and body size estimation was also reported for this population. Future research is suggested for greater understanding of emotional coping in body image dissatisfaction in young children.
authors.affiliation: Victoria University, Australia fiona.ling@vu.edu.au.
authors.forename: Fiona C M
authors.initials: FC
authors.lastname: Ling
authors.affiliation: The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Alison M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: McManus
authors.affiliation: University of Birmingham, UK.
authors.forename: Gemma
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Knowles
authors.affiliation: The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Rich S W
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Masters
authors.affiliation: Victoria University, Australia.
authors.forename: Remco C J
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Polman
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological / Q000502:physiology*; D001828:Body Image / Q000523:psychology*; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002648:Child; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006723:Hong Kong; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male
keywords: body image; children; coping; obesity; rehearsal