title: Boarding school influence on self-reported concern for perceived body and face morphology in Taiwan.
abstract: To determine the influence of boarding school on self-perceived body and facial morphology, the Body Shape Questionnaire (BSQ) and exploratory questions about the orofacial area (OFA) were administered to female boarding (B) and nonboarding (NB) students at two Catholic schools in Taiwan. The mean total BSQ scores of Bs were significantly higher than NBs, with both being significantly higher than the published normative score but lower than probable bulimics with no significant B vs. NB difference in mean total OFA scores. Because the Bs were significantly taller and reported more orthodontic treatment than NBs, the possible confounding by the higher economic status of the Bs was minimized by finding similar significantly higher BSQ scores for the small number of Bs (5%) than the remaining NBs (95%) in the documented lower socio-economic school. In summary, the experience of boarding in religion-dominated schools significantly increases body image concerns of adolescent females.
authors: University of Texas School of Dentistry at Houston, United States.
authors: Chieh Ting
authors: CT
authors: Chang
authors: Boston University Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine, United States.
authors: Prerna
authors: P
authors: Garg
authors: Harvard University, School of Dental Medicine, 188 Longwood Ave., Boston, MA 02115, United States. Electronic address: Donald_giddon@hms.harvard.edu.
authors: Donald B
authors: DB
authors: Giddon
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001828:Body Image / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006798:Housing; D006801:Humans; D012574:Schools; D012923:Social Class; D013624:Taiwan / Q000208:ethnology
keywords: Asian; Boarding school; Body image; Chinese; Eating disorders; Socio-economic