Body Image, Gender, and School Experience in Adolescence

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Goal

The goal of this exercise is to explore the ways in which adolescents' body image is related to attitudes and experiences in school. Particular attention will be paid to similarities and differences between boys and girls. Crosstabulations, comparison of correlations, and comparison of means will be used.

Concept

Body image is an individual's estimation of his/her own physical appearance, and it is closely linked to self-esteem.

Adolescence is characterized by a period of physical, emotional, and psychological development. These rapid mental and bodily changes are associated with increased self-consciousness and awareness of the messages about what is valued in one's network of friends and in the larger society. American teenagers are bombarded with media images of beauty, illustrated by slender, flawless female models and muscular male athletes. Studies show that academic performance for females declines during adolescence and it has been suggested that this is tied to changing self-perceptions (especially lowered self-esteem) brought on by the physical and emotional changes occurring at the same time.

A concept in social psychology that is very closely related to body image is that of reflected appraisals. This is the idea that an individual bases his or her self-concept on the reactions he or she perceives from others during social interaction. In fact, it is the perceived reactions, rather than others' actual thoughts, that have been shown to be most important in the formation of self-concept. Imagine the power that the combined effect of the media and the desire to fit in has on how teens think about their bodies!

Examples of research questions about adolescent body image:

  • Do boys have more positive views of their bodies than girls?
  • What factors have the strongest influence on one's body image?
  • How accurate are adolescents' perceptions of their body size?
  • Are overweight/obese teens more likely to be bullied at school than other teens?
  • How is body image related to school achievement?

Data for this exercise come from Health Behavior in School Aged Children (HBSC) 2001-2002. The HBSC study has two main objectives. The first objective is to monitor health-risk behaviors and attitudes in youth over time to provide background data and to identify targets for health promotion initiatives. The second objective is to provide researchers with relevant information in order to understand and explain the development of health attitudes and behaviors through early adolescence. The study contains questions about the person's health and other health behaviors. Some of these topics include eating habits, body image, health problems, family make-up, personal injuries, bullying, fighting and bringing weapons to school, and substance use. A school administrator and the lead health education teacher also completed individual surveys concerning school programs and policies that affect students' health and the content of various health courses.

The HBSC is representative of public and private school students in grades 6 through 10 in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Very small schools (enrollment of less than 14) are not represented.

This exercise will use the following variables:

  • Respondent assessment of his/her looks (Q32)
  • Respondent assessment of his/her body (Q33)
  • Computed Body Mass Index (BMI_COMP)
  • Gender (Q1)
  • Academic achievement (Q60)
  • Liking school (Q61)
  • Accepted by other students (Q62G)

For ease of interpretation, recoding variables is sometimes necessary or helpful. (Note: the online analysis package used here requires recoding variables for the sole reason of modifying or adding labels.) The following variables were recoded:

  • Q33 asks respondents about their perceptions of their body size. Answers range from "much too thin" (1) to "much too fat" (5). In order to compare perceptions of body size to measures of actual BMI, we recoded variable Q33 into four categories: "too thin"(1); "about right"(2); "a bit too fat"(3); and "much too fat"(4). These categories more closely align with BMI classifications. We called the new variable "BODYSIZE."
  • Teens were asked (Q32) to rate their own appearance on a scale from "very good looking" (1) to "not at all good looking" (5). We recoded the variable so that a higher score represents a higher opinion of one's looks and called the new variable "LOOKGOOD."
  • Students were asked, "How do you feel about school at the present?" (Q61) Answer choices ranged from "like it a lot" (1) to "don't like it at all" (4). We recoded Q61 so that higher values indicate liking school (4 = "like a lot"). Missing cases were dropped. The new variable is called "LIKESCHOOL4."
  • Students were asked (Q60), "in your opinion, what does your class teacher(s) think about your school performance compared to your classmates?" Answers ranged from "very good" (1) to "below average" (4). We recoded Q60 so that higher values indicate higher school achievement (4="very good"). Missing cases were dropped. The new variable is called "ACHIEVE."
  • Students were asked (Q62G) how much they agree or disagree with the following statement: "other students accept me as I am." Answer choices ranged from "strongly agree"(1) to "strongly disagree"(5). We recoded Q62G so that higher values indicate higher levels of social acceptance (5="strongly agree"). The new variable is called "ACCEPTED5."

In this exercise, we will explore the ways in which adolescents' body image is related to experiences in school, paying particular attention to differences between boys and girls. In addition to body image, the measures of experiences in school used here are other examples of reflected appraisals.

Body Image

In this dataset, body image is measured by two variables. In the variable LOOKGOOD (based on Q32), teens are asked to rate their own looks on a scale from 1 ("not at all good looking") to 5 ("very good looking"). In Q33, teens are asked to give their perception of their body size. Answers range from "much too thin" (1) to "much too fat" (5).

First look at the relationship between body image and gender as measured by the crosstabs of LOOKGOOD by Q1 and Q33 by Q1. Do boys and girls rank their looks differently? How about body size? What percentage of boys and girls say they are "a bit too fat?" What percentage of boys and girls say they are "a bit too thin?"

How closely do adolescents' perceptions of body size match their actual size? Let's run a comparison of correlations, computing the correlation coefficients for BODYSIZE and BMI_COMP separately for boys and girls. Does there appear to be a gender difference in accuracy of body size perceptions?

How closely linked are perceptions of body size and looks? Look at the comparison of correlations of Q33 and LOOKGOOD, which shows the correlation coefficients for self-perceived body size and looks separately for boys and girls. How would you interpret the results?

Liking School

Consider the relationship between body image (LOOKGOOD) and feelings about school (LIKESCHOOL4). Answer choices ranged from "don't like it at all" (1) to "like a lot" (4). According to the results of the comparison of means of LIKESCHOOL4 by LOOKGOOD, does attitude toward school differ by self-rated looks?

Now look at school attitude by body size. Do students who believe they are too fat or too thin like school less than those who think their weight is "about right"?

Let's look at another comparison of means, this time with with gender (Q1) as the column variable. Do boys and girls feel the same way about school? Is the relationship between perceived body size and school attitude the same for boys and girls?

Academic Achievement

Next we will analyze the relationship between body image and perceptions of academic achievement. Students were asked, "in your opinion, what does your class teacher(s) think about your school performance compared to your classmates?" (ACHIEVE) Answers ranged from "below average" (1) to "very good" (4). This question brings both reflected appraisals (what the student believes the teacher thinks about him/her) and social comparison ("compared to your classmates") to the front of students' minds.

Examine the results of the comparison of means of ACHIEVE by LOOKGOOD. How is school achievement related to students' feelings about their looks?

Now look at school achievement by perception of body size, separately for boys and girls. What do you find? Is the relationship between achievement and body image different for boys and girls?

Social Acceptance

Finally, think about the relationship between body image (LOOKGOOD) and social acceptance (ACCEPTED5). Is there a relationship between feelings of social acceptance and perceived looks?

Now look at the comparison of means of ACCEPTED5 by Q33, separately for boys and girls. What is the relationship between perceptions of body size and social acceptance? Is there a gender difference in the relationship?

Think about your answers to the application questions before you click through to the interpretation guide for help in answering them. Make sure you provided evidence for your answers.

  • Do boys and girls rank their looks differently? How about body size? What percentage of boys and girls say they are "a bit too fat?" What percentage of boys and girls say they are "a bit too thin?"
  • How closely do adolescents' perceptions of body size match their actual size? Does there appear to be a gender difference in accuracy of body size perceptions?
  • How closely linked are perceptions of body size and looks? How would you interpret the results?
  • Does the mean attitude toward school differ by self-rated looks?
  • Do students who believe they are too fat or too thin like school less than those who feel their weight is "about right"?
  • Do boys and girls feel the same way about school? Is the relationship between body size and mean school attitude the same for boys and girls?
  • How is school achievement related to students' feelings about their looks? Is the relationship between achievement and body image the different for boys and girls?
  • Is there a relationship between feelings of social acceptance and perceived looks?
  • What is the relationship between perceptions of body size and social acceptance? Is there a gender difference in the relationship?

Interpretation

Things to think about in interpreting the results:

  • The numbers in each cell of the crosstabulation tables show the percentage of the people who fall into the overlapping categories, followed by the actual number of people that represents in this sample. The coloring in the tables demonstrates how the observed numbers in each cell compares to the expected number if there were no association between the two variables. The accompanying bar charts display the patterns visually as well.
  • A correlation is a measure of the strength of association between two variables. Correlations are expressed on a scale from -1.0 to +1.0. Correlation coefficients closer to zero indicate a weak relationship between variables, while correlations close to positive or negative one indicate a strong relationship. A positive correlation means that as values of one variable increase, values of the second variable increase as well (or, conversely, as values of one variable decrease, values of the second variable decrease). A negative correlation indicates that as values of one variable increase, values of the second variable decrease. A comparison of correlations presents the correlation coefficients calculated separately for each category of the row variable. In this case, coefficients are calculated separately for boys and girls.
  • In the comparison of means tables, the top number in each cell represents the mean of the dependent variable for each category of the independent variable(s) and the bottom number is the actual number of people in that category in the sample.
  • Weights (mathematical formulas) are often used to adjust the sample proportions, usually by race, sex, or age, to more closely match those of the general population. The weight "STU_WT" was used throughout this guide.

Reading the results:

  • Boys and girls share about the same perceptions of their looks. 43% of boys and 44% of girls rate their looks as "about average." This is not the case with perceptions of body size, however. A larger percentage of girls than boys rated themselves as "a bit too fat" (32% of girls versus 24% of boys), while a larger percentage of boys than girls rated themselves as "a bit too thin" (13% of boys versus 8% of girls).
  • The comparison of correlations indicates a relatively strong, positive relationship between perception of body size and actual BMI. Interestingly, boys appear to have more "accurate" perceptions of body size than girls. The correlation coefficient of +.52 for boys, compared to +.43 for girls, indicates that the relationship between perception of body size and actual BMI is fairly strong for both sexes but is slightly stronger for boys. This is perhaps expected because of the heavier emphasis on certain body types/sizes for girls than for adolescent boys.
  • Perceptions of body size and looks are only somewhat related. The correlation coefficients for both boys and girls are under +.30 suggesting that the association is quite weak. However, the coefficient is positive as predicted and it appears perceptions of body size and looks are more closely linked for girls (+.27) than for boys (+.17).
  • Students who perceive themselves to be "quite good looking" score an average of 2.90 on the scale measuring how much they like school (remember, 4 equals "like school a lot"). In contrast, students who see themselves as "not at all good looking" have an average score of 2.21, reflecting a less favorable attitude toward school.
  • Students who believe they are "about the right size" have, on average, a more positive attitude toward school than students who believe they are either too fat or too thin. Girls have more positive attitudes toward school than boys at all body sizes. Interestingly, among girls, those who say they are "a bit too thin" have the most positive attitude toward school of students of any body size.
  • Students with high opinions of their looks have higher perceptions of school achievement than students with lower opinions of their looks. Among students who said they are "very" or "quite" good looking, the mean school achievement score was 2.99 (on a scale of 1 to 4), compared to a score of 2.38 for students who said they were "not at all good looking." Keep in mind that school achievement is measured by students' perceptions of their teachers' opinions. Students' answers may or may not be good approximations of their actual school achievement.
  • Overall, girls have higher mean achievement scores than boys (2.92 versus 2.75). For boys, the "about the right size" group had the highest achievement scores. For girls, the "a bit too thin" group was highest, though it was very closely followed by those who feel "about the right size."
  • Students who believe they are "very good looking" have a mean feeling of social acceptance of 4.17, compared to a mean of 2.7 for students who believe they are "not at all good looking." Remember, a score of 5 indicates that students "strongly agree" that others accept them for who they are. On average, feeling that other students accept the individual declined as self-reported looks became more negative.
  • For both boys and girls, those who think of themselves as "about the right size" have the highest social acceptance compared to students who think they are too fat or too thin. For girls, however, those who think of themselves as "a bit too thin" had nearly as high social acceptance as those who were "about the right size." In general, girls had higher perceptions of social acceptance than boys in every body size category. This suggests that while we tend to think girls are more affected by messages about beauty and being thin, boys are affected at some level as well.
  • Given the results discussed above, it is worth noting that, when it comes to self-perceptions of appearance and the ways in which those can affect achievement, feeling accepted, etc., the relationships may be slightly stronger for girls than for boys, but in general the patterns are the same. In this case girls and boys may be more similar than they are different.

Summary

The goal of this exercise was to explore the ways in which adolescents' body image is related to experiences in school and how this relationship might differ for boys and girls. Body image and perceptions of social acceptance, and perceptions of teachers' assessments are all examples of reflected appraisals, beliefs about oneself based on what the individual perceives others think of him or her. Taken together, the results show that while boys and girls have similar perceptions of their looks, girls were more likely than boys to consider themselves "too fat" and boys were more likely than girls to consider themselves "too thin." Perceptions of looks and body size appear to be related to a variety of school experiences, including attitudes toward school, school achievement, and social acceptance. This demonstrates the power of reflected appraisals or self-evaluations based on how one thinks others perceive him. In many cases, these relationships are different for girls than for boys. It is important to note, however, that we cannot say that body image causes these outcomes. It is very likely that causation runs in both directions between body image and school outcomes. In addition, there are certainly other variables we have not considered that are affecting both body image and school outcomes. For example, future research might look at overall self-esteem, parental involvement in students' lives, or characteristics of students' peer groups to see whether any of these affect either body image or school outcomes.

CITATION: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research. Body Image, Gender, and School Experience in Adolescence: A Data-Driven Learning Guide. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2011-12-16. Doi: https://doi.org/10.3886/bodyimage

Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 United States License.