Testing the Influence of Socio-cultural Factors on Body Image Satisfaction among School Going Teenage Girls

Objective of the following community based research was to test the influence of socio-cultural factors on body image issue among adolescent girls in rural area as more worries and less satisfaction about body image are found in girls. The relatives, the media, the peers and the community all have an impact on body shape satisfaction. But the greatest influence is that of the media and the community through standardising a “thin ideal” for female beauty.

Body image is what a person think and feel when one look in the mirror or when one picture oneself in mind. Body image issues among adolescents are a common problem. These issues affect adolescent girls more than the boys. The emphasis on thinness and on an ideal female body shape and size is physically and psychologically detrimental to the health of many young women. A cross-sectional study was conducted in block Lakhanmajra, District Rohtak, Haryana. Adolescent girls in age group 13-19 years studying in class VIII to class XII in 10 government and private senior secondary schools were included in the study. The total sample of 500 students was included in the study. The findings of the study show that 20.2% adolescent girls did not like their appearance when they look in the mirror and thus had body image dissatisfaction. 88.0% adolescent girls were satisfied with their weight and 12.0% were dissatisfied. 80.0% of the study subjects who were dissatisfied with their body weight had normal age specific BMI values. Only 20% of the adolescent girls who were not satisfied with their weight were underweight or overweight.