Self-objectification, body image disturbance, and eating disorder symptoms in young Australian children

Self-objectification has been examined extensively in adult populations. Despite theoretical evidence suggesting that children may also be vulnerable to experiencing self-objectification, whether children do self-objectify has not been determined. Accordingly, the present study examined the degree t...

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Main Authors: Jongenelis, M., Byrne, S., Pettigrew, Simone
Format: Journal Article
Published: Elsevier 2014
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/29191
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author Jongenelis, M.
Byrne, S.
Pettigrew, Simone
author_facet Jongenelis, M.
Byrne, S.
Pettigrew, Simone
author_sort Jongenelis, M.
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Self-objectification has been examined extensively in adult populations. Despite theoretical evidence suggesting that children may also be vulnerable to experiencing self-objectification, whether children do self-objectify has not been determined. Accordingly, the present study examined the degree to which children self-objectify. The prevalence of body image and eating disturbances in this population, and the relationship between self-objectification and these disturbances, were also investigated. Results from over 250 boys and girls aged 6–11 years revealed that young girls report levels of self-objectification that are similar to those observed among older girls and women. Self-objectification was also found to be meaningfully related to body image and eating disturbances in children. A significant proportion of children reported body dissatisfaction and a minority engaged in disordered eating behaviours in the four weeks prior to the assessment. These results suggest that children may be at risk of experiencing the negative psychological outcomes associated with self-objectification.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-291912017-09-13T15:23:30Z Self-objectification, body image disturbance, and eating disorder symptoms in young Australian children Jongenelis, M. Byrne, S. Pettigrew, Simone Self-objectification Children Eating disorder symptoms Body image Self-objectification has been examined extensively in adult populations. Despite theoretical evidence suggesting that children may also be vulnerable to experiencing self-objectification, whether children do self-objectify has not been determined. Accordingly, the present study examined the degree to which children self-objectify. The prevalence of body image and eating disturbances in this population, and the relationship between self-objectification and these disturbances, were also investigated. Results from over 250 boys and girls aged 6–11 years revealed that young girls report levels of self-objectification that are similar to those observed among older girls and women. Self-objectification was also found to be meaningfully related to body image and eating disturbances in children. A significant proportion of children reported body dissatisfaction and a minority engaged in disordered eating behaviours in the four weeks prior to the assessment. These results suggest that children may be at risk of experiencing the negative psychological outcomes associated with self-objectification. 2014 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/29191 10.1016/j.bodyim.2014.04.002 Elsevier restricted
spellingShingle Self-objectification
Children
Eating disorder symptoms
Body image
Jongenelis, M.
Byrne, S.
Pettigrew, Simone
Self-objectification, body image disturbance, and eating disorder symptoms in young Australian children
title Self-objectification, body image disturbance, and eating disorder symptoms in young Australian children
title_full Self-objectification, body image disturbance, and eating disorder symptoms in young Australian children
title_fullStr Self-objectification, body image disturbance, and eating disorder symptoms in young Australian children
title_full_unstemmed Self-objectification, body image disturbance, and eating disorder symptoms in young Australian children
title_short Self-objectification, body image disturbance, and eating disorder symptoms in young Australian children
title_sort self-objectification, body image disturbance, and eating disorder symptoms in young australian children
topic Self-objectification
Children
Eating disorder symptoms
Body image
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/29191