Body Image Concerns and Contingent Self-Esteem in Male and Female College Students

摘要

Body dissatisfaction in females, and to a lesserextent males, is associated with low self-esteem, depression,and eating disorders. This research examined gender as amoderator of the association between contingent self-esteemand body image concerns, including weight and muscularity.Participants included 359 (59.1% female) heavy drinkingfirst-year U.S. undergraduate students who completed asurvey assessing health-related risk behaviors. Hierarchicalmultiple regression was used to examine relations amonggender, contingent self-esteem, and body image. Femalesreported higher levels of contingent self-esteem and greaterconcerns about their weight, although males reported agreater drive for muscularity. The relationship betweencontingent self-esteem and weight concerns was strongeramong females, and for males, greater contingent self-esteemwas associated with a greater drive for muscularity.