Gender differences in body image dissatisfaction. Eating disturbance and perception of media imagery in pre-adolescent children

摘要

The aims of the present study were to a) examine gender differences in body image\uddissatisfaction, disordered eating and drive for muscularity in pre-adolescent children\udand b) to explore whether children experienced perceptual distortions whilst looking at\udmedia imagery. One hundred and ninety one children aged between nine and ten years\udparticipated in the study. Levels of body image dissatisfaction were found to be equal\udamongst boys and girls. However, their expression of body image dissatisfaction\uddiffered, in that most girls wished for a thinner body shape, whereas the boys were\udequally split between those who wished to be thinner and those who wished to be larger.\udThere were no gender differences in levels of eating disturbance. Boys reported a\udsignificantly higher drive for muscularity than girls. A significant interaction was found\udbetween the gender and the size of media celebrities on the perceptual distortion task.\udThe clinical implications of these findings are discussed. This includes the need for\udeducational work with professionals and children, to raise awareness of the rising\udprevalence of eating disturbance and body image dissatisfaction in pre-adolescent\udchildren and gender differences in their expression. The results of this study also suggest\udthat clinical services may see a rising prevalence of eating disorders and exercise\uddisorders in males. Implications for further research are discussed.