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Examining body appreciation in six countries: The impact of age and sociocultural pressure

Hanson, Louise, Walker, Catherine, Gott, Alexis, Tomsett, Megan, Useh, Elozino, Yeadon-Caiger, Eloise, Clay, Rachel, Fan, Jiamin, Hui, Kennice, Wang, Hongdi, Evans, Elizabeth Helen, Cowie, Dorothy and Boothroyd, Lynda Gaynor (2024) Examining body appreciation in six countries: The impact of age and sociocultural pressure. PLoS One, 19 (7). e0306913. ISSN 1932-6203

Abstract
Previous research on body appreciation across the lifespan has produced conflicting results that it increases with age, decreases with age, or is generally stable with an increase in women over 50-years-old. Furthermore, most of the research has been conducted in White, Western populations. Cross-cultural research suggests that both Chinese and African women experience similar sociocultural pressures as White Western women, and that appearance ideals are shifting to resemble a more Western ideal. We cross-sectionally and cross-culturally examined body appreciation across the lifespan, recruiting White Western women (UK, USA, Canada, and Australia), Black Nigerian women, and Chinese women. 1186 women aged 18–80 completed measures of body appreciation, internalisation of thin and athletic ideals, and perceived sociocultural pressure. Body appreciation did not vary with age in women from any country. Nigerian women reported the highest body appreciation, and Western women the lowest. Higher thin/athletic ideal internalisation, and higher perceived sociocultural pressure were significantly associated with lower body appreciation in all countries and age-groups. Overall, our findings indicate that although levels of body appreciation differ drastically between ethnicities and cultures, it is generally stable across age, and shows cross-culturally robust relationships between sociocultural internalisation and pressure.
Metadata
Item Type:Article (Published)
Refereed:Yes
Subjects:Medical Sciences > Health
Social Sciences > Education
Social Sciences > Social psychology
DCU Faculties and Centres:DCU Faculties and Schools > Institute of Education
Publisher:Public Library of Science
Official URL:https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.13...
Copyright Information:Authors
ID Code:31595
Deposited On:01 Oct 2025 11:12 by Vidatum Academic . Last Modified 01 Oct 2025 11:12
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