Gender and cultural differences in the relationships between self-esteem contingency, body talk, and body esteem

Jounghwa Choi, Yoojin Chung, Hye Eun Lee, Michael Prieler

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

This study analyzed the positive and negative body talk of male and female adolescents cross-culturally with an emphasis on the role of appearance-contingent and others’ approval-contingent self-worth. A cross-national survey in Austria, Belgium, Spain, and South Korea among 12-to 16-year-olds (982 female and 993 male) found that (1) positive body talk was positively related and negative body talk was negatively related to body esteem; (2) appearance contingency was positively related to negative body talk; (3) appearance contingency increased positive body talk among girls (except Korean girls); and (4) contingency on other’s approval increased positive body talk among boys in all four countries. Overall, gender differences were more prominent than cultural differences and positive body talk was instrumental in promoting adolescents’ body esteem.

Original languageEnglish
Article number1009
JournalChildren
Volume8
Issue number11
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 2021

Keywords

  • Body esteem
  • Body talk
  • Contingency of self-esteem
  • Culture
  • Gender

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