Correlates of Ideal Body Size Among Black and White Adolescents

• NCJ Number: 214834
• Journal: Journal of Youth and Adolescence Volume: 35 Issue: 2 Dated: April 2006 Pages: 293-301
• Author(s): Nicole Nollen; Harsohena Kaur; Kim Pulvers; Won Choi; Marian Fitzgibbon; Chaoyang Li; Niaman Nazir; Jasjit S. Ahluwalia
• Date Published: April 2006
• Length: 9 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study examined differences in factors related to perceptions of an ideal body size (IBS) among 265 Black (116 girls and 62 boys) and White (63 girls and 24 boys) adolescents.

Abstract

The findings suggest that programs designed to promote healthy body-image development among adolescents should have different emphases for White and Black youth. Black girls and boys could benefit from programs that address peer norms and influence on body image perceptions, and White girls and boys could benefit from programs that address the role of parents in shaping weight-related norms and expectations. The IBS for White girls was influenced by their perception of how their parent/guardian wanted them to look, and Black girls' IBS was influenced by perceptions of how other girls their age look and would like to look. The IBS of White boys was influenced by their perception of how their parent/guardian wanted them to look; Black boys' IBS was influenced by their perceptions of how they currently looked, how their peers would like to look, how their parent/guardian thinks they looked, and depressive symptoms. Peer attraction, time watching television, smoking, physical activity, and parental attachment had no influence on the adolescents' selection of an IBS. Black and White adolescents were recruited from outpatients who visited an urban pediatric clinic. Surveys were administered separately to adolescents and parents. IBS was assessed with the Gardner 13-figure schematic contour scale. The predictor variables measured were perceptions of peer and parent norms and expectations, time spent watching television, smoking status, physical activity, parental attachment, and depressive symptoms. Chi-square and Fishers exact tests were used to compare categorical variables, and t tests were used to compare means for continuous variables. 2 tables, 1 figure, and 35 references