Body Dissatisfaction 105studies indicate that a range of factors relating to body dissatisfaction
are more prevalent in higher class individuals. For example, Dornbusch
et al. (1984) examined social class and the desire to be thin in a repre-
sentative sample of 7,000 American adolescents and concluded that
higher class females wanted to be thinner when compared to their lower
class counterparts. In parallel, Drenowski, Kurt, and Krahn (1994)
reported that the higher class subjects in their sample showed increased
prevalence of dieting, bingeing, and vigorous exercise for weight loss,
and Wardle and Marsland (1990) reported that although the higher class
schoolchildren were thinner, they showed greater levels of weight concern.
Similar results have also been reported for the prevalence of anorexia
nervosa (Crisp, Palmer, and Kalucy, 1976). In direct contrast to the above
studies, Story et al. (1995) concluded from their study of 36,320 American
students that higher social class was related to greater weight satisfaction
and lower rates of pathological weight control behaviors such as vomiting.
Similar results were reported by Eisler and Szmukler (1985), who exam-
ined abnormal eating attitudes. Other studies have found no relationship
between social class and factors such as body dissatisfaction, the desire for
thinness, the desire for weight loss, and symptoms indicative of eating
disorders (Cole and Edlemann, 1988; Whitaker et al., 1989). Therefore,
although higher social class is believed to relate to body dissatisfaction,
the results remain unclear.
In summary, body dissatisfaction can be conceptualized as body size
distortion involving a comparison with an objective measure of size, as
a discrepancy between ideal and perceptions of actual body size, or
simply as negative feelings and thoughts about the body. When research
into body dissatisfaction was in its early days, it was generally believed
that it was a problem only shown by those with eating disorders. However,
much research shows that although women are more body dissatisfied
than men, men also have concerns about their bodies and that such
concerns occur across the age range and are apparent in groups which
vary in sexuality, ethnicity, and social class. What causes this common
problem?
Causes of Body Dissatisfaction
Research has highlighted a role for both social and psychological factors
in causing body dissatisfaction.