Body esteem in Swedish children and adolescents: Relationships with gender, age, and weight status

Abstract

In this study, we examined different dimensions of Swedish children's and adolescents' body esteem in relation to gender, age, and weight status. Participants were 1096 10-year-olds, 12-year-olds, and 15-year-olds who answered questionnaires in school. The results showed that, compared with boys, girls had significantly poorer body esteem. Furthermore, body esteem differed significantly between age groups, with lower levels of body esteem in girls and boys in the older age groups. Overweight participants of both genders reported poor weight esteem, but they were not more dissatisfied with their overall appearance, nor in terms of appearance evaluations attributed to other people. In sum, eventhough gender differences were pronounced in this study, with girls reporting significantly poorer body esteem, girls' and boys' body esteem co-varied in similar ways with age and weight status. This study, thus, adds to the knowledge on children's and adolescents' body esteem, providing unique data from a a cultural context with a long tradition of striving towards gender equality.

Keywords:

• body esteem
• children
• adolescents
• gender differences
• weight status

Acknowledgements

This research was supported by a grant from the Swedish Council of Working Life and Social Research (Forskningsrådet för Arbetsliv och Socialvetenskap, FAS).