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Cultural differences in body dissatisfaction: Japanese adolescents compared with adolescents from China, Malaysia, Australia, Tonga, and Fiji

journal contribution
posted on 2016-10-01, 00:00 authored by Miki Brockhoff, Alexander MussapAlexander Mussap, Matthew Fuller-TyszkiewiczMatthew Fuller-Tyszkiewicz, David MellorDavid Mellor, Helen Skouteris, Marita Mc Cabe, L Ricciardelli
Cultural influences on the body image of 133 female and 99 male Japanese adolescents aged 12–18 years (M = 15.9, SD = 1.2) were compared to those of a databank of 1233 female and 1149 male adolescents also aged 12–18 years (M = 14.9, SD = 1.5) from five cultures – Chinese, Malaysian, Australian, Tongan, and indigenous Fijian – surveyed previously using identical body image measures (Fuller-Tyszkiewicz et al., 2012). Japanese adolescents reported the highest levels of body dissatisfaction despite possessing among the lowest body mass index (BMI) and also reported among the highest levels of media influence on their body image. Subsequent path analyses revealed that for Japanese adolescents cultural identification with modern Japanese values were associated with increased body dissatisfaction, and that this association was mediated by level of media influence. These results highlight the importance of cultural influences, as well as individual differences in cultural values, in shaping Japanese adolescents' body image.

History

Journal

Asian journal of social psychology

Volume

19

Issue

4

Pagination

385 - 394

Publisher

Wiley

Location

London, Eng.

ISSN

1367-2223

eISSN

1467-839X

Language

eng

Publication classification

C Journal article; C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journal

Copyright notice

2016, WIley

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