The goal of the current analyses was to explore associations of self-rated physical attractiveness with facets of psychological well-being across adolescence. Participants provided information on their perceived physical attractiveness, internalized distress, suicidal ideation, and self-harm at 15, 17 and 20 years of age. Male adolescents…

This study examines the effects of social comparison, gender, and grade level on gifted adolescents' multidimensional self-concept. Participants include 248 gifted adolescents who had completed the sixth through tenth grade during the previous academic year. Multidimensional self-concept was measured using the Self Description Questionnaire II…

Examined body dissatisfaction, physical attractiveness, and body mass index in adolescents at 13, 15, and 18 years of age. Found that sex differences in body dissatisfaction emerged between 13 and 15 years and were maintained. Girls' body dissatisfaction increased, whereas boys' decreased. Body dissatisfaction was weakly related to others' rating…

Duval and Wicklund proposed a theory of self-awareness that distinguishes between objective and subjective self-awareness, in which objectively self-aware individuals are assumed to focus attention on themselves and subjectively self-aware individuals direct attention toward external objects. To investigate self-awareness of physical…

Evaluates age and gender differences in physical self-concept of Turkish university students. The Physical Self-Perception Profile was administered to participants for assessing physical self-concept. Multivariate analysis of variance revealed a significant main effect for gender, but no significant main effect for year in school. Univariate…

This longitudinal study investigated the influence of maturation on physical self-perceptions and the relationship with physical activity in early adolescent girls (N = 150; mean age = 12.79 plus or minus 0.31). Physical characteristics were measured and participants completed the Physical Activity Questionnaire for Children, the Children and…

This study investigated the effect of similarity and reciprocity on dyadic friendship choices. Subjects were 34 third graders and 30 sixth graders. Reciprocal (mutual) and nonreciprocal (nonmutual) friendships were identified through use of the roster sociometric technique, whereby children choose their three best friends from an alphabetized list…

A study was conducted to investigate issues related to the development of preschool children's self-definitions of attractiveness. Research questions were (1) At what ages can children state a self-definition of attractiveness? (2) Are self-definitions temporally stable? (3) To what degree are children's self-judgments similar to judgments made of…

Background: Physical activity declines during adolescence and strategies to combat this occurrence are both educational and public health priorities. Schools have been identified as central institutions for the promotion of physical activity among youth. While physical education is considered to be the major vehicle for physical activity promotion…

The attitudes of young and elderly adults toward their own bodies were investigated; subjects (N=274) rated 35 aspects of their bodies. Elderly subjects expressed less positive attitudes toward bodily functioning and attractiveness. Some sex differences and areas in which age differences are reversed are discussed. (Author/EMK)

The study found relative independence of the specific components of self-concept in 200 gifted pupils enrolled in self-contained enrichment classes in grades 5 through 8. Self-perceptions of social and scholastic competence and of physical appearance were the major contributors to self-concept. There was no evidence of a developmental process. (DB)