Relationships Between Men's and Women's Body Image and Their Psychological, Social, and Sexual Functioning (Part 2)

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Table I. Height, Weight, and BMI by Gender and Age Group
Height (cm)			Weight (kg)			Body mass index (BMI)
Age Group	M	SD	M	SD	M		SD
Women
18-29	165.24	7.26	63.08	12.01	23.24		4.35
30-49	164.28	7.42	71.32	17.28	26.43		6.23
50-86	162.54	7.56	69.72	13.29	26.46		5.22
Overall	164.00	7.44	68.63	15.13	25.60		5.63
Men
18-29	179.68	8.03	74.87	12.48	23.18		3.55
30-49	180.45	7.22	83.72	14.14	25.75		3.84
50-86	175.69	7.66	82.26	12.66	26.65		3.30
Overall	178.34	7.87	79.84	13.56	25.13		3.86

 

Table II. Body Image Scores by Gender and Age Group
Physical attractiveness				Body image satisfaction
Group	M		SD	M	SD
Gender
Women	18.57	3.51		31.23	8.56
Men	18.51	3.57		35.46	7.21
Age
18-29	19.80	3.68		33.41	7.56
30-49	18.11	3.49		31.73	8.82
50-86	18.00	3.24		34.80	7.95
Body Image Importance				Body concealment
Group	M	SD		M	SD
Gender
Women	32.00	7.44		15.40	5.72
Men	30.94	7.61		9.77	4.73
Age
18-29	30.83	7.93		12.12	5.12
30-49	31.60	7.03		14.07	6.39
50-86	31.93	7.77		11.91	6.07
Body improvement				Social physique anxiety
Group	M	SD		M	SD
Gender
Women	9.22	3.74		34.50	9.46
Men	8.70	3.70		27.68	8.11
Age
18-29	9.40	3.41		32.47	9.27
30-49	9.05	3.38		32.92	9.95
50-86	8.62	3.45		28.25	8.45
Appearance comparison
Group		M		SD
Gender
Women		10.98		3.29
Men		9.17		3.35
Age
18-29		11.00		3.48
30-49		10.64		3.25
50-86		8.76		3.18

 

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Table III. Unique Body Image Predictors From Regression Equations That Significantly Increased the Prediction of Psychological Functioning at Step 2 Among Men and Women of Different Age Groups
Unique body
Outcome variable	Group	image predictors	[sr.sup.2]
Self-esteem	Women 18-29	None	--
Women 30-49		Social physique anxiety	.06
Body Image Importance			.05
Women 50-86		Physical attractiveness	.13
Men 18-29		Physical attractiveness	.07
Body image importance			.07
Men 30-49		Body concealment	.10
Men 50-86		Appearance comparison	.08
Body image satisfaction			.07
Depression	Women 50-86	Social physique anxiety	.08
Anxiety	Women 50-86	None	--
Men 50-86		Appearance comparison	.11

 

Table IV. Unique Body Image Predictors From Regression Equations That Significantly Increased the Prediction of Social and Sexual Functioning at Step 2 Among Men and Women of Different Age Groups
Unique body
Outcome variable	Group	image predictors	[sr.sup.2]
Social anxiety	Women 50-86	Social physique anxiety	.08
Body improvement			.07
Men 30-49		Appearance comparison	.08
Same-sex relations	Men 30-49	Physical attractiveness	.13
Opposite-sex relations	Men 18-29	Body concealment	.09
Sexual self-efficacy	Men 30-49	Body satisfaction	.09
Sexual satisfaction	Men 30-49	Appearance comparison	.12
Body concealment			.10
Body satisfaction			.08
Sexual optimism	Women 30-49	None	--
Men 30-49		Social physique anxiety	.18

 

 

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Tanya E. Davison (1) and Marita P. McCabe (1,2)

(1) School of Psychology, Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia.