From Fat to Fabulous: Adolescent Obesity, Self-Esteem, and Coping Mechanisms
Institution: | University of Cincinnati |
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Department: | Arts and Sciences : Sociology |
Degree: | PhD |
Year: | 2007 |
Keywords: | Education, Sociology of; Psychology, Social; Sociology, General; Women's Studies; Women's Studies; Obesity; Self-Esteem; Adolescent; Coping; Body Mass; Body Image; Weight |
Record ID: | 1793314 |
Full text PDF: | http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1194625355 |
Using the National Longitudinal Study for Adolescent Health (AddHealth) this study investigated six hypotheses assessing the relationship between adolescent body mass and self-esteem. Specifically, this study sought to identify whether elective coping mechanisms, including academic performance, extracurricular participation, and voluntarism, mediated the relationship between body mass and self-esteem. A variety of statistical methods (including regression and path analyses) revealed that the relationship between adolescent body mass and self-esteem was suppressed by intervening variables including negative body image and academic performance. When controlling for academic performance and body image, adolescents with higher body mass exhibit higher self-esteem than those adolescents with lower body mass at the stringent p > .001 level. The implication of the finding of higher body mass being related to higher self-esteem, when controlling for negative body image and academic performance, is enough to give pause. Perception of acceptance of those of varying body sizes may protect a growing group of adolescents from diminished self-esteem.