Body Attitude, Gender, and Self-Concept: A 30-Year Perspective

Abstract

Two comparable samples of college men and women from 1966 and 1996 were compared using the Kurtz Body Attitude Scale (BAS; R. M. Kurtz, 1966). As predicted, women in 1996 reported a significantly more negative body attitude than women in 1966 did. No significant differences in the 2 samples of men were found. With the 1996 sample, the relationship between body attitude and self-esteem was also examined using Marsh's Self-Description Questionnaire-III (SDQ-III; H. W. Marsh & R. O'Neill, 1984). There was a significant relationship between body attitude and general self-esteem, and there were also complex gender differences in the relationships of various SDQ-III facets to body attitudes.