Body Esteem, Body Figure Discrepancy and Depression in Women College Students.
- Author:
Kyueun LEE
1
;
Eunju KIM
;
Younghee YOM
Author Information
1. Department of Nursing, Kwandong University.
- Publication Type:Original Article
- Keywords:
Body esteem;
Body figure discrepancy;
Depression;
College student
- MeSH:
Depression*;
Female;
Gangwon-do;
Humans;
Overweight;
Surveys and Questionnaires;
Seoul
- From:Journal of Korean Academy of Fundamental Nursing
2005;12(2):206-214
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:Korean
-
Abstract:
PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify body esteem, body figure discrepancy and depression in women college students. METHOD: The data were collected during April and May, 2004 using a questionnaire. The participants were 364 women college students attending universities in Seoul and Gangwon-Do. RESULTS: The BMI for under weight, normal weight and overweight for the college women were 49.2%, 48.3%, 2.5% respectively. But 52.6% of the students perceived themselves as obese and only 11.5% described themselves as being 'thin'. The mean scores for BMI, body esteem, body figure discrepancy and depression were 20.11+/-2.20, 2.36+/-.79, 1.07+/-.58 and 1.20+/-.48 respectively. Significant difference was found in body esteem score (F=26.389, p<.0001) and body figure discrepancy (F=64.167, p<.0001) according to BMI scores. There were negative correlations between body esteem and body figure discrepancy (r=-.582, p=.0001), between body esteem and depression (r=-.120, p=.028), between body esteem and BMI (r=-.422, p=.0001), and a positive correlation between body figure discrepancy and BMI (r=.630, p=.0001). Factors such as body figure discrepancy, BMI and depression explained 36.7% of the variance in students' body esteem. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that an intervention program is necessary for women college students to increase their body-esteem.
