Date of Graduation
5-2019
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Science in Human Environmental Sciences
Degree Level
Undergraduate
Department
Human Development, Family Sciences and Rural Sociology
Advisor/Mentor
Becnel, Jennifer
Committee Member/Reader
Williams, Amanda
Committee Member/Second Reader
Jozkowski, Kristen
Abstract
Emerging adulthood is a developmental period in which college-aged individuals have greater risk for lower self-esteem and more issues with body image. Emerging adulthood is also a time where weight gain is likely to happen and weight is linked to experiences of weight stigma. This study sought to examine the associations between body image, self-esteem, weight, and weight stigma in male and female college students of healthy weight and excess weight. Findings suggest there are strong associations between issues with body image, low self-esteem, and weight stigma among females and males. Further, regardless of weight status, correlations between body image, self-esteem, and weight stigma associations were the same direction and of similar magnitude. Finally, this study found that weight stigma significantly mediated the relationship between body mass index and self-esteem.
Citation
Smith, C. (2019). Body Image, Self-Esteem, Weight, and Weight Stigma In Male and Female College Students. Human Development and Family Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses Retrieved from https://scholarworks.uark.edu/hdfsrsuht/4