Subjective Characteristics of Body Image at Different Stages of Psychosomatic Development

The article presents the results of the body image study at different stages of psychosomatic development: in adolescence and youth. The study involved 60 girls aged from 13 to 14 and 34 girls aged from 19 to 20. For the data collection we used the questionnaire and projective techniques, such as "Life Dynamics of Satisfaction with the External Image" by Elena V. Belugina, the method "My body" by K.N. Belogay, the projective technique "Self-portrait", the method "Body Image", the questionnaires "Verbal Commentary on Physical Appearance Scale" and "The 34-item Body Shape Questionnaire". All participants of the study also filled out a questionnaire aimed at obtaining information on height, weight, features of the menstrual cycle, their own attitude to the body, the attitude to the body of significant people and their way of life. We also asked to assess the percentage of compliance of their body with their own ideals and standards accepted in society. The groups of girls surveyed demonstrate "normative discontent" with their bodies. Most girls are characterized by a low degree of the body acceptance, a significant gap between the images of a real and ideal body. Appraisals of appearance, functional characteristics of the body, its acceptance are connected both with external standards, and with the internal standards of adolescents. At the same time, these and other standards are closely linked with each other. The acceptance of the body is interlinked with how, in the opinion of the girls, it perceives their mothers. The body image of older girls is interconnected with external standards and feedback, which girls receive from others, including significant others - father, mother, or a partner. External and internal standards in this group are also linked to each other. Concerns about the body shape are more connected with the assessments that, according to the girls, their fathers give them. Comparing the body image of girls in different age periods, we find similar parameters in the body's acceptance, only the evaluation of the appearance and functional characteristics of the body increases in girls with age. And the body image becomes somewhat more integrated to 19-20 years compared with the beginning of adolescence. The use of the "34-item Body Shape Questionnaire" and "Verbal Commentary on Physical Appearance Scale" techniques in the Russian-language sample demonstrated that the method scales are positively correlated. These methods have made it possible to differentiate the risk group with regard to restrictive eating behavior. When filling out the "Comments on appearance" methodology, Russian girls notice significantly fewer comments compared to American ones. Perhaps for a Russian-language sample, you need to pick up meaningfully other comments, based on the options offered by the participants themselves.

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