FAMILY, SELF, AND SOCIOCULTURAL CONTRIBUTIONS TO BODY-IMAGE ATTITUDESOF AFRICAN-AMERICAN WOMEN

This study examined factors that influenced body-image attitudes of 90 African-American college women. Participants completed two instrument s assessing body image attitudes and measures of social self-esteem, r acial identity attitudes, and family and personal characteristics. Dat a analyses indicated that self and sociocultural variables were associ ated with evaluations of physical appearance, fitness, and investment in health. Dissatisfaction with the total body was predicted with fami ly variables, whereas family and self variables were related to satisf action with body areas. Fathers' education; body mass and fathers' edu cation; body mass and social self-esteem; internalization of racial at titudes; and social self-esteem best predicted body areas satisfaction , appearance evaluation, fitness evaluation, and health orientation, r espectively. Implications for the divergence/convergence of subjective measures of body image are discussed and suggestions offered for futu re studies.