Positive body image linked to better life satisfaction
Largest study of its kind also finds people in rural areas appreciate their bodies more
- Date:
- September 5, 2023
- Source:
- Anglia Ruskin University
- Summary:
- A major international study, involving 56,968 participants in 65 nations, has found that positive body image is strongly associated with better psychological wellbeing and life satisfaction. It also found that body appreciation is higher in those who are single and those living in rural areas. Amongst the 65 nations, Australia followed by India and then the United Kingdom recorded the lowest scores, while Malta scored highest.
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Having more positive body image is strongly associated with better psychological wellbeing and life satisfaction, according to a new study led by Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) in England.
Published in the journal Body Image, the research is one of the largest studies ever conducted on the topic of body image, involving 56,968 participants in 65 nations.
The research was focused on 'body appreciation', defined as "accepting, holding favourable opinions toward, and respecting the body, while also rejecting media-promoted appearance ideals as the only form of human beauty."
Previous research has shown that high levels of body appreciation are linked to a range of positive wellbeing traits such as improved self-esteem and healthy eating habits, and negatively associated with issues such as depression and anxiety. However, few studies have assessed body appreciation across nations.
Led by researchers from Anglia Ruskin University (ARU), a consortium of scientists asked participants in 65 nations to complete the Body Appreciation Scale-2 (BAS-2), which contains 10 items, including 'I respect my body' and 'I appreciate the different and unique characteristics of my body'.
The study found that across nations, greater body appreciation was significantly associated with higher psychological wellbeing, as assessed using a measure of life satisfaction. The researchers also found that body appreciation was higher in participants who were single (compared with being married or in a committed relationship) and those living in rural areas.
The study also found large differences in body appreciation scores across the 65 survey nations. The lowest scores were recorded by Australia, followed by India and then the United Kingdom. At the other end of the scale, Malta scored highest.
Viren Swami, Professor of Social Psychology at Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) and lead author of the study, said: "This is one of the largest studies on body image ever carried out, brought about by a collaborative research effort involving over 250 scientists across the world. Our finding that greater body appreciation is associated with better psychological wellbeing highlights the importance of developing ways to promote more positive body image globally.
"Also, people who live in urban areas may feel stronger pressure to conform to body ideals promoted by Western society, and it is also notable that people from countries considered culturally different to the United States appeared to have broadly greater body appreciation. People in rural areas may also benefit from being in nature, which past research has also shown to be linked with positive body image.
Story Source:
Materials provided by Anglia Ruskin University. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.
Journal Reference:
- Viren Swami, Ulrich S. Tran, Stefan Stieger, Toivo Aavik, Hamed Abdollahpour Ranjbar, Sulaiman Olanrewaju Adebayo, Reza Afhami, Oli Ahmed, Annie Aimé, Marwan Akel, Hussam Al Halbusi, George Alexias, Khawla F. Ali, Nursel Alp-Dal, Anas B. Alsalhani, Sara Álvares-Solas, Ana Carolina Soares Amaral, Sonny Andrianto, Trefor Aspden, Marios Argyrides, John Jamir Benzon R. Aruta, Stephen Atkin, Olusola Ayandele, Migle Baceviciene, Radvan Bahbouh, Andrea Ballesio, David Barron, Ashleigh Bellard, Sóley Sesselja Bender, Kerime Derya Beydağ, Gorana Birovljević, Marie-Ève Blackburn, Teresita Borja-Alvarez, Joanna Borowiec, Miroslava Bozogáňová, Solfrid Bratland-Sanda, Matthew H.E.M. Browning, Anna Brytek-Matera, Marina Burakova, Yeliz Çakır-Koçak, Pablo Camacho, Vittorio Emanuele Camilleri, Valentina Cazzato, Silvia Cerea, Apitchaya Chaiwutikornwanich, Trawin Chaleeraktrakoon, Tim Chambers, Qing-Wei Chen, Xin Chen, Chin-Lung Chien, Phatthanakit Chobthamkit, Bovornpot Choompunuch, Emilio J. Compte, Jennifer Corrigan, Getrude Cosmas, Richard G. Cowden, Kamila Czepczor-Bernat, Marcin Czub, Wanderson Roberto da Silva, Mahboubeh Dadfar, Simon E. Dalley, Lionel Dany, Jesus Alfonso D. Datu, Pedro Henrique Berbert de Carvalho, Gabriel Lins de Holanda Coelho, Avila Odia S. De Jesus, Sonia Harzallah Debbabi, Sandesh Dhakal, Francesca Di Bernardo, Donka D. Dimitrova, Jacinthe Dion, Barnaby Dixson, Stacey M. Donofrio, Marius Drysch, Hongfei Du, Angel M. Dzhambov, Claire El-Jor, Violeta Enea, Mehmet Eskin, Farinaz Farbod, Lorleen Farrugia, Leonie Fian, Maryanne L. Fisher, Michał Folwarczny, David A. Frederick, Matthew Fuller-Tyszkiewicz, Adrian Furnham, Antonio Alías García, Shulamit Geller, Marta Ghisi, Alireza Ghorbani, Maria Angeles Gomez Martinez, Sarah Gradidge, Sylvie Graf, Caterina Grano, Gyöngyvér Gyene, Souheil Hallit, Motasem Hamdan, Jonathan E. Handelzalts, Paul H.P. Hanel, Steven R. Hawks, Issa Hekmati, Mai Helmy, Tetiana Hill, Farah Hina, Geraldine Holenweger, Martina Hřebíčková, Olasupo Augustine Ijabadeniyi, Asma Imam, Başak İnce, Natalia Irrazabal, Rasa Jankauskiene, Ding-Yu Jiang, Micaela Jiménez-Borja, Verónica Jiménez-Borja, Evan M. Johnson, Veljko Jovanović, Marija Jović, Marko Jović, Alessandra Costa Pereira Junqueira, Lisa-Marie Kahle, Adam Kantanista, Ahmet Karakiraz, Ayşe Nur Karkin, Erich Kasten, Salam Khatib, Nuannut Khieowan, Patricia Joseph Kimong, Litza Kiropoulos, Joshua Knittel, Neena Kohli, Mirjam Koprivnik, Aituar Kospakov, Magdalena Król-Zielińska, Isabel Krug, Garry Kuan, Yee Cheng Kueh, Omar Kujan, Miljana Kukić, Sanjay Kumar, Vipul Kumar, Nishtha Lamba, Mary Anne Lauri, Maria Fernanda Laus, Liza April LeBlanc, Hyejoo J. Lee, Małgorzata Lipowska, Mariusz Lipowski, Caterina Lombardo, Andrea Lukács, Christophe Maïano, Sadia Malik, Mandar Manjary, Lidia Márquez Baldó, Martha Martinez-Banfi, Karlijn Massar, Camila Matera, Olivia McAnirlin, Moisés Roberto Mebarak, Anwar Mechri, Juliana Fernandes Filgueiras Meireles, Norbert Mesko, Jacqueline Mills, Maya Miyairi, Ritu Modi, Adriana Modrzejewska, Justyna Modrzejewska, Kate E. Mulgrew, Taryn A. Myers, Hikari Namatame, Mohammad Zakaria Nassani, Amanda Nerini, Félix Neto, Joana Neto, Angela Noguiera Neves, Siu-Kuen Ng, Devi Nithiya, Jiaqing O, Sahar Obeid, Camila Oda-Montecinos, Peter Olamakinde Olapegba, Tosin Tunrayo Olonisakin, Salma Samir Omar, Brynja Örlygsdóttir, Emrah Özsoy, Tobias Otterbring, Sabine Pahl, Maria Serena Panasiti, Yonguk Park, Muhammad Mainuddin Patwary, Tatiana Pethö, Nadezhda Petrova, Jakob Pietschnig, Sadaf Pourmahmoud, Vishnunarayan Girishan Prabhu, Vita Poštuvan, Pavol Prokop, Virginia L. Ramseyer Winter, Magdalena Razmus, Taotao Ru, Mirjana Rupar, Reza N. Sahlan, Mohammad Salah Hassan, Anđela Šalov, Saphal Sapkota, Jacob Owusu Sarfo, Yoko Sawamiya, Katrin Schaefer, Michael Schulte-Mecklenbeck, Veya Seekis, Kerim Selvi, Mehdi Sharifi, Anita Shrivastava, Rumana Ferdousi Siddique, Valdimar Sigurdsson, Vineta Silkane, Ana Šimunić, Govind Singh, Alena Slezáčková, Christine Sundgot-Borgen, Gill Ten Hoor, Passagorn Tevichapong, Arun Tipandjan, Jennifer Todd, Constantinos Togas, Fernando Tonini, Juan Camilo Tovar-Castro, Lise Katrine Jepsen Trangsrud, Pankaj Tripathi, Otilia Tudorel, Tracy L. Tylka, Anar Uyzbayeva, Zahir Vally, Edmunds Vanags, Luis Diego Vega, Aitor Vicente-Arruebarrena, Jose Vidal-Mollón, Roosevelt Vilar, Hyxia Villegas, Mona Vintilă, Christoph Wallner, Mathew P. White, Simon Whitebridge, Sonja Windhager, Kah Yan Wong, Eric Kenson Yau, Yuko Yamamiya, Victoria Wai Lan Yeung, Marcelo Callegari Zanetti, Magdalena Zawisza, Nadine Zeeni, Martina Zvaríková, Martin Voracek. Body appreciation around the world: Measurement invariance of the Body Appreciation Scale-2 (BAS-2) across 65 nations, 40 languages, gender identities, and age. Body Image, 2023; 46: 449 DOI: 10.1016/j.bodyim.2023.07.010
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