Sex Roles, Vol. 52, Nos.

7/8, April 2005 (

C 2005)

DOI: 10.1007/s11199-005-3712-z

Relationships Between Men’s and Women’s Body Image and

Their Psychological, Social, and Sexual Functioning

Tanya E. Davison1 and Marita P. McCabe1,2

This study was designed to examine the relationships between different aspects of body im-
age and psychological, social, and sexual functioning throughout adulthood. The respondents
were 211 men and 226 women (age range 18–86 years; mean = 42.26). Respondents com-
pleted measures of self-rated attractiveness, body satisfaction, body image importance, body
image behaviors, appearance comparison, social physique anxiety, self-esteem, depression,
anxiety, and social and sexual functioning. Body image was associated with self-esteem for
all groups, but was unrelated to other aspects of psychological, social, and sexual functioning.
There were some exceptions; a disturbance in body image was related to problematic social
and sexual functioning among middle-aged men and to depression and anxiety symptoms in
late adulthood among men and women. Middle-aged men who presented with the type of
body image disturbance typical of women were more likely to have impaired interpersonal
functioning. These results demonstrate that social aspects of body image appear to be impor-
tant in understanding psychological functioning in later life.

KEY WORDS: body image; gender differences; developmental differences; psychological functioning;
social functioning; sexual functioning.

The term body image is typically used to refer
to perceptions and attitudes individuals hold about
their bodies, although some authors argue that body
image is a broader term, which encompasses behav-
ioral aspects, such as weight loss attempts, and other
indicators of investment in appearance (Banfield &
McCabe, 2002). Women are generally considered to
hold a more negative body image than men (Feingold
& Mazzella, 1998). As a result, body dissatisfaction
among women has been labeled a “normative discon-
tent” (Rodin, Silberstein, & Striegel-Moore, 1985).
However, through the use of gender-sensitive instru-
ments that conceptualize body image concerns in
terms of a desire to gain muscle, as well as to lose
weight, previous beliefs that men are largely resilient
to concerns about their appearance have been chal-
lenged, and there is now considerable evidence to
1 School
of Psychology, Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia.
2 Towhom correspondence should be addressed at School of Psy-
chology, Deakin University, 221 Burwood Highway, Burwood,
Victoria 3125, Australia; e-mail: maritam@deakin.edu.au.
suggest that young men are also dissatisfied with their
bodies (Abell & Richards, 1996; Drewnowski & Yee,
1987).
A broad conceptualization of body image may
prove important in understanding the nature of the
construct among men, who appear to be less in-
clined than women to report holding negative atti-
tudes toward their bodies, but do report a strong
motivation to improve the appearance of their bod-
ies (Davison, 2002). It may also be helpful to con-
sider body image broadly when investigating its role
throughout adulthood. Although the majority of re-
search is limited to college samples, body image con-
cerns appear to extend into later life (Montepare,
1996), and different age-related changes have been
found among both men and women (Halliwell &
Dittmar, 2003; Harmatz, Gronendyke, & Thomas,
1985). However, few researchers have systematically
explored the development of different aspects of
body image throughout the period of adulthood.
Although there has been a large body of re-
search on the prevalence of body image concerns and

463 0360-0025/05/0400-0463/0

C 2005 Springer Science+Business Media, Inc.
464
potential factors associated with the development of
body image, few researchers have systematically in-
vestigated the role body image plays in the day-to-
day lives of individuals, beyond disturbed eating be-
haviors. In the present study we addressed this gap
by exploring the association between body image and
psychological, social, and sexual functioning among
adult men and women. An innovative aspect of this
study is the conceptualization of body image from
a number of different aspects, making use of multi-
ple gender-sensitive instruments, in order to under-
stand the differential roles played by various aspects
of body image. In addition, this study extends our un-
derstanding of the role of body image for adult men
and women throughout the community, rather than
focusing only on college students.
The associations between a disturbance in body
image and psychological, social, and sexual dysfunc-
tion for different populations are currently not well
understood. Previous researchers have demonstrated
a relationship between body image and self-esteem
among women in early adulthood (Abell & Richards,
1996; Monteath & McCabe, 1997) and in later years
(Paxton & Phythian, 1999). This has led some
authors to conceptualize women’s body image as a
component of a multidimensional global self-esteem
(Marsh, 1997; O’Brien & Epstein, 1988). There are
also preliminary indications that young women who
report dissatisfaction with their physiques are at a
greater risk of experiencing symptoms of depression
or anxiety (Koenig & Wasserman, 1995; Mintz &
Betz, 1986), although this relationship is less well
understood among older women. There are inconsis-
tencies in the literature, however, and it appears that
results may be dependent on the particular aspect
of body image measured. For example, self-esteem
has been found to be unrelated to weight concerns
among young women (Silberstein, Striegel-Moore,
Timko, & Rodin, 1986), but strongly related to over-
all physical appearance (Harter, 1999). Researchers
have not previously attempted to determine system-
atically which body image measures are most closely
associated with different facets of psychological
functioning. The importance of body image for the
psychological functioning of men is particularly un-
clear, as inconsistent findings among young men stem
in part from the use of different instruments, which
vary in their sensitivity to measure aspects of body
image most relevant to the lives of men. Of particular
concern is the absence of research on the relationship
between body image and self-esteem, depression,
and anxiety among men from the general population.
Davison and McCabe
A gap also exists in our knowledge of whether
a disturbance in body image is relevant to inter-
personal functioning. In the 1960s and 1970s, so-
cial psychologists demonstrated the positive impact
of being considered physically attractive by oth-
ers on desirability as a potential dating or roman-
tic partner (Berscheid, Dion, Walster, & Walster,
1971; Walster, Aronson, & Abrahams, 1966). Less
commonly researched, however, are the social im-
plications of an individual’s own rating of his or
her attractiveness or other aspects of body image.
There are preliminary indications in research with
college students of an association between being con-
cerned about one’s appearance and impaired social
functioning. College students who perceive them-
selves as unattractive have been shown to be more
likely to avoid cross-sex interactions (Mitchell &
Orr, 1976), to engage in less intimate social inter-
actions with members of the same and other sex
(Nezlek, 1988), and to experience higher levels of
social anxiety (Feingold, 1992). Negative body im-
age may also be related to problematic sexual func-
tioning. Researchers have found that college stu-
dents with poor views of their bodies are more
likely than others to avoid sexual activities (Faith
& Schare, 1993), to perceive themselves as unskilled
sexual partners (Holmes, Chamberlin, & Young,
1994), and to report dissatisfaction with their sex
lives (Hoyt & Kogan, 2001). However, other re-
searchers have failed to find a relationship between
body image and sexual functioning; Wiederman
and Hurst (1997), for example, suggested that
sexuality was related to objective attractiveness
among women, but not to self-ratings of their
appearance.
Remarkably few researchers have made explicit
reference to the social context when investigating
body image, which has resulted in the impression
that body image evaluations and behaviors occur in
social isolation. Recently, however, there is a grow-
ing awareness of the social nature of body image
among female college students through their engage-
ment in comparisons of their own appearance with
that of others; such comparisons appear to be as-
sociated with negative evaluations of their bodies
(Stormer & Thompson, 1996; Thompson, Heinberg,
& Tantleff, 1991). In addition, researchers have
found that a concern about others evaluating one’s
body negatively, a variable termed social physique
anxiety, is related to low levels of body satisfac-
tion (Hart, Leary, & Rejeski, 1989). This suggests
that evaluations individuals make of their bodies
Adult Body Image
are related to the evaluations that they expect oth-
ers may make. However, the relative importance
of social aspects of body image compared to indi-
vidual aspects of body image evaluations and re-
lated behaviors has not been examined. It is cur-
rently unclear whether being dissatisfied with one’s
physique, considering oneself unattractive, rating
one’s appearance as important, applying effort to im-
prove or conceal one’s body, appearance compar-
isons, or social physique anxiety are of greatest rel-
evance to people’s psychological, social, and sexual
functioning.
There are a number of other limitations in the
literature. Few researchers have examined a range of
body image constructs in order to understand which
aspects of body image are most relevant to par-
ticular psychological, social, and sexual functioning
variables. The diversity of different evaluative and
behavioral body image constructs may account for
some of the inconsistent research findings. Past re-
search has also primarily focused on college students,
typically women; very few studies have included par-
ticipants from the general community. As a conse-
quence, conclusions about the role of body image in
the lives of men and women cannot be made. The
relevance of body image may vary with age and gen-
der, although researchers have previously failed to
address this question.
The present study was designed to investigate
systematically the role of body image in the lives
of men and women throughout adulthood. A cross-
sectional design was employed, due to the practicali-
ties of obtaining a sample large enough to consider
body image separately among men and women of
different age groups. The lack of previous research
in this area supports the contribution made by ex-
ploratory designs of this kind. Multiple measures of
body image, including evaluative, investment, and
social aspects, were compared, in order to deter-
mine which aspects of body image were most strongly
predictive of psychological (i.e., self-esteem, depres-
sion, anxiety), social (i.e., relations with members
of the same and other sex, social anxiety), and sex-
ual (i.e., sexual optimism, sexual self-efficacy, sex-
ual satisfaction) functioning. It was hypothesized that
negative body image would be associated with poor
functioning in these areas. Stronger relationships be-
tween body image and psychological, social, and sex-
ual functioning were expected for women, and for
younger participants, given the emphasis in the lit-
erature on the importance of body image for these
groups.
465
METHOD
Participants
The participants were 211 men and 226 women,
who ranged in age from 18 to 86 years (M = 42.26
years, SD = 17.11). This age range was divided into
three groups, and each participant was assigned to
one of the following age groups: young adulthood,
18–29 years (n = 129), middle adulthood, 30–49
years (n = 153), and late adulthood, 50–86 years
(n = 145). This division was carried out to create
equal groups to meet the requirements of parametric
statistical analyses. Reported occupations and postal
addresses suggest that participants represented a
wide range of socioeconomic backgrounds from
metropolitan and rural areas. Over 80% of partici-
pants indicated they were originally from Australia;
the remainder were predominantly from Western
European countries. Nearly all (95.78%) participants
identified themselves as heterosexual, and over 70%
were in current relationships. The weight and height
of the sample corresponded well with national Aus-
tralian data for men and women (Australian Bureau
of Statistics, 1998). These data are documented for
men and women, and each age group separately in
Table I.
Materials
Body Image Measures
Participants completed two subscales from
the Body Image and Body Change Questionnaire
(Ricciardelli & McCabe, 2001) that are related to
Body Image Satisfaction and Body Image Impor-
tance. Each scale contained 10 items. An example
item of body image satisfaction is “How satisfied are
you with your weight?,” and an example item of
body image importance is “How important to you
is the shape of your body, compared to other things
in your life?” Responses were on a 5-point Likert
scale from 1 = extremely dissatisfied/unimportant to
5 = extremely satisfied/important. Scores on each
scale ranged from 10 to 50; a high score represents
a high level of satisfaction with the body or a rat-
ing of appearance as highly important. These scales
emerged from both exploratory and confirmatory
factor analysis, and they have demonstrated high
levels of internal consistency, satisfactory test-retest
reliability, and concurrent and discriminant validity
466
Table I. Height, Weight, and BMI by Gender and Age Group
Height (cm)
Age group M SD
Women
18–29 165.24 7.26
30–49 164.28 7.42
50–86 162.54 7.56
Overall 164.00 7.44
Men
18–29 179.68 8.03
30–49 180.15 7.22
50–86 175.69 7.66
Overall 178.34 7.87
in previous studies with adolescents (Ricciardelli &
McCabe, 2001). In the present sample, internal re-
liability (Cronbach’s alpha) for each scale was high
among both women and men (α > .90).
Participants rated their physical attractiveness
using a scale specifically designed for this study, the
Physical Attractiveness Scale, which measures how
attractive they perceived themselves, for example,
in terms of general appearance, facial attractive-
ness, and sexual attractiveness. This scale contains six
items, an example of which is “Compared to other
men, I am . . . ” Participants responded on a 5-point
Likert scale from 1 = extremely unattractive to 5 =
extremely attractive. Scores ranged from 6 to 30; a
high score indicates a high self-rating of attractive-
ness. Internal reliability was high among both men
and women (α > .90).
Two body image behaviors, body concealment
(the tendency to conceal one’s body from the gaze of
others and to avoid discussion about body size and
shape) and body improvement (engagement in at-
tempts to improve one’s body), were assessed using
an instrument constructed for this study, the Body
Image Behavior Scales. Items were derived in part
from two extant instruments, the Body Image Avoid-
ance Questionnaire (Rosen, Srebnik, Saltzberg, &
Wendt, 1991) and the Attention to Body Shape
Scale (Beebe, 1995), which were selected through ex-
ploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. The Body
Concealment Scale consists of five items, an example
item of which is “I avoid wearing ‘revealing’ clothes,
like shorts or bathing suits.” The Body Improvement
Scale consists of three items, an example of which is
“I exercise in order to get a better body.” Participants
responded on a 6-point Likert scale from 1 = never
to 6 = always. Scores on the body concealment scale
ranged from 5 to 30; a high score indicates a high en-
gagement in attempts to conceal the body. Scores on
Davison and McCabe
Weight (kg) Body mass index (BMI)
M SD M SD
63.08 12.01 23.24 4.35
71.32 17.28 26.43 6.23
69.72 13.29 26.46 5.22
68.63 15.13 25.60 5.63
74.87 12.48 23.18 3.55
83.72 14.14 25.75 3.84
82.26 12.66 26.75 3.30
79.84 13.56 25.13 3.86
the body improvement scale ranged from 3 to 18; a
high score indicates a high engagement in attempts to
improve the body. Internal reliability for each scale
was high among both men and women (α > .80).
Concern about others evaluating one’s body was
assessed using the Social Physique Anxiety Scale
(Hart et al., 1989). This scale contains 12 items, an
example of which is “In the presence of others, I
feel apprehensive about my physique/figure.” Fol-
lowing the recommendation of Eklund, Kelley, and
Wilson (1997), item 2 was modified (to improve per-
formance) to “I worry about wearing clothes that
might make me look too thin or overweight.” Par-
ticipants rated how true each of the items were using
a 5-point Likert scale, from 1 = not at all true to 5 =
extremely true. Scores ranged from 12 to 60; a high
score indicates a high level of concern about others
evaluating one’s body (the responses to some items
were reverse scored). Internal and test-retest relia-
bility have been found to be adequate with a number
of adult samples (Hart et al., 1989; Martin, Rejeski,
Leary, McAuley, & Bane, 1997; Motl & Conroy,
2000; Petrie, Diehl, Rogers, & Johnson, 1996). Inter-
nal reliability was high among both men and women
in the present sample (α > .80).
Participants indicated their level of appearance
comparison by completing the Physical Appearance
Comparison Scale (Thompson et al., 1991). This scale
contains five items, an example of which is “At par-
ties or other social events, I compare my physical ap-
pearance to the physical appearance of others.” Re-
sponses were made on a 5-point Likert scale, from
1 = never to 5 = always. Scores ranged from 5 to
25; a high score indicates a strong tendency to com-
pare one’s own appearance with that of others. Al-
though psychometric characteristics were found to be
adequate with a university sample (Thompson et al.,
1991), item 4 correlated with others at a low level
Adult Body Image 467

in the present community sample (squared multiple example of which is “It takes me time to get over
correlation <.05). Therefore, this item was excluded my shyness in new situations.” Responses were made
from the composite variable, which resulted in an on a 4-point Likert scale, from 1 = not at all like me
acceptable level of internal reliability among men to 4 = a lot like me. Scores ranged from 6 to 24; a
(α > .70) and women (α > .80). high score represents a high level of social anxiety
(the responses to one item were reverse scored). The
revised Self-Consciousness Scale has demonstrated
Psychological Functioning Measures
good psychometric properties with samples from the
general population (Scheier & Carver, 1985). Inter-
Participants completed the Rosenberg Self-
nal reliability was moderate among men (α > .70)
Esteem Scale (Rosenberg, 1965). This scale contains
and high among women (α > .80) in the present
10 items, an example of which is “I feel that I have
study.
a number of good qualities.” Responses were made
Social functioning was also assessed by the
on a 4-point Likert scale, from 1 = strongly disagree
Same-Sex Relations and Opposite-Sex Relations
to 4 = strongly agree. Scores ranged from 4 to 40; a
subscales of the Self-Description Questionnaire III
high score indicates high self-esteem (the responses
(Marsh, 1989). Each subscale contains 10 items. An
to some items were reverse scored). This instrument
example of same-sex relations is “I have few friends
has been widely used in research, and has demon-
of the same sex that I can really count on,” and an
strated good psychometric properties (Rosenberg,
example of opposite-sex relations is “I make friends
1979). Internal reliability was high among both men
easily with members of the opposite sex.” Responses
and women in the present sample (α > .80).
to each subscale were made on an 8-point Likert
Participants also completed two subscales from
scale, from 1 = definitely false to 8 = definitely true.
the Depression Anxiety Stress Sub Scales (Lovibond
Scores ranged from 10 to 80; a high score indicates
& Lovibond, 1995). The Depression Scale contains
positive same-sex or opposite-sex relations (the re-
14 items related to symptoms of depression, an ex-
sponses to some items were reverse scored). These
ample of which is “I felt downhearted and blue.” The
subscales have been found to have adequate inter-
Anxiety Scale contains 14 items related to symptoms
nal consistency and reliability in previous studies
of anxiety, an example of which is “I felt I was close
(Marsh, 1989), and internal reliability for each scale
to panic.” Participants were asked to indicate the
was high among both men and women in the present
extent to which they had experienced each symptom
study (α > .80).
over the previous week. Responses were made on
a 4-point Likert scale from 0 = did not apply to me
to 3 = applied to me very much or most of the time.
Sexual Functioning Measures
Scores on each scale ranged from 0 to 42; a high
score indicates a high level of depression or anxiety.
Sexual functioning was measured with three
These subscales are reliable measures of negative af-
subscales from the Multidimensional Sexual Self-
fective states among nonclinical college populations
Concept Questionnaire (Snell, 1995). The Sexual
(Lovibond & Lovibond, 1995). Minor modifications
Self-Efficacy Scale contains five items, an example of
were made to four items to improve comprehension
which is “I have the ability to take care of any sexual
in a community sample, with the aim of retaining
needs and desires that I may have.” The Sexual Opti-
the original meaning of items. To illustrate, the item
mism Scale contains five items, an example of which
“I found it difficult to work up the initiative to do
is “I expect that the sexual aspects of my life will
things” was modified to “I found it difficult to work
be positive and rewarding in the future.” The Sexual
up the energy to do things.” Internal reliability for
Satisfaction Scale contains five items, an example of
each scale was high among both men and women
which is “I am satisfied with the way my sexual needs
(α > .90) in the present study.
are currently being met.” Responses to items on each
scale were made on a 5-point Likert scale from 1 =
Social Functioning Measures not at all true to 5 = very true. Scores on each scale
ranged from 5 to 25; a high score represents a high
Participants completed the social anxiety factor level of the construct—high sexual self-efficacy, high
of the revised Self-Consciousness Scale (Scheier & sexual optimism, and high sexual satisfaction (the re-
Carver, 1985). This subscale contains six items, an sponses to some items were reverse scored). Internal
468
consistency of the scales has previously been found
to be high, and research has produced reasonable ev-
idence for their validity (Snell, 2001). Internal relia-
bility for each scale was high among both men and
women (α > .80) in the present study.
Procedure
Participants were recruited from the general
community; they were selected at random from the
White Pages telephone directory of metropolitan
Melbourne and a variety of rural areas in Victoria,
Australia. Questionnaires were distributed by mail
to individuals who agreed to participate, and were
completed at home and returned via mail to the re-
searchers. A total of 157 individuals indicated they
did not want to participate in the study and received
no further contact from the researchers. Of the 720
questionnaires distributed, 437 were returned, which
resulted in a response rate of 60.69% among those
who agreed to receive a questionnaire, and an over-
all response rate of 49.83% among those contacted.
There was no incentive provided for individuals to
participate in the study, and responses were anony-
mous. Completion of the questionnaire took approx-
imately 20–30 min.
RESULTS
In order to address the hypotheses outlined
earlier, multivariate analyses of variance were con-
ducted to determine the nature of sex and age differ-
ences in body image. Regression analyses were then
conducted to determine which aspects of body image
(if any) predicted the psychological, social, and sex-
ual functioning of both men and women in each age
group. Because of the number of analyses being con-
ducted p < .01 was used to define significant results
(Coakes & Steed, 1999).
Gender and Age Differences in Body Image
Differences in body image between men and
women and among the different age groups were
examined using a 2-way MANOVA, after control-
ling for the effects of Body Mass Index (BMI). In-
dependent variables were gender and age group,
and dependent variables were physical attractive-
ness, body image satisfaction, body image impor-
Davison and McCabe
tance, body concealment, body improvement, so-
cial physique anxiety, and appearance comparison.
Body image was found to be significantly different
for men and women, F (7, 368) = 22.48, p < .001, and
for different age groups, F (14, 738) = 6.00, p < .001.
There was no significant interaction effect. The uni-
variate F-tests for each dependent variable were ex-
amined in order to determine which body image
variables contributed to the significant multivariate
effects.
Women reported a lower level of body im-
age satisfaction, F (1, 381) = 35.92, p < .001, and a
higher level of social physique anxiety, F (1, 381) =
64.87, p < .001, than men did (see Table II). Women
also reported concealing their bodies more fre-
quently than men did, F (1, 381) = 130.38, p < .001,
and they were more likely than men to engage in ap-
pearance comparisons, F (1, 381) = 25.61, p < .001.
However, there were no differences between men
and women in their ratings of physical attractiveness,
body image importance, or level of engagement in ef-
forts to improve their bodies.
After we controlled for the effects of BMI, we
found significant differences between age groups in
body image satisfaction, F (2, 381) = 11.74, p < .001,
and body concealment, F (2, 381) = 5.52, p < .01;
men and women in their 30s and 40s reported lower
satisfaction with their bodies, and more frequent
attempts to conceal their bodies, than did other
participants (see Table II). Social physique anxiety
scores also differed significantly between age groups,
F (2, 381) = 18.97, p < .001; individuals in late
adulthood reported a lower level of concern about
others evaluating their bodies than did the younger
participants. In addition, level of engagement in ap-
pearance comparison differed significantly between
age groups, F (2, 381) = 12.34, p < .001; individuals
in late adulthood were less likely than others to
make appearance comparisons. Ratings of physical
attractiveness, body image importance, and body
improvement did not differ significantly between
participants of different age groups.
Relationships Between Body Image and
Psychological, Social, and Sexual Functioning
Hierarchical multiple regression analyses were
conducted in order to determine which aspects of
body image most strongly predicted each psychologi-
cal (i.e., self-esteem, depression, anxiety), social (i.e.,
same-sex relations, opposite-sex relations, social anx-
iety), and sexual functioning (i.e., sexual self-efficacy,
 Adult Body Image

Table II. Body Image Scores by Gender and Age Group

Physical attractiveness Body image satisfaction Body image importance Body concealment Body improvement Social physique anxiety Appearance comparison

Group M SD M SD M SD M SD M SD M SD M SD
Gender
Women 18.57 3.51 31.23 8.56 32.00 7.44 15.40 5.72 9.22 3.74 34.50 9.46 10.98 3.29
Men 18.51 3.57 35.46 7.21 30.94 7.61 9.77 4.73 8.70 3.70 27.68 8.11 9.17 3.35
Age
18–29 19.80 3.68 33.41 7.56 30.83 7.93 12.12 5.12 9.40 3.41 32.47 9.27 11.00 3.48
30–49 18.11 3.49 31.73 8.82 31.60 7.03 14.07 6.39 9.05 3.38 32.92 9.95 10.64 3.25
50–86 18.00 3.24 34.80 7.95 31.93 7.77 11.91 6.07 8.62 3.45 28.25 8.45 8.76 3.18
469
470
Table III. Unique Body Image Predictors From Regression Equations That Significantly Increased the
Prediction of Psychological Functioning at Step 2 Among Men and Women of Different Age Groups
Outcome variable Group
Self-esteem Women 18–29 years
Women 30–49 years
Women 50–86 years
Men 18–29 years
Men 30–49 years
Men 50–86 years
Depression Women 50–86 years
Anxiety Women 50–86 years
Men 50–86 years
sexual optimism, sexual satisfaction) variable. Sepa-
rate analyses were conducted for men and women in
each age group, as it was considered likely that the
relationships would vary with both gender and age.
In order to reduce the large number of independent
body image variables for inclusion in each analysis,
only those variables that significantly correlated with
the dependent variable for each group were entered
into the analysis. It was decided to control for the ef-
fects of self-esteem, depression, anxiety, and BMI, if
they correlated significantly with the dependent vari-
able. In addition, perceived relations with the other
sex were considered as a potential control variable in
analyses to predict sexual functioning. Control vari-
ables were entered as independent variables on the
first step of each analysis, and body image variables
were included as additional independent variables on
the second step. The level of significance is typically
corrected when there are a high number of contrasts.
However, given the exploratory nature of these anal-
yses, it was decided to consider effects significant at
an alpha less than .05.
Results indicated that inclusion of body image
variables at the second step significantly increased
the prediction of self-esteem beyond that predicted
by control variables among men in early adulthood,
F change (5, 55) = 2.88, p < .05, middle adulthood,
F change (4, 50) = 5.36, p < .001, and late adult-
hood, F change (4, 59) = 4.66, p < .01. The unique
body image predictors of high self-esteem were pos-
itive ratings of physical attractiveness and a low rat-
ing of body image importance among men in early
adulthood, a low level of body concealment among
men in middle adulthood, and a low tendency to com-
pare their appearance with others and high body im-
age satisfaction among men in late adulthood (see
Davison and McCabe
Unique body
image predictors sr2
None —
Social physique anxiety .06
Body image importance .05
Physical attractiveness .13
Physical attractiveness .07
Body image importance .07
Body concealment .10
Appearance comparison .08
Body image satisfaction .07
Social physique anxiety .08
None —
Appearance comparison .11
Table III). Body image variables also significantly in-
creased the prediction of self-esteem among women
in early adulthood, F change (3, 50) = 4.60, p < .01,
middle adulthood, F change (6, 84) = 5.41, p < .001,
and late adulthood, F change (3, 56) = 4.37, p < .01.
Although there were no unique body image predic-
tors of self-esteem for women in early adulthood, low
social physique anxiety and a low rating of body im-
age importance predicted self-esteem among women
in middle adulthood, and positive ratings of physi-
cal attractiveness predicted high self-esteem among
women in late adulthood.
Inclusion of body image variables failed signif-
icantly to increase the prediction of depression or
anxiety beyond the effect of control variables among
most groups. However, body image variables entered
at the second step significantly increased the predic-
tion of depression among women in late adulthood,
F change (4, 46) = 4.57, p < .01; high social physique
anxiety acted as a unique body image predictor (see
Table III). Body image variables entered at the sec-
ond step significantly increased the prediction of anx-
iety among men in late adulthood, F change (2, 62) =
6.65, p < .01; a high level of appearance comparison
acted as a unique body image predictor. For the pre-
dictor of anxiety among women in late adulthood, F
change (4, 56) = 4.16, p < .01, although no specific
body image predictor was found to explain unique
variance.
Body image variables significantly increased the
prediction of social anxiety at the second step, be-
yond the effect of control variables, among men in
middle adulthood, F change (2, 52) = 4.54, p < .05;
the unique body image predictor was a high level of
appearance comparison (see Table IV). Inclusion of
body image variables did not significantly increase
Adult Body Image
Table IV. Unique Body Image Predictors From Regression Equations That Significantly Increased the Pre-
diction of Social and Sexual Functioning at Step 2 Among Men and Women of Different Age Groups
Outcome variable Group
Social anxiety Women 50–86 years
Men 30–49 years
Same-sex relations Men 30–49 years
Opposite-sex relations Men 18–29 years
Sexual self-efficacy Men 30–49 years
Sexual satisfaction Men 30–49 years
Sexual optimism Women 30–49 years
Men 30–49 years
the prediction of social anxiety among men in early
or late adulthood, beyond the effect of control vari-
ables. Among women, inclusion of body image vari-
ables significantly increased the prediction of social
anxiety during late adulthood, F change (6, 51) =
3.63, p < .01, but not at other ages. The unique body
image predictors of social anxiety among women in
late adulthood were high social physique anxiety and
a high level of body improvement.
Inclusion of body image variables, entered as
a group at the second step, did not significantly in-
crease the prediction of same-sex relations among
men in early or late adulthood, or among women
of any age group, beyond the effect of control vari-
ables. However, a significant increase in the predic-
tion of same-sex relations was found among men in
middle adulthood, F change (5, 49) = 2.61, p < .05.
Positive same-sex relations were uniquely predicted
by positive ratings of physical attractiveness among
this group (see Table IV). Inclusion of body image
variables at this step significantly increased the pre-
diction of positive cross-sex relations among men in
young adulthood, F change (2, 57) = 4.17, p < .05; a
low level of body concealment acted as a unique body
image predictor, but did not increase the prediction
of cross-sex relations beyond the effect of control
variables among any other group.
Inclusion of body image variables, entered as
a group at the second step, did not significantly in-
crease the prediction of sexual self-efficacy or sex-
ual satisfaction among women in any age group, or
among men in early or late adulthood, beyond the
effect of control variables. Among men in middle
adulthood, however, inclusion of body image vari-
ables significantly increased the prediction of sexual
self-efficacy, F change (5, 46) = 3.69, p < .01, and
sexual satisfaction, F change (4, 49) = 6.27, p < .001;
471
Unique body
image predictors sr2
Social physique anxiety .08
Body improvement .07
Appearance comparison .08
Physical attractiveness .13
Body concealment .09
Body satisfaction .09
Appearance comparison .12
Body concealment .10
Body satisfaction .08
None —
Social physique anxiety .18
high body image satisfaction acted as the unique
body image variable in both instances (see Table IV).
A low tendency to compare their appearance to that
of others and a low level of body concealment also
predicted sexual satisfaction.
The group of body image variables, entered at
the second step, did not significantly increase the pre-
diction of sexual optimism among men or women in
early or late adulthood beyond the effect of control
variables. Inclusion of body image variables signif-
icantly increased the prediction of sexual optimism
among men in middle adulthood, however, F change
(4, 48) = 6.69, p < .001; low social physique anx-
iety acted as a unique body image predictor (see
Table IV). Although body image variables increased
the prediction of sexual optimism as a group among
women in middle adulthood, F change (6, 81) = 2.72,
p < .05, there were no unique body image predictors.
DISCUSSION
In the present study we considered a number
of aspects of body image among men and women
across different stages of adulthood. Body image
concerns were generally found to be more prevalent
among women than men; women reported lower
satisfaction with their bodies and a greater tendency
to conceal their bodies. Women appeared to be more
focused on the social aspects of body image; they
compared their appearance to that of others more
frequently than men did, and they reported higher
levels of social physique anxiety, which indicates that
they were more concerned about others evaluating
their appearance negatively. However, there were
no gender differences in ratings of physical attrac-
tiveness or the perceived importance of appearance
472
in the lives of men and women, and men were just
as likely as women to report engaging in efforts to
improve their bodies.
Body image concerns were relatively consis-
tent throughout adulthood, which supports previous
indications of the high prevalence of body image
concerns among individuals beyond their college-
aged years (Allaz, Bernstein, Rouget, Archinard, &
Morabia, 1998; Ben-Tovim & Walker, 1994; Pliner,
Chaiken, & Flett, 1990). There were some develop-
mental trends, however, as men and women in their
30s and 40s were more vulnerable than other groups
to dissatisfaction with their bodies and engaged in
more attempts to conceal their bodies, for example,
with nonrevealing clothing. This highlights the im-
portance of attending to body image among adults
beyond early adulthood, which is typically consid-
ered the most vulnerable period for body image dis-
turbance. A developmental shift was also apparent in
later years, most particularly in relation to the social
aspects of body image. Although men and women
over 50 years of age tended to make evaluations
of their own appearance that were just as negative
as those of younger participants, and did not per-
ceive their appearance to be any less important than
younger participants did, they reported less concern
about others evaluating their bodies, and they were
less likely to compare their appearance with that of
others.
This exploratory study was designed to examine
the relationships between different aspects of body
image and psychological, social, and sexual function-
ing, rather than simply to document the existence
or prevalence of body image concerns. Previous re-
search, based on correlational analyses, has tended
to conclude that a negative body image is associ-
ated with impaired psychological and interpersonal
functioning. However, we used hierarchical regres-
sion analyses that controlled for the effects of pos-
sible moderator variables (self-esteem, depression,
anxiety, BMI, and cross-sex relations), and found
that body image variables did not contribute to a
unique understanding of psychological, social, and
sexual functioning among most groups.
An exception was found for self-esteem as a de-
pendent variable. Self-esteem was predicted by body
image variables among all groups. There were few
gender differences in the overall strength of the asso-
ciation between body image and self-esteem, a find-
ing that supports a number of previous studies of col-
lege students (e.g., Abell & Richards, 1996; Stowers
& Durm, 1996), but is inconsistent with the conclu-
Davison and McCabe
sions of other researchers (e.g., Tiggemann, 1994)
and the findings from a recent review (Powell &
Hendricks, 1999). In the present study, although men
at all stages of adulthood were less likely than women
to hold a global negative body image, once devel-
oped, a poor body image was as strongly related to
the general self-concept of men as it was of women.
However, the particular aspect of body image most
relevant to self-esteem differed according to age and
gender. For example, physical attractiveness played
an important role among men in early adulthood, but
was more relevant to women’s self-esteem in later
years. Gender differences in the types of body image
variables relevant to self-esteem may explain some
of the inconsistencies in the literature, given that pre-
vious researchers exploring the relationship between
body image and self-esteem have typically employed
a single measure of body image.
The absence of relationships between body im-
age and other aspects of psychological, social, and
sexual functioning among most groups in this study
appears to be best explained by shared relationships
with self-esteem. To illustrate, although depression
and body image variables were generally correlated,
consistent with earlier research (Denniston, Roth,
& Gilroy, 1992; Mable, Balance, & Galgan, 1986;
Sarwer, Wadden, & Foster, 1998), associations were
no longer present among most groups when we con-
trolled for self-esteem. This is a surprising finding,
given the attention paid by researchers to the im-
portance of body image in understanding depression
among women. In contrast to conceptualizations of
body dissatisfaction as either a symptom or source
of depression (Boggiano & Barrett, 1991; Koenig &
Wasserman, 1995; McCarthy, 1990), it may be better
understood in this context as an aspect of self-esteem
(Allgood-Merten, Lewinsohn, & Hops, 1990). Thus,
although men and women with a negative body im-
age were more likely than others to report nega-
tive social and sexual functioning and to experience
symptoms of depression and anxiety, this appeared
to be due to the presence of a negative general self-
concept.
This conclusion is made tentatively, given that
it is contrary to much of the literature, and may be
considered a preliminary finding. However, with the
exception of depression, the relationships between
body image and psychological, social, and sexual
functioning have received little previous empirical in-
vestigation, even among samples of young women. In
the limited research available authors failed to con-
sider the role of self-esteem, with the exception of
Adult Body Image
Allgood-Merten et al. (1990) whose conclusions sup-
port those of the present study. The current method-
ology does not allow for a direct evaluation of the
relationships for men and women of different age
groups, due to limitations in sample sizes. Replica-
tion of the findings is recommended, particularly us-
ing methods of analyses that allow for modeling of re-
lationships, with particular attention paid to the role
of self-esteem. For example, self-esteem may act as
an important mediating factor between body image
and day-to-day functioning.
Of interest in this study is the finding that body
image played a role in psychological functioning
among men and women over 50 years of age, in
contrast to other adults. This was the only group
for whom body image contributed to a unique un-
derstanding of depression and anxiety, beyond the
shared association with self-esteem. Social aspects of
body image were most relevant, as men in late adult-
hood who engaged in a high level of appearance com-
parison reported higher levels of anxiety and self-
esteem than did men who were not concerned about
how they looked in comparison to others. In addi-
tion, women in late adulthood who were highly con-
cerned about how others may evaluate their appear-
ance were more likely than other women their age
to report symptoms of depression and social anxi-
ety. Thus, although in general older men and women
were less concerned about the social aspect of body
image than younger individuals, the minority who did
hold such concerns experienced symptoms of nega-
tive psychological adjustment.
Although body image was found to play a less
important role in social and sexual functioning than
previously proposed, it did appear to have particular
relevance to the social and sexual functioning of
men during middle adulthood, that is, men be-
tween the ages of 30 and 50 years. Men undergo
a number of changes at this stage of their lives,
in their interpersonal relationships, their roles at
work, their families, and also in their physiques. It is
during this developmental period when the negative
physical effects of aging tend to become particularly
apparent; men continue to gain body fat up until the
age of 50 years, particularly around the abdomen
area (Bemben, Massey, Bemben, Boileau, & Misner,
1998). Men do not typically express concerns about
these changes directly, and they report a more pos-
itive body image than similarly aged women, both
in this study and in previous research (Feingold &
Mazzella, 1998). However, it appears that a minority
of men, who present with the type of body image
473
disturbance more typically observed among women,
such as low satisfaction with their appearance, high
social physique anxiety, attempts to conceal their
bodies from others, and a tendency to compare their
appearance to others, are more likely to experience
significant difficulties in their interpersonal func-
tioning, most noticeably in the sexual arena. Social
aspects of body image played a particularly im-
portant role in middle-aged men’s interpersonal
functioning. To illustrate, high social physique anxi-
ety was a particularly strong predictor of low sexual
optimism, which suggests that middle-aged men who
were concerned about others evaluating their bodies
were likely to expect unrewarding future sexual
interactions.
In contrast to the findings with men, women
who expressed dissatisfaction with their bodies, and
women who worried about how they “shaped up” in
comparison with others and how others may perceive
their bodies, experienced relatively few problems in
their psychological, social, or sexual functioning be-
yond poor general self-esteem. The well-established,
normative nature of women’s views of their bod-
ies may result in their body image concerns having
only a limited negative association with other aspects
of women’s lives. This point has been made previ-
ously in relation to women’s views of their sexual-
ity (Wiederman & Hurst, 1997), but can be extended
to include more general psychological and social
functioning.
This research has demonstrated the importance
of considering multiple measures of body image,
given that different measures were associated with
different aspects of psychological, social, and sex-
ual functioning. Social aspects of body image, par-
ticularly concerns about how others may evaluate
one’s body, are a particular area that requires fur-
ther research. The results of the present research
also demonstrated the importance of investigating
the effects of body image separately for men and
women and for different age groups. This is the first
study to demonstrate that body image may play dif-
ferent roles in the lives of different adult popula-
tions. Replication of these findings is required, par-
ticularly in longitudinal research, in order to explore
potential underlying mechanisms to explain the role
of body image in the psychological, social, and sex-
ual functioning of men and women at different stages
of adult development. The current sample was di-
vided into three broad age categories, on the ba-
sis of sample size. Future researchers exploring the
development of body image in adulthood should
474
consider theoretically developed stages of adult de-
velopment when selecting appropriate age categories
to investigate. For example, body image may play a
different role in the lives of adults 50–65 years than
for adults in later years. Smaller, more homogeneous
groups may demonstrate differences in the develop-
ment of body image and highlight specific associa-
tions of body image and day-to-day functioning at
different ages.
This study was limited by the use of correlational
data. Small sample sizes in each group precluded the
use of more sophisticated techniques, such as struc-
tural equation modeling, which may be employed
in future research with larger samples to model re-
lationships between body image and psychological,
social, and sexual functioning variables. An investi-
gation of these relationships was beyond the scope
of this article, and they were not accounted for in
the present analysis, which was focused on under-
standing which specific aspects of body image were
of most relevance to particular aspects of day-to-
day functioning. Future researchers may gainfully
model the nature of the relationships between dif-
ferent aspects of body image for different popula-
tions. It is hoped that increased acknowledgement of
the complexity of the body image construct, partic-
ularly in relation to the varied roles it plays in the
lives of adult men and women, will stimulate fur-
ther theoretical and empirical development in this
area.
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