|
|
THE BODY IMAGE OF YOUNG GIRLS AGED FROM 15 TO 18
OUŘEDNÍKOVÁ, Zuzana
My thesis on Body image with girls at the age range 15 -18 deals with problems of body self-conception. This age period, belonging to the developmental period of adolescence, is characteristic of numerous noticeable crises, which concern psychosocial, physical, and sexual development. My work describes the particularities of developmental period of adolescence as well as historical evolution of the ideal of beauty. Last but not least it deals with the influence of the society, especially media, on the body image of adolescent girls. I also covered the concepts of self-conception, especially physical self-conception further to health {--} disease. In the practical part of my thesis a method of quantitative research was used. Data for supporting or disproving of stated hypotheses were acquired via a questionnaire. The choice of girls inquired was accidental, stratified. The aim of the thesis was to map the problem of body image with girls aged 15- 18. The partial aim was to find out how the attitude of girls towards their own bodies is influenced by media, by the sum of money invested in the improvement of their appearance in proportion with their pocket money, how the girls are satisfied with their bodies and how the above mentioned is influenced by demographic and statistic factors. The results of the research show that 57.8% of girls are dissatisfied with their bodies. Most girls receive big pocket money, but their expenses are by far below it. Only few girls were on a diet, but a lot of girls buy clothes to cover bodily imperfections. I was quite surprised by the fact that only a few girls go in for sports actively. My work also confirmed that bodily self-conception of girls is strongly influenced by media showing ideally beautiful women only when being at malnutrition limit. The results of this work draw the attention to the importance of prevention in the field of body image and related pathological phenomena {--} e.g. by means of improving the health education at schools, by realizing media campaigns, and especially by upbringing in families.
|
guest ::
