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American Journal of Public Health Research
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The Implementation of a Tele-Homecare System with Service Oriented Architecture and HL7 Message Transmission Standard
Ching-Sung Wang

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The Influence of Ethanol on Pyruvate Kinases Activity in Vivo, in Vitro, in Silico
Lelevich Sergey Vladimirovich, Khrustalev Vladislav Victorovich, Barkovsky Eugene Victorovich, Shedogubova Tatyana Aleksandrovna

American Journal of Medical Sciences and Medicine
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Clinical and Histological Features in Wegener Granulomatosis
Li Cavoli Gioacchino, Passantino Rita, Bono Luisa, Tortorici Calogera, Ferrantelli Angelo, Giammarresi Carlo, Rotolo Ugo

American Journal of Infectious Diseases and Microbiology
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The Curse of Lymphatic Filariasis: Would the Continual Use of Diethylcarbamazine Eliminate this Scourge in Papua New Guinea?
Anne Lanham, Lillian Mwanri

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Exploring Uniformity in Diversity: A Comparative Study of Filipino Adolescents and Adults’ Perspectives on Body Image and Its Correlates

Darwin Don Mallo Dacles, Ivan Dulnuan Baguilat, Fe Yolanda Gatan Del Rosario, Kenneth Liwanin Maslang*

School of Graduate Studies, Saint Mary’s University, Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya, Philippines

Abstract: For a long time, men and women have been bedazzled by their own image or self-concept, primarily because it has conversely been shaped by the demands of society. Adolescence is characterized by considerable changes in terms of physical, social, cognitive, and emotional development. For adults, they gain broader and tempered perspectives brought by some measures of maturity, better exposure to various influencing agents like media, family, peer and colleague and other socializing agents, and improved sense of identity. This study compared the adolescents and adults’ perspectives on body image to further understand the intricacies of body image as people go through domains of physical, emotional, cognitive and social maturity. Findings revealed that the adolescents considered self-aggrandizement as having modest influence on body image perspectives. However, body acceptance, physical contact, sex and sexuality and vitality greatly contributed to their perspectives on body image. The adolescents manifested great self-esteem and self-optimism but had moderate valuation of their self-outcome while the adults had displayed great valuation self-esteem, self-optimism and self-outcome. The adolescents and adults had similar ranking of factors that influence body image perspectives. Among adolescents in descending order, the top-three most influential factors on body image perspectives were: parents, peers, and sibling while adults considered the top-three influencing factors as: parents, siblings and peers. Therefore, home factors such as the influence of parents, siblings and peers remained to be rich fertile areas where perspectives on body image are formed.

Keywords: adolescents and adults, body image, self-esteem, self-optimism, self-outcome

Received October 17, 2021; Revised November 23, 2021; Accepted December 03, 2021

Citation: Darwin Don Mallo Dacles, Ivan Dulnuan Baguilat, Fe Yolanda Gatan Del Rosario, Kenneth Liwanin Maslang, Exploring Uniformity in Diversity: A Comparative Study of Filipino Adolescents and Adults’ Perspectives on Body Image and Its Correlates. World Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, 7 (3). 126-135. January 2021. doi:10.12691/wjssh-7-3-5

1. Introduction

A growing body of research in Western cultures demonstrate that young and old alike, especially women in particular, are worried about body image [1] but previous studies in contemporary times also indicated an increasing concern with body image among men [2]. In these studies, negative body image is associated with poorer mental well-being, eating disorders, self-harm, acceptance of plastic surgery, smoking, use of anabolic steroids and dieting aids, excessive exercise, becoming the target of teasing and bullying, and developing a lack of confidence in oneself and in establishing wholesome interpersonal relationships. On the other hand, a positive body image is linked with greater self-esteem, social relation, a more positive view of life and dietary awareness.

In recent times, a very thin waist, showing a protruding collar bone and rib cage is portrayed as the ideal body. These images are so powerful that they could impact on peoples’ psyches and neurochemistry. For example, some people mistakenly assume that media images represent a desirable weight or good health. These people diet excessively in an attempt to match the images they see. Hence, some people develop eating disorders like anorexia (a psychiatric illness characterized by maintaining a low body weight, caloric restriction, and body dissatisfaction) or bulimia (an eating disorder characterized by a cycle of binge eating followed by purging to get rid of unwanted calories). Consequently, these people with eating disorders often have distorted body images. They believe that they are fat or ugly even if they are not.

The onslaught of an ideal body image never “lets up” among people regardless of age, sex, race, or ethnicity nor does it impact on their perceptions of health and healthy eating. It is in fact, a concern that most adult people think and become wary about due to its associated impact who have to select their foods and perform right exercises due their age to stay healthy and strong. However, it is seen that a public advocacy through formal and informal education on eating healthy and nutritious foods on the moderate level should be done not only for young kids, adolescents and must continue even in early and middle adulthood.

Adolescence is a period comprising the age range of 12 to 19 years old [3], during which several psychological, social, and morphological changes occur [4]. Evidence indicates increased responsibility, demands, and changes in friendship among adolescents [5]. Scientific investigations also indicate the increased percentage of body fat in females during adolescence. These and other modifications may influence body image.

Body dissatisfaction in adolescents is a great concern, especially among parents, since, in addition to contributing to immediate distress, it is a risk factor especially in girls for the development of depressive symptoms and low self-esteem, unsafe sexual behaviors, onset of regular smoking, poorer academic achievement, engagement in unhealthy dieting or muscle building behaviors, becoming overweight and obese, and clinical eating disorders [6]. In the light of these negative consequences, it is essential to identify ways to reduce body dissatisfaction and its risk factors and a radical change in the body image conceptions among adolescents.

Given the foregoing ideas, it was assumed that adolescents and adults varied in their perspectives on body image. The postulation was that adolescents would be more concerned about the physical dimension in all five domains of body image (included in this study) such as relating the physical body for self-aggrandizement, body acceptance, physical contact, sex and sexuality and vitality.

Another postulation in this paper was about knowing the difference between adolescents and adults’ perceptions on the degree of influence of some essential factors such as media factors (like Television programs and other social media), home factors (such as influence of parents and siblings), social cliques (like peers, friends and colleagues), societal or community expectations and other socializing agents (such as school or work places) to body image insights.

Research suggests that adolescents learn from their families and friends that they should be thin and that being overweight is unappealing [7]. Much of the research examines the role of family and peer relationships and psychological well-being as they relate to body dissatisfaction. For example, studies have shown that a lack of social support from parents and peers has been associated with body dissatisfaction in young adolescents [8]. Researchers also have examined the association between adolescent self-beliefs (e.g., global self-esteem and self-worth) and body dissatisfaction, demonstrating that higher levels of self-esteem are associated with lower levels of body dissatisfaction [9].

Moreover, researches have shown that when parents are emotionally warm, affectionate, and available, and balance these qualities with high expectations and a firm but fair disciplinary style, they create an emotional context in which children and adolescents tend to be more secure, well adjusted, healthier, and safer than peers raised in other settings. Specifically, parental nurturance is important throughout the developmental process and appears to be an especially significant factor in the positive development of young adolescents [10]. Researchers have found positive associations between young adolescents who are satisfied with their bodies and parents who are nurturing and supportive [11], whereas young adolescents dissatisfied with their bodies are associated with parents who are less nurturing and warm [12]. These findings are consistent for boys and girls.

On the other hand, it is said that the media is the most widespread form of mass communication. For decades, it has been influencing society in many ways. The media is the sole source of what the public sees and it is responsible for how it is portrayed and unfortunately, it has become a conveyor of socio-cultural values regarding ideal body shape and size, which creates an understanding of the ideal man and woman [13]. Because there are many different types of media, increasing in the last few decades, there are different ways in which people can be affected by it. Some of these types include newspapers, books and magazines, movies, radio, television and the internet. More often than not, women are portrayed as the “thin ideal” without imperfections. This ideal is the idea that women must be of a slender feminine physique, with a small waist and with little body fat.

And so since body image is a genuine concern for both young and old people alike, and since negative body image has serious physical, psychological, emotional and social consequences, empirical studies in Filipino situations and experiences need to be steered. By comparing adolescents and adults’ perspectives on body image, a holistic presentation could be made that would further educate our young and adult people alike on positive body image conceptions. How diverse were the perspectives of adolescents and adults? In what aspects did they significantly differ? What uniformities could we find in diversity? These questions were examined in the light of their potential and advantageous impact. Consequently, results in this study were deemed beneficial to Filipino adolescents and adults, national and local health agencies, the education sector, the Filipino general public and future researchers and writers.

1.1. Statement of Problem

This study generally aimed to describe and analyze the adolescents and adults’ perspectives on body image along the domains of self-aggrandizement, body acceptance, physical contact, sex and sexuality and vitality and draw relationship between body image and some associative dynamics such as their self-esteem, self-optimism and self-outcomes.

Specifically, the study endeavored to:

1. determine the adolescents’ and adults’ perspectives on body image in terms self-aggrandizement, body acceptance, physical contact, sex and sexuality, and vitality.

2. describe the adolescents’ and adults’ level of self-esteem, self-optimism and self-outcomes;

3. explicate some underlying factors that influence the adolescents’ perspectives on body image and compare them with adults’ perceptions on body image.

1.2. Literature Review

On Body Image and Self-Esteem

Self-esteem is all about how much one feels his worth and how much he feels other people value him. Meanwhile, body image is how one views his physical self, including whether one feels that he is attractive and whether others like his looks. A meta-analysis of self-esteem studies, conducted in Western industrialized nations have confirmed that women’s self-esteem is moderately, but significantly lower than men’s; moreover the average gender difference is greatest during middle adolescence, peaking at around 16 years of age [14].

This is reinforced by a self-esteem growth-curve analysis, which modeled developmental patterns over seven years both between and within adolescents in a metropolitan area of the Midwestern US [15]. Controlling for family cohesion and stressful life events, this analysis showed a pronounced and progressive drop in females’ self-esteem from 12 to 17 years of age. In contrast, males’ self-esteem was much more stable, showing only a slight and short-lived decline from 14 to 16 years. Thus, comparatively, Western teenage females appear to suffer from falling self-esteem.

On Body Image and Self-Optimism

Self-optimism is a concept that refers to a person’s overall positive evaluation of himself. It is an appraisal of one’s own worth. According to [16], women with more positive body image may be more confident that their partners will continue to accept them and thus be more likely to take emotional risks that are necessary to maintain the relationship. The results of positive body image include, but are not limited to, romantic relationships. Both healthy friendships and family relations can benefit from an individual seeing themselves in a positive light. Depending on how individuals feel about their appearance, involvement and interaction may vary [17]. Based on Miller’s study, persons with higher self-optimism may have healthier involvement in interpersonal communication. Individual factors associated theoretically with poor body image and dieting behaviors include high body mass index (BMI), low self-esteem, and perceived family conflict. [18] used the Implicit Association Test (IAT) to reveal strong cognitive bias toward fat as negative.

Body Image and Self-Outcome

Self-outcome refers to the individual’s perspectives or outlooks of himself or herself in relation to psychological implication (social role functioning and symptoms distress) and interpersonal style. For psychological implication, there is no more powerful social psychological principle than the fact that our attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors are profoundly influenced by our perceptions of the attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors of those we care about [19]. [20] determined that depression is common among individuals who experience body dissatisfaction. According to [21] a negative body image can result in adverse psychosocial consequences for both sexes, including disordered eating, depression, social anxiety, impaired sexual function, and diminished quality of life.

For interpersonal style, it refers to the basic behavioral tendency of the individual in interpersonal relations in general and a variety of situations rather than the behavior in a specific situation [22]. In the literature, interpersonal style has been evaluated in different dimensions. For example, [23] detail interpersonal styles as contemptuous, open, self-centered, and respectful. Another study has classified it as angry style, avoiding style, sarcastic style, insensitive style, manipulative style and dominant style. Lastly, findings revealed in the study of [24] that the relationship between body image and interpersonal style was fully mediated by psychological symptom level, whereas the relationship between body image and psychological symptom level was partially mediated by interpersonal style. This study concluded that body image is an important factor in college youth mental health.

Worldviews and Perspectives on Body Image: Some Underlying Factors

Body surveillance has been described as constantly monitoring yourself in terms of viewing one’s body from an outsider’s perspective. Body surveillance can then result in body dissatisfaction by contributing to the realization of a discrepancy between one’s own body and an internalized body ideal. [25] completed a scientific review of Mental Health practice which expressed the idea of American women’s mental health being constantly affected by the media. Radford claimed that most women are involved in a physically and psychologically damaging battle with their weight and inability to live up to social ideals.

[26] conducted a study with participants aged between 18 and 23. Results indicated that participants preferred a lower weight for attractiveness than for health. Perhaps this was influenced by the type of media images to which they were exposed, suggesting that short term exposure to model images affect women’s perceptions of attractiveness but not health. Additionally, age seemed to play a huge factor on overall body satisfaction. Older group of females expressed more dissatisfaction with their weight, various body parts and more dissatisfaction with their general body image, than females from the youngest age group. In relation to this, [27] findings revealed that women who saw advertisements depicting thin models were more likely to choose the diet variant of a snack than women who saw the same advertisements in which the original model’s image was manipulated to be of normal size.

2. Methodology

2.1. Research Design

This study utilized a combination of qualitative and quantitative approaches in research with the descriptive – comparative method. Data were gathered using the technique of survey checklist to determine the adolescents’ perspectives on body image and its relation to their self-esteem, self-optimism and self-outcomes. The comparative design compared the adolescents’ and adults’ perspectives on some identified factors influencing perspective on body image.

2.2. Research Locale and Respondents

The adult respondents comprised graduate school students who were enrolled during the school year 2018 - 2019 at Saint Mary’s University, Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya. Meanwhile, the adolescents who were aged at least 16 to 19 years old, considered those Senior High School students in the same university and who were enrolled during the school year 2019-2020. These students hail from various provinces of Regions 2 and the Cordillera like Ifugao, Benguet, Nueva Vizcaya, Quirino, Isabela and Cagayan. Table 1 shows the overall adult (287) and adolescent (347) respondents.

Table 1. Profile of Respondent

2.3. Research Instruments

To gather the needed data, this study utilized various data gathering tools and for better understanding, the guided survey technique was utilized under the guidance of social science teachers. First was the Dresden Body Image Questionnaire (DBIQ). It is a 35-item scale that consists of five subscales: self-aggrandizement, body acceptance, physical contact, sex and sexuality and vitality and enthusiasm. In a German non-clinical sample of 418, the Cronbach’s α for the subscales were: self-aggrandizement = .81; body acceptance = .93; physical contact = .83; sex and sexuality = .91; and vitality = .94 [28]; previous studies on this subject had comprised both groups of young adolescents, early adults and middle adulthoods.

Second was the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Survey. This survey is a brief 10-item measure of general self-esteem that evaluates one’s overall feelings of self-worth using a 4-point scale (1 = strongly disagree, 4 = strongly agree), higher scores reflecting higher self-esteem. The validity and reliability of the Dutch version in the study of Franck et al., (2008) were satisfactory. The internal consistency in the study of [29] was .87.

Third was the Self-Optimism Survey. This survey measures the respondents’ general favorable view of the future. This is measured using the Self-Optimism Scale. It has six items which is measured in a four-point scale.

Fourth was the Self-Outcomes Questionnaire. It is a 42-item survey [30] measuring three domains of psychological well-being namely: subjective discomfort (“I feel no interest in things”), interpersonal relations (“I am satisfied with my relationships with others”), and social role performance (“I feel that I am doing well at work/school”). The original questionnaire has an original 45 items (3 fillers – removed in the present study) is rated on a 4-point Likert scale. In a non-clinical group, Cronbach’s α was .93 for the original total scale and .92 in the Dutch version (De Jong et al., 2007). Cronbach’s α in the study of Scheffers, et al. [29] was .90.

Lastly, but not the least was the set of Open-ended Questions. These questions sought the experiential accounts from the adolescents regarding some factors that influence their perspectives on body image.

2.4. Treatment of Data

Data gathered were treated using the following tools and techniques.

1. To determine the adolescents’ and adults’ perspectives on body image along the five domains, computation of means and standard deviations was done; to identify the appropriate qualitative descriptions, information on Table 2 were used:

Table 2. Responses, Mean Score Scale and Qualitative Descriptions

2. To describe the adolescents’ level of self-esteem, self-optimism and self-outcomes, computation of means and standard deviations was used; to determine the appropriate qualitative descriptions, Table 3 was used; and

Table 3. Responses, Mean Score Scale and Qualitative Descriptions

3. To explicate the factors that influence adolescents’ perspectives on body image, ranking and computation of mean ranks were performed to determine the top-three most significant factors. Then it was compared with that of the adults’ perspectives.

3. Results and Discussions

3.1. Adolescents’ and Adults’ Perspectives on Body Image

1. Self-Aggrandizement

The domain of self-aggrandizement pertains to the measure of how the body is actively used in social interactions that influences an individual’s worldviews on body image [31]. In Table 4, it was apparent that the adolescents rated all items as untrue of them or have little used by them. On the other hand, the adults rated five items as true of them or greatly used by them and three items as untrue of them.

Table 4. Influence of Self-Aggrandizement on Body Image Among Adolescents and Adults

However, the general mean on both groups show a rating of 2.48 for adults and 2.21 for adolescents described as “untrue/little used” or in that self-aggrandizement has slight influence on body image perception. Similarly, in the study of [28], this indicated that adolescents marginally used their body in social interaction to enhance their self-esteem.

Some qualitative descriptions were gathered from the respondents attesting to the minimal influence of self-aggrandizement to their ideals on body image:

“I do not use my physical body just to attract other peoples’ attention.”

“I am accepted in my group no matter how I look.”

“I do not use my body to attract attention.”

“It is a mortal sin to use the body to attract other people.”

“I interact with other people in formal discussions of issues and concerns.”

2. Body Acceptance

The domain of body acceptance refers to how a person accepts or approves his or her body and reflect high self-esteem as manifested in mentoring others to love their bodies, surrounding themselves with others who promote body acceptance and taking care of their health [31]. It was evident in Table 5 that the adolescents and adults approved or accepted the various items as influential in their perspectives about body image. The conditions surrounding body acceptance have modest influence on their body image perception.

Table 5. Influence of Body Acceptance on Body Image among Adolescents and Adults

Some qualitative descriptions were gathered from the respondents:

“I am contented with the way I look.”

“I am happy and satisfied with my body.”

“My friends like me not for what I look like but because I am their friend.”

“I am accepted in my social group. My friends do not consider looks as a factor.”

“In my work, people respect each other by not ridiculing others’ physical weaknesses.”

3. Physical Contact

The domain of physical contact refers to the measure of how body contact or physical touch is used or manifested as an important aspect of enhancing self-esteem [31]. As shown in Table 6, the adolescents used at a moderate extent the following items: physical contact as an important factor for expression of closeness and touching people they are comfortable with. However, they did not want to look for physical intimacy and affection, including touching them by other people as manifested by any gestures like embracing or putting others arms around them and do any physical contact with them.

Table 6. Influence of Physical Contact on Body Image Among Adolescents and Adults

Regardless, the domain of physical contact has moderate influence on the adolescents’ perspectives on body image. For the adults, they used at a moderate extent the following items: physical contact as an important factor for expression of closeness, seldom looking for physical intimacy and affection and touching people they are comfortable with. However, they did not want other people to: touch them, put their arms around them and do any physical contact with them. Thus, the domain of physical contact has slight influence on adults’ worldviews and perspectives on body image.

To attest as to the veracity of the above claims, some ideas were gathered:

“I get angry when people touch me without consulting me first.”

“I never touch other people because they might get offended.”

“I touch those I am comfortable with.”

“I choose to touch those I am closely and deeply connected.”

“I do not usually touch people…not my character.”

4. Sex and Sexuality

The domain of sex and sexuality refers to the measure of the individual’s perceptions of his or her sexual attractiveness and functioning as an important factor for social interaction [31]. As presented in Table 7, the adolescents and adults considered all items as true to them. This could imply that they greatly experienced being comfortable with their sexuality and the conditions surrounding sex and sexuality have modest influence on their body image perception. Here are some qualitative descriptions provided by respondents regarding sex and sexuality:

“Sex and sexuality is an important ingredient of one’s life.”

“It is what makes us human beings…apart from animals.”

“It is basically a part of being human beings…with emotional and intellectual capacities.”

“If people do not put malice in it, sex and sexuality as a topic of discussion is good as it is a natural part of our existence.”

Table 7. Influence of Sex and Sexuality on Body Image among Adolescents and Adults

5. Vitality and Enthusiasm

The domain of vitality and enthusiasm refers to an individual’s outlook of positivity or vigor as an important factor for social interaction [31]. Table 8 reflected that the adolescents’ and adults considered all items as true to them. Just like sex and sexuality, this could mean that the conditions surrounding vitality and enthusiasm have modest influence on their body image perceptions.

Table 8. Influence of Vitality and Enthusiasm on Body Image among Adolescents and Adults

Below are some of the qualitative descriptions generated from the respondents:

“An active mind begets and active body.”

“I am full of optimism and energy as I meet a lot of people at work and in school.”

“I take care of my health by moderate physical exercise.”

“A healthy body means having a healthy mind and disposition.”

“I have to stay strong physically to accomplish my goals in life.”

6. Overall Perspectives on Body Image among Adolescents and Adults

Overall in Table 9, it showed that the adolescents believed that self-aggrandizement had slight influence on their body image perspectives. However, body acceptance, physical contact, sex and sexuality and vitality moderately contribute to their body image perceptions. Meanwhile, the adults perceived that self-aggrandizement and physical contact had slight influence in their perspectives on body image, while they considered body acceptance, sex and sexuality and vitality as moderately contributing to their body image perceptions.

Table 9. Overall Influence of Body Image Perspectives among Adolescents and Adults

3.2. Adolescents’ and Adults’ Level of Self-Esteem, Self-Optimism and Self-Outcomes

1. On the Level of Self-Esteem

[32] defines self-esteem as a construct grounded primarily in self-worth theory. Self-worth theory suggested that all individuals had a motivational “tendency to establish and maintain a positive self-image, or sense of self-worth. Apparently, in Table 10, the adolescents and adults rated all the items as true of them which indicated a great self-esteem on their part. Hence, results revealed that the respondents have immense positive self-esteem and looked at themselves as important members of society.

Table 10. Adolescents’ and Adults’ Level of Self-Esteem

Below are some of the qualitative responses regarding self-esteem:

“I thank the Lord for giving me nice disposition to carry out my duties.”

“I feel important at work and my company needs me.”

“I feel happy with the friends I have at work.”

“I am always an optimistic man. I do not think of negativities.”

2. On the Level of Self-Optimism

Self-optimism is a concept that refers to a person’s overall positive evaluation of himself. It is an appraisal of one’s own worth. It is the opinion one has about himself especially about future activities. In Table 11, both the adults and adolescents rated all items as true of them. Thus, results showed that the adolescents exhibited great self-optimism or appraisal of their self-worth.

Here are some of the verbatim responses:

“Problems are part of life…It is how we face them that really matters.”

“I am a very courageous person, I face problems squarely.”

“I always feel positive about my family, friends and co-workers.”

“It takes only a muscle to smile and a thousand muscle to frown.”

Table 11. Adolescents’ and Adults’ Level of Self-Optimism

3. On the Level of Self-Outcome

Self-outcome in this study relates to three aspects – symptom distress, social role functioning and interpersonal relationship. Symptom Distress refers to the degree of discomfort from some specific symptoms being experienced by an individual, social role functioning denotes how an individual performs his or her roles whether positively or negatively in a particular setting of social responsibility, and interpersonal relationship speaks about the degree of bond between two or more people bringing them close to each other and eventually results to good bonding or relationship [30].

On the whole as shown on Table 12, the adolescents had moderate level of self-outcome as indicated by the computed overall mean score of 2.35. This result meant that the adolescents have adolescents had modest level of self-outcome. On the other hand, the adults exhibited great positive self-outcome as presented on their overall mean rating of 2.75. This finding indicated that the adults had immense positive self-outcome.

Table 12. Adolescents’ and Adults’ Overall Level of Self-Outcome

In this study, adults exhibited great symptom distress, social role functioning and interpersonal relationship. In contrast, adolescents were moderate on the three aspects of Self-Outcome. Symptom distress, role functioning and interpersonal relationship with others for adolescents really needs to be reflected upon. [33] mentioned that the rapid intellectual progress and the development of insight ability can lead to adolescent egocentrism. As teens develop their own identity, a distancing from parents and a shift towards relations with peers / friends occur. The establishment of close and friendly relations provides mutual aid in managing daily problems and pressures associated with maturation. In this context, group integration becomes a paramount concern. In order to be accepted, a teenager is willing to make any sacrifice. Thus, friends and peers become extremely influential social agents in shaping adolescents’ thoughts. How they are evaluated (including their look) by the significant others will have a tremendous impact on their development.

Maturity or immersion in various life situations was, thus, a big factor in attaining a more positive self-outcome. [34] articulated that the evidence called for a serious reconsideration of the role of this phase in building a healthy body image, especially among adolescents because both early and the late maturation involved increased risks for all the adolescents [33]. [35] mentioned that in self-outcome, there is no more powerful social psychological principle than the fact that our attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors are profoundly influenced by our perceptions of the attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors of those we care about. Hence, it is important that adults guide adolescents in this important phase so that a more positive symptom distress, social role functioning and interpersonal relationship could be formed to guide adolescents go on with their lives with less anxieties but more positive self-esteem, self-optimism and self-outcome.

3.3. Factors that Influence Adolescents’ and Adults’ Perspectives on Body Image

In Table 13, it was shown that both groups had similar ranking of factors. In descending order (from highest to least), the top-five most influential factors influencing the perspectives of adolescents on body image were: parents (rank 1), followed by peers (rank 2), siblings (rank 3), school (rank 4) and community (rank 5).

Table 13. Factors that Influence the Adolescents’ Perspectives on Body Image

Similarly, in descending order, the adults’ top-five influencing factors were: parents (rank 1), siblings (rank 2), peers (rank 3), school (rank 4) and community (rank 5). It was therefore evident that both groups exhibited similar perceptions on the effects of some influencing factors in their body image conceptions. Thus, the home remains to be an important influencing variable in body image ideals.

These results were confirmed in some studies conducted globally. [36] explained why parental influence was so strong in influencing the worldviews and perspectives of their children on body image. Accordingly, most often than not, parents played a highly significant role in altering attitudes and behaviors in relation to males and females’ attempts to influence their weight, shape and size, with mothers having a positive role in relation to eating habits of their female children and fathers having more of an influence on the amount of exercise taken by their male children. In addition, siblings also make an impact on body image perspectives. It is because the siblings or the children themselves carry over the reminders of their parents at home so that they themselves effect influence on their other siblings.

Research has shown also that when parents are emotionally warm, affectionate, and available, and balance these qualities with high expectations and a firm but fair disciplinary style, they create an emotional context in which children and adolescents tend to be more secure, well adjusted, healthier, and safer than peers raised in other settings. Specifically, parental nurturance is important throughout the developmental process and appears to be an especially significant factor in the positive development of young adolescents [37]. Researchers have found positive associations between young adolescents who are satisfied with their bodies and parents who are nurturing and supportive [11], whereas young adolescents dissatisfied with their bodies are associated with parents who are less nurturing and warm [12]. These findings are consistent for boys and girls. Just because a shirt does not fit right does not mean that the body is wrong! Parents should continue educating their children not with “Thin Ideal” but with “Health Ideal” which looks different for every person, and focuses on health not weight or size.

4. Conclusions and Recommendations

The study concluded that adolescents are more concerned about how they accept and feel comfortable and contented with their physical bodies and their physical attachment with other people than with what other people say about their physical looks. They do not look for self-aggrandizement but more attached to how they relate to other people in the dispensation of their social role functioning and their outlook of positivity.

For adults, they are more attached to their acceptance, comfortability, happiness and contentment with their body and who they are as persons rather than concerned with what they look like and what other people say about their body. Home factors such as the influence of parents and sibling remain to be rich fertile areas where perspectives on body image arise. Peers or friends, the school, immediate community and the media are also seen as causative factors in influencing body image ideals.

On the basis of the findings and conclusions of this study, the following recommendations are strongly advanced:

1. Adolescents can indulge in worthwhile activities that promote healthy living ideals. They should be wary of the kind of friends or peers that they have. Sometimes it is best to listen to their parents or older siblings about negative and positive body image perspectives. Awareness of positive body image ideals can help refine what they view in the media and sharpen up their guard against deceitful perspectives on body image;

2. Maintaining a positive self-confidence and encouraging social role functioning is always a commendable thing to do but overcoming some symptom distress brought by mental or psychological factors is a must. Establishing wholesome interpersonal relationship both at home and outside the home will result to a more positive self-outcome;

Adults like parents, older siblings, relatives and friends can widen adolescents’ perspectives on body image. Parents can teach their children and other people to be critical viewers of media portrayals of body images that distort their positive perceptions. They can offset the negative with positive self-esteem and body image by providing and guiding them with positive internet resources, magazines, TV shows and movies. More importantly, parents can model healthy behaviors by: (a) avoiding extreme dieting; (b) diet discussions; and (c) engage in regular, balanced physical activity that the family enjoys.

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