Considerations of positive body image across various social identities and special populations
Abstract
Although the study of body image has been dominated by a focus on negative aspects, recent research interest has turned towards positive body image. The purpose of the present paper is to provide an integrative review of empirical research on the positive body image of individuals across a range of social identities beyond the typical college student. In particular, the review focuses on research exploring age, culture, gender, and special populations. Overall, the review finds that positive body image seems to confer benefit and operate similarly across a range of populations, although it may be expressed uniquely in different contexts. These results contribute to a more complete account of positive body image, but also raise a number of important additional questions and challenges for future research.
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Unmeasured individual differences such as self-esteem and social support may confound the observed associations.
“First, unmeasured individual differences such as self-esteem and social support may confound the observed associations”
From Anxiety mediates the effect of social media addiction on negative attentional bias: the moderating role of impulsivity (2025) · cites this paper as [38]
Cites
The Body Appreciation Scale-2: Item refinement and psychometric evaluation
Tylka, T. L., & Wood-Barcalow, N. L. (2015) · Body Image · doi:10.1016/j.bodyim.2014.09.006 · Cited by 1,298 · see citing works
What is and what is not positive body image? Conceptual foundations and construct definition
Tylka, T. L., & Wood-Barcalow, N. L. (2015) · Body Image · doi:10.1016/j.bodyim.2015.04.001 · Cited by 1,293 · see citing works
Social comparison as a predictor of body dissatisfaction: A meta-analytic review.
Myers, T. A., & Crowther, J. H. (2009) · Journal of Abnormal Psychology · doi:10.1037/a0016763 · Cited by 730 · see citing works
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(2013) · Choice Reviews Online · doi:10.5860/choice.50-2963 · Cited by 104 · see citing works
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What is and what is not positive body image? Conceptual foundations and construct definition
Tylka, T. L., & Wood-Barcalow, N. L. (2015) · Body Image · doi:10.1016/j.bodyim.2015.04.001 · Cited by 1,293 · see citing works
Swami, V., Weis, L., Barron, D., & Furnham, A. (2018) · The Journal of Social Psychology · doi:10.1080/00224545.2017.1392278 · Cited by 152 · see citing works
Aimé, A., Fuller-Tyszkiewicz, M., Dion, J., Markey, C. H., Strodl, E., McCabe, M., Mellor, D., Granero Gallegos, A., Pietrabissa, G., Alcaraz-Ibánez, M., et al. (2020) · Body Image · doi:10.1016/j.bodyim.2020.09.014 · Cited by 58 · see citing works
Williamson, G., & Karazsia, B. T. (2018) · Body Image · doi:10.1016/j.bodyim.2017.12.008 · Cited by 51 · see citing works
Qiu, R., Li, Y., Gong, Y., Guo, Z., Cheng, S., Li, M., & Zhu, X. (2025) · Frontiers in Psychiatry · doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1592132 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
“First, unmeasured individual differences such as self-esteem and social support may confound the observed associations; for example, low self-esteem could drive both excessive social media use and heightened sensitivity to negative social cues (38, 39).”
- Authors
- Tiggemann, M.
- Affiliations
- Flinders University (AU)
- Corresponding author
- Tiggemann, Marika
- ORCID
- Tiggemann, Marika
- Venue
- Body Image
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2015-06
- Volume
- 14
- Pages
- 168-176
- ISSN
- 1740-1445 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2063953858
- Cited by
- 249
- References
- 5
- Citations by year
- 2026: 20 · 2025: 18 · 2024: 23 · 2023: 43 · 2022: 14 · 2021: 44 · 2020: 24 · 2019: 17 · 2018: 20 · 2017: 14 · 2016: 9 · 2015: 3
- FWCI
- 19.04
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Body Image (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Eating Disorders and Behaviors
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Body Image and Dysmorphia Studies
- Health Sciences › Nursing › Nutrition and Dietetics › Nutrition, Health and Food Behavior
- Keywords
- positive body image, social identity, age differences, cultural differences, gender differences, special populations
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Aging, Body Image, Cross-Cultural Comparison, Cultural Characteristics, Female, Gender Identity, Humans, Middle Aged, Personal Satisfaction, Social Identification, Students, Young Adult
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