Role of Body Image and Self-Esteem in Mental Health of Females

Abstract

The present study explores the delicate yet very strong relationship between body image, self-esteem, and mental health in adolescent and adult females. Body image concerns, self-esteem and mental health are prevalent issues across various age groups, but the experiences and challenges faced by adolescent and adult females differ significantly. Self-esteem might be understood as a matter of self-worth, which directly effects how an individual looks up to on himself/herself and how much value is given by an individual to himself/herself. Self-esteem emerges as a critical factor influencing how individuals perceive and evaluate themselves. Mental Health refers to the collective health of an individual specifically emotional, psychological and social well-being. Mental health outcomes vary for adult and adolescent females due to various different reasons. The present study seeks to analyse & investigate how adolescent and adult females Mental Health is affected by body image and self-esteem. 200 females were selected for the sample that were further categorised as 100 adolescent females ranging from 16 to 18 years & 100 adult females ranging from 26 to 28 years). For the above-mentioned purpose independent sample t-test and regression analysis were used. The findings of the study revealed that there were significant differences between adolescent and adult females on body image issues and mental health while on the variable of self-esteem the difference was not significant. Also, the result of regression analysis showed that self-esteem and overweight preoccupation, appearance orientation and health evaluation (sub variables of Body Image) were seen to be predicting mental health for adolescent and adult females.