Gender, Depression, and Body Image in Early Adolescents

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Abstract
As clinicians and researchers have begun to document the prevalence of depressive symptomatology among children and adolescents, efforts are being undertaken to identify correlates, and possible determinants, of depressive disorders occurring before adulthood. With this aim, a study was undertaken to assess the relation between depression and body image in a sample of ninth grade boys and girls. Findings were that (a) depressed adolescents-both boys and girls-had poorer body images than their non-depressed peers, (b) gender differences in body image appeared among non-depressed adolescents, with boys more satisfied with their bodies than girls, while (c) no gender differences appeared in body image among depressed adolescents. These findings contribute to the clinical-developmental literature in two principal ways: The relation between depression and body satisfaction for adolescent boys versus girls is clarified and, in so doing, new light is shed on the broader issue of body image in early adolescence.

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