ABSTRACT
Research into children's body perceptions and ideals is scarce despite evidence of body dissatisfaction in childhood. This study aimed to understand preschoolers' body image by employing a mixed design. Using a novel figural scale (Preschoolers' Body Scale) that comprises four child figures ranging in BMI, 395 children ages 4-6 (54% boys) selected their perceived and ideal body and explained why they picked these bodies. Children tended to underestimate their body size and many of them desired slimmer bodies, especially girls and older participants, although body-size perception improved with age. Most children showed body satisfaction, especially boys and younger children. Ideal body choices were not always explained by beauty ideals but by physical abilities, desire to grow up, mothers' comments, and nutrition. Many responses reflected limited body awareness, suggesting body image may not yet be fully formed in preschoolers due to their incipient cognitive development.
Subject(s)
Body Image , Personal Satisfaction , Body Mass Index , Body Size , Child , Child, Preschool , Female , Humans , Male , Mothers , Nutritional StatusABSTRACT
La imagen corporal es un constructo ampliamente estudiado, sobre todo en lo que se refiere a la percepción e insatisfacción con la propia imagen. La mayoría de las investigaciones se centran en la adolescencia y adultez, aunque los problemas de insatisfacción aparecen cada vez a edades más tempranas. Por tanto, el propósito de este estudio fue analizar los hallazgos más transcendentes sobre insatisfacción corporal y percepción del propio tamaño corporal en niños de 3 a 6 años (segundo ciclo de Educación Infantil). A tal fin, se usaron las bases de datos de Medline, SportDiscus, Scopus, ScienceDirect, Dialnet, ProQuest y EBSCO, de las cuales se seleccionaron 22 estudios, en base a criterios de exclusión como el idioma, la revisión por pares y la medición objetiva del Índice de Masa Corporal (IMC) de los niños. Los resultados son diversos en cuanto a los niveles de insatisfacción, lo cual hace imposible establecer conclusiones acertadas sobre las características y prevalencia de dicha variable a estas edades. Entre las principales razones de esta dificultad destaca el tipo de instrumento empleado y las dificultades de los niños para percibir su cuerpo con exactitud (AU)
Body image is a construct that has been widely studied, particularly with regard to image perception and dissatisfaction. Though most research studies focus on adolescence and adulthood, dissatisfaction problems are manifesting themselves at increasingly early ages. The aim of this study was, therefore, to analyse the most significant findings on body dissatisfaction and body-size perception among children aged 3 to 6 (second cycle of pre-school education). To this end the Medline, SportDiscus, Scopus, ScienceDirect, Dialnet, ProQuest and EBSCO databases were used, and from which a total of 22 studies were selected in accordance with exclusion criteria such as language, peer review and the objective measurement of the body mass index (BMI) of children. In terms of levels of dissatisfaction, results vary widely, making it impossible to draw sound conclusions on the nature and prevalence of this variable at these ages. The main reasons for this include the type of instrument used and the difficulties children had in perceiving their bodies correctly (AU)
