Examining body appreciation in six countries: The impact of age and sociocultural pressure

Abstract

Previous research on body appreciation across the lifespan has produced conflicting results that it increases with age, decreases with age, or is generally stable with an increase in women over 50-years-old. Furthermore, most of the research has been conducted in White, Western populations. Cross-cultural research suggests that both Chinese and African women experience similar sociocultural pressures as White Western women, and that appearance ideals are shifting to resemble a more Western ideal. We cross-sectionally and cross-culturally examined body appreciation across the lifespan, recruiting White Western women (UK, USA, Canada, and Australia), Black Nigerian women, and Chinese women. 1186 women aged 18–80 completed measures of body appreciation, internalisation of thin and athletic ideals, and perceived sociocultural pressure. Body appreciation did not vary with age in women from any country. Nigerian women reported the highest body appreciation, and Western women the lowest. Higher thin/athletic ideal internalisation, and higher perceived sociocultural pressure were significantly associated with lower body appreciation in all countries and age-groups. Overall, our findings indicate that although levels of body appreciation differ drastically between ethnicities and cultures, it is generally stable across age, and shows cross-culturally robust relationships between sociocultural internalisation and pressure.