Weight Consciousness Influencing Body Image Avoidance and Self-Esteem Among Male and Female Young Adults

This research paper accentuates the increasing prevalence and determinants of weight consciousness leading to disturbances in eating and body image which are prominent behavioural characteristics seen among young adults. The present study is aimed to assess the relationships between body image avoidance and self-esteem and to understand how these factors interact with each other. The Body Image Avoidance Questionnaire (BIAQ) was designed by authors James C. Rosen, Debra Srebnik, Elaine Saltzberg, and Sally Wendt and consists of 19 items. The Rosenberg’s Self-Esteem Scale was developed by Morris and contains 10 items. It was administered to 140 young female and male adults, among them 70 were females and 70 were males. The Independent Sample t-test and Pearson Product Moment Correlation were computed for the statistical analysis of the data. Findings indicated that there is no significant relationship between body image avoidance among young females and male adults. There is no significant relationship between self-esteem among young females and male adults. The correlation between body image avoidance and self-esteem among young females and male adults indicates that there is a prominent negative correlation between body image and self-esteem.