Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Are Contingencies of Self-Worth Associated with Body Image in Indian and British Women?

  • Research in Progress
  • Published:
Psychological Studies Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This study examined the association between contingencies of self-worth and body image in British and Indian college women (N = 168, M age 19 years). It was expected that appearance contingent self-worth would be especially salient to British women’s body image, whereas self-worth contingent on family support, approval, competition, and academic performance would be more salient to Indian women’s body image. Also it was explored whether poor body image would be a stronger predictor of depression in British women (n = 107), relative to Indian women (n = 61). Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that indeed, body image affected depression in British women to a far greater extent than in Indian women. As expected, different domains of contingent self-worth were associated with body image in Indian and British women. For Indian women, self-worth contingent on academic performance uniquely undermined body image. For British women, self-worth contingent on appearance, approval, and family support were the most salient predictors of body image. Cross-cultural variation in the association between contingencies of self-worth and body image are discussed.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Almeida, S., Severo, M., Araújo, J., Lopes, C., & Ramos, E. (2012). Body image and depressive symptoms in 13‐year‐old adolescents. Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health, 48, E165–E171.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bailey, S. D., & Ricciardelli, L. A. (2010). Social comparisons, appearance related comments, contingent self-esteem and their relationships with body dissatisfaction and eating disturbance among women. Eating Behaviors, 11, 107–112.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bakhshi, S., & Baker, A. (2011). ‘I think a fair girl would have better marriage prospects than a dark one’: British Indian adults’ perceptions of physical appearance ideals. Europe’s Journal of Psychology, 7, 458–486.

    Google Scholar 

  • Berthoud, R. (2000). Family formation in multi-cultural Britain: Three patterns of diversity. Institute for Social and Economic Research, University of Essex.

  • Breines, J. G., Crocker, J., & Garcia, J. A. (2008). Self-objectification and well-being in women’s daily lives. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 34, 583–598.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Chang, E. C., Perera, M. J., & Kupfermann, Y. (2013). Predictors of eating disturbances in South Asian American females and males: A look at negative affectivity and contingencies of self-worth. Asian American Journal of Psychology.

  • Chen, C., & Stevenson, H. W. (1995). Motivation and mathematics achievement: A comparative study ofAsian-American, Caucasian-American, and East Asian high school students. Child Development, 66, 1215–1234.

  • Coon, H. M. (2000). Do successes and failures affect self-esteem? The effects of culture and contingencies of self-worth. University of Michigan – Ann Arbor, ProQuest, UMI Dissertations Publishing.

  • Crocker, J. (2002). Contingencies of self-worth: implications for self-regulation and psychological vulnerability. Self and Identity, 1, 143–149.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Crocker, J., & Wolfe, C. T. (2001). Contingencies of self-worth. Psychological Review, 108, 593–623.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Crocker, J., Luhtanen, R. K., Cooper, M. L., & Bouvrette, A. (2003). Contingencies of self-worth in college students: theory and measurement. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 85, 894–908.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Desai, M. D., & Patoliya, H. M. (2011). Impact of body weight and perception of overall body image on depression among post-graduate female students. Indian Journal of Community Psychology, 7, 341–346.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dhillon, M., & Dhawan, P. (2011). “But I am fat”: the experiences of weight dissatisfaction in Indian adolescent girls and young women. Women’s Studies International Forum, 34, 539–549.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fredrickson, B. L., & Roberts, T. A. (1997). Objectification theory: toward understanding women’s lived experiences and mental health risks. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 21, 173–206.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gluck, M. E., & Geliebter, A. (2002). Racial/ethnic differences in body image and eating behaviors. Eating Behaviors, 3, 143–151.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Goswami, S., Sachdeva, S., & Sachdeva, R. (2012). Body image satisfaction among female college students. Industrial Psychiatry Journal, 21, 168–172. doi:10.4103/0972-6748.119653.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Grabe, S., & Hyde, J. S. (2006). Ethnicity and body dissatisfaction among women in the United States. Psychological Bulletin, 132, 622–640.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Harcourt, D., & Rumsey, N. (2012). Who is affected by appearance concerns, in what way, and why?: Overview. In N. Rumsey & D. Harcourt (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of the psychology of appearance (pp. 117–120). New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kapadia, M. K. (2009). Body image in Indian women as influenced by the Indian media. Texas Woman’s University, ProQuest, UMI Dissertations Publishing.

  • Kim, U., & Chun, M. J. B. (1994). The educational ‘success’ of Asian Americans: An indigenous perspective. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 15, 329–339.

  • Konsky, C., Eguchi, M., Blue, J., & Kapoor, S. (1999). Individualist-collectivist values: American, Indian and Japanese cross-cultural study. Intercultural Communication Studies, 9, 69–83.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kovacs, M. (1981). Rating scales to assess depression in school-aged children. Acta Paedopsychiatrica, 46, 305–315.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lee, A. M., & Lee, S. (1996). Disordered eating and its psychosocial correlates among Chinese adolescent females in Hong Kong. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 20, 177–183.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lovejoy, M. (2001). Disturbances in the social body: differences in body image and eating problems among African American and White women. Gender and Society, 15, 239–261.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Markus, H. R., & Kitayama, S. (1991). Culture and the self: Implications for cognition, emotion, and motivation. Psychological Review, 98, 224–253.

  • Menon, M., & Pant, P. (2007). Body image and adjustment in Indian women. Psychological Studies, 52, 332–338.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mintz, L. B., & Kashubeck, S. (1999). Body image and disordered eating among Asian American and Caucasian college students. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 23, 781–796.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Molloy, B. L., & Herzberger, S. D. (1998). Body image and self-esteem: a comparison of African American and Caucasian women. Sex Roles, 38, 631–643.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nichter, M. (2000). Fat talk: What girls and their parents say about dieting. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ogden, J. (2010). The psychology of eating: From healthy to disordered behaviour (2nd ed.). Wiley-Blackwell.

  • Overstreet, N. M., & Quinn, D. M. (2012). Contingencies of self-worth and appearance concerns: do domains of self-worth matter? Psychology of Women Quarterly, 36, 314–325.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oyersman, D., Coon, H. M., & Kemmelmeier, M. (2002). Rethinking Individualism and collectivism: evaluation of theoretical assumptions and meta-analyses. Psychological Bulletin, 128, 3–72.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Patrick, H., Neighbors, C., & Knee, C. R. (2004). Appearance related social comparisons: the role of contingent self-esteem and self-perceptions of attractiveness. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 30, 501–514.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Petersen, A. C., Schulenberg, J. E., Abramowitz, R., Offer, D., & Jarcho, H. (1984). A self-image questionnaire for young adolescents (SIQYA): reliability and validity studies. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 13, 93–111.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Poran, M. A. (2006). The politics of protection: body image, social pressures, and the misrepresentation of young black women. Sex Roles, 55, 739–755.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rao, M., Berry, R., Gonsalves, A., Hastak, Y., Shah, M., & Roeser, R. W. (2013). Globalization and the identity remix among urban adolescents in India. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 23, 9–24.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rosenström, T., Jokela, M., Hintsanen, M., Josefsson, K., Juonala, M., Kivimäki, M., Pulkki-Råbacka, L., Viikari, J. S. A., Hutri-Kähönene, N., Heinonenf, E., Raitakari, O. T., & Keltikangas-Järvinen, L. (2013). Body-image dissatisfaction is strongly associated with chronic dysphoria. Journal of Affective Disorders, 150, 253–260.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rubin, L. R., Fitts, M. L., & Becker, A. E. (2003). “Whatever feels good in my soul”: body ethics and aesthetics among African American and Latina women. Culture, Medicine and Psychiatry, 27, 49–75.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sanchez, D. T., & Crocker, J. (2005). How investment in gender ideals affects well being: the role of external contingencies of self-worth. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 29, 63–77.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sanchez, D. T., & Kwang, T. (2007). When the relationship becomes her: revisiting women’s body concerns from a relationship contingency perspective. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 31, 401–414.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sargent, J. T., Crocker, J., & Luhtanen, R. K. (2006). Contingencies of self-worth and depressive symptoms in college students. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 25, 628–646.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Swami, V., Begum, S., & Petrides, K. V. (2010a). Associations between trait emotional intelligence, actual–ideal weigh discrepancy, and positive body image. Personality and Individual Differences, 49, 485–489.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Swami, V., Frederick, D. A., Aavik, T., Alcalay, L., Allik, J., Anderson, D., Andrianto, S., et al. (2010b). The attractive female body weight and female body dissatisfaction in 26 countries across 10 world regions: results of the international body project I. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 36, 309–325.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Talukdar, J. (2012). Thin but not skinny: women negotiating the “never too thin” body ideal in urban India. Women’s Studies International Forum, 35, 109–118.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tsai, G. (2000). Eating disorders in the Far East. Eating and Weight Disorders, 5, 186–197.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wildes, J., Emery, R., & Simons, A. (2001). The roles of ethnicity and culture in the development of eating disturbance and body dissatisfaction: a meta-analytic review. Clinical Psychology Review, 21, 521–551.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • World Family Map. (2014). Mapping family change and child well-being outcomes. Bethesda: Child Trends.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. California School of Professional Psychology, Alliant International University, One Beach Street, San Francisco, CA, 94133, USA

    Meenakshi Menon

  2. Department of Psychology, Gargi College, Delhi University, New Delhi, India

    Preeti Pant

Authors
  1. Meenakshi Menon
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Preeti Pant
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Meenakshi Menon.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Menon, M., Pant, P. Are Contingencies of Self-Worth Associated with Body Image in Indian and British Women?. Psychol Stud 60, 129–137 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12646-014-0296-0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12646-014-0296-0

Keywords

Search

Navigation