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Article
One Size Doesn't Fit All: New Continua of Figure Drawings and Their Relation to Ideal Body Image
Journal of American College Health
  • Jocelyn Novella, Fairfield University
  • Jennifer T. Gosselin
  • Debbie Danowski
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
8-11-2015
Disciplines
Abstract

Objective: This study introduces a new figure drawing measure, the Presentation of Images on a Continuum Scale (PICS), which includes continua of bodies from thin to obese and thin to muscular for both men and women. Participants: Participants were undergraduate students from a private, Catholic university in Connecticut. The data were collected in the spring of 2010. Methods: Three hundred forty-eight undergraduates completed an online survey that assessed current versus ideal body image as well as attractiveness of body types. Results: Results showed that current versus ideal body selection discrepancies on the PICS among women (but not among men) were related to several negative outcomes involving increased body concerns, less body satisfaction, and lower self-esteem, as well as increased drive for muscularity among men. Study implications are described from a social norming perspective.

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Published Citation
Novella, Jocelyn, Jennifer T. Gosselin, and Debbie Danowski. "One size doesn't fit all: new continua of figure drawings and their relation to ideal body image." Journal of American College Health 63, no. 6 (2015): 353-360. doi:10.1080/07448481.2015.1040410.
DOI
10.1080/07448481.2015.1040410
None
Peer Reviewed
Citation Information
Jocelyn Novella, Jennifer T. Gosselin and Debbie Danowski. "One Size Doesn't Fit All: New Continua of Figure Drawings and Their Relation to Ideal Body Image" Journal of American College Health Vol. 63 Iss. 6 (2015)
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/jocelyn-novella/3/