Actual, social and ideal body image in Mexican adolescents and their relation with body dissatisfaction: gender differences

The purpose of the present study was to compare the perception of current (CBI), ideal (IBI), social body images (SBI), and body dissatisfaction (BD) by gender in Mexican primary and secondary school students. A total sample of 1,146 participants (550 girls and 596 boys) aged 11-16 participated in the study. All participants completed the Mexican computerized adaptation of the Contour Drawing Rating Scale. Results of one-way multivariate analysis of variance, followed by one-way univariate analyses of variance, showed that girls (ABI = 4.26; IBI = 3.53; SBI = 4.28; BD = 0.89) expressed a greater discrepancy between ideal and actual body shape, as well as lower scores of ideal body shape than boys (ABI = 4.28; IBI = 3.93; SBI = 4.31; BD = 0.61). However, no statistical differences were found between boys and girls in actual and social body shape. Although current and social body images are perceived in a similar way by adolescents in our sample regardless of gender, yet girls seem to be more responsive to social and environmental pressures related with body stereotype, this being reflected by a higher dissatisfaction and a thinner idealization of the body. Our findings suggest that we need to focus our attention on girls, especially in a phase of changes such as puberty, if we aim to design any intervention that could positively impact youth's health through a proper body image.