Body image dissatisfaction among the adolescents: What can psychologist do?

Abstract

Most adolescents become greatly concerned about body image. Two factors that may influence the adolescents' concern about their bodies are the media and the persuasion from significant persons, such as family members and peer groups. A number of researchers had found that females were more likely to judge themselves overweight than males and this tendency was strongest in adolescent and young adult women (Prevos, 2005). The most common body image problem is body image dissatisfaction. Some studies indicate that body image dissatisfaction can lead to some serious problems, such as eating disorders, smoking behaviour, low self-esteem, and depression; therefore, psychologists need to find some solutions to cope with this problem. The studies of body image dissatisfaction and its intervention in Indonesia, especially in Surabaya, are increasing lately. Some researchers tried to apply alternatives of therapies to deal with adolescence body image dissatisfaction, such as bibliotherapy (Sukamto, 2005; Hidayat, 2008), hypnotherapy (Sumali, 2007), and cognitive therapy (Indria, 2007). The purpose of this article is to discuss the results of those studies integrated with theoretical reviews. Furthermore, the author hopes this article will inspire other psychologists to think of other solutions to cope with body image problems

    Similar works