Percepiual and Motor Skills, 1992, 7 5 , 832-834.

O Perceptual and Motor Skills 1992

AN APPRAISAL O F BODY IMAGE AMONG NIGERIAN UNIVERSITY STUDENTS ' J O S E P H A. BALOGUN

FRIDAY E. OKONOFUA

Texas Woman i University

Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria

ADETUTU 0 . BALOGUN Texaj \Woman i University Summary.-Ths study was designed to provide baseline data on the attitudes of Nigerian university students toward their own bodies. 286 students completed the 25-item version of the Body Cathexis Scale of Berscheid, et al. These students were more satisfied than they were dissatisfied with their body parts. The body weight and general muscle development were aspects with which they were most dissatisfied. Compared to men, women were significantly more satisfied with their ears, body weight, general muscle development, chestlbreast, size of sex organs, and appearance of sex organs. These baseline data may help screen Nigerian university students with negative body ideation.

I n recent years, increased attention has been given to the body-image construct by rehabilitation specialists because it is now recognized that physical illness often alters the body image and thereby reflects the emotional well-being of the patient. Berscheid, Walster, and Bohrnstedt (2) using a national survey described the attitudes of Americans toward their bodies. No information on how Nigerians view their body parts is available. Possibly, Nigerians experience their body parts differently from Americans given the sociocultural differences between the two nations. The purposes of this investigation were to assess the feelings of Nigerians about their body parts and ascertain whether Nigerian men and women feel differently toward their bodies. Method.-The target populations were Nigerian university students, but the more modest accessible group were students at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria. Two hundred eighty-six students enrolIed in various professional courses at the university fully completed the Body Cathexis Scale developed by Berscheid, et a/. (2). The scale has four parts. Part I sought ratings of satisfaction/dissatisfaction about the face (hair, eyes, ears, nose, mouth, teeth, voice, chin, and skin complexjon). Parts I1 and 111 elicited information on the extremities (shoulders, arms, hands, and feet) and midtorso (size of abdomen, buttocks, hips, and legs/ankles), respectively.

'We thank Mrs. Idowu Orimogunje for computer search of the literature and Ms. Tanya Toliver for secretarial assistance. Address correspondence to Joseph A. Balogun, Ph.D., PT, School of Physical Therapy, Texas Woman's Universjty, Houston, T X 77030-2987.

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NIGERIAN STUDENTS: BODY IMAGE

Part IV of the questionnaire solicited for "other" relevant information such as height, body weight, general muscle development, chestlbreast size and appearance, and over-all facial attractiveness. The subjects rated each body part on 5-point scales in Likert format anchored by 1 (extreme dissatisfaction) and 5 (extreme satisfaction). For each subject, we computed the scores for the four different sections (face, extremities, midtorso, and "others"). We also computed an over-all score by summing ratings of the 25 items; the total score could range from 25 to 125. A high score indicated greater satisfaction and confidence about the body parts and physical appearance. The scale has shown reasonable reliability and validity (1). Results.--The ages of the subjects ranged from 16 to 37 years (M= 21.4, ~t3.2). The men (M = 24.4, ~t3.6 yr.) were significantly ( p < 0.0001) older than the women (20.8, _+ 3.1 yr.). Generally, the subjects were satisfied with their various body parts. The ears (91.6%) and arms (89 2%) were the sites of greatest satisfaction while body weight (12.6%) and general muscle development (11.9%) were items on which subjects were most dissatisfied. No significant differences were noted between men and women on how they rated the face, extremities, and midtorso; however, women were more satisfied with their "other" body parts than men. Over-all, women were more satisfied (p