Body Dissatisfaction and Disordered Eating Among Early Adolescents From Korea and the US

Abstract

Multidimensional measures of body dissatisfaction and disordered eating were studied in samples of 12-15 years old middle school children. Consistent with feminist theories associating body dissatisfaction with rapid social change, Korean girls (n = 272) exhibited the greatest body dissatisfaction and the most behaviors associated with disordered eating and were followed in order by Korean boys (n = 276), US girls (n = 251), and US boys (n = 220). The results, which replicated Jung and Forbes (2006) report of greater body dissatisfaction among Korean than among US college women, suggest that (1) these differences originate prior to adolescence, and (2) the sociocultural variables producing greater body dissatisfaction in Korean girls and women also influence body dissatisfaction among boys.