Does culture moderate the relationship between body dissatisfaction and quality of life? A comparative study of Australian and Malaysian emerging adults. Issue 1 (May 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Santhira Shagar, Pravina; Donovan, Caroline L; Boddy, Jennifer; Tapp, Caley; Harris, Neil
• Is Part Of: Health psychology open. Volume 8:Issue 1(2021)
• Publication Date: 2021-05
• Subjects: body image -- culture -- health promotion -- moderator -- public health psychology -- QoL -- quantitative Methods; Clinical health psychology -- Periodicals; Medicine and psychology -- Periodicals; 613.019
• DOI: 10.1177/20551029211018378
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2055-1029

Abstract

Investigating moderating effects of culture between body dissatisfaction (BD) and quality of life (QoL) is paramount, as BD affects psychosocial functioning. Participants include 866 females (18–25) years old from Australia ( n = 464) M (20.88) SD (3.38) and Malaysia ( n = 402) M (20.63) SD (2.05). Higher levels of BD predicted lower levels of QoL across all four domains. BD had the strongest effect on psychological QoL for both cultures. Culture moderated the relationship between BD and: (i) physical QoL and (ii) environmental QoL. The adverse impact of BD on all domains of QoL, highlights the importance of BD as a public health problem.