Young Women's Experiences of Social Physique Anxiety

It is well documented that young women's social physique anxiety is associated with a number of health-compromising behaviors. The bulk of this research has used the Social Physique Anxiety Scale (SPAS); however, the use of questionnaires in the body domain has been critiqued because of the assumption that women's experiences are singular and static. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to try to better understand young women's experiences of social physique anxiety. Feminist theory was used as a guiding perspective for this case study. Four young women participated (all 15 years old) and multiple methods (i.e. focus group, interviews, abstract photography task) were employed. The four themes developed were: (1) web of emotion; (2) uncertainty; (3) beyond physique; and (4) resignation. The stories of the young women suggest that their experiences are not easily reduced to this singular construct, and that, as a construct, social physique anxiety is limited in helping us to understand women's diverse experiences.

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