ASSOCIATION OF BODY IMAGE AND MENTAL HEALTH OF ADOLESCENTS

Abstract: Body image represents how one perceives their body and acts as the most important part of an individual's image of self. An individual's physical appearance is the first feature that is judged by people when they encounter each other. On the other hand, a notable measure of mental health is one's satisfaction with his or her body image and positive attitude towards the body. Adolescence is the period of transformation of not only the physical aspects but also the psychological aspects, that occurs between puberty and adulthood. Hence, this study intends to examine the relationship between body image and psychological health of adolescents.The data was collected from 200 college-going students aged between 18 to 21 using convenience sampling. The standard questionnaire on body image and mental health were used. The mean score for body image was 59.90, which indicates moderate body image satisfaction and the mental health mean score revealed moderate depression with a mean score of 11.60. The collected data was analyzed using Pearson r (r (199) = -.424, p <.01). The result indicates a significantly negative correlation between body image and mental health among adolescents. Thus, the study concludes that body image and mental health have an inverse relationship.

Keywords: Adolescence, mental health, Body image.