Date of Award

7-1999

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Abstract

Little is known about how women perceive and feel about their bodies at midlife. The popular media prescribe a standard of ideal female appearance that equates beauty with youth and thinness, features that are altered by the passing years. Much of the research about body image that includes midlife women has been conducted in a framework of pathology. Because there is little research that documents women's feelings and perceptions about their bodies in adulthood, this phenomenological study describes the body image concerns of women at midlife. Instruments administered during the course of the study included the Beck Depression Inventory, the Eating Disorders Inventory-II, and a demographic questionnaire. A series of three unstructured interviews were conducted with each participant. Eight women between the ages of 41 and 53 completed the interview protocol. Three groups of themes describing influences on body image were identified by the study including themes about body assessment, environmental influences pertaining to body image, and the relation between body image and sense of self. Important subthemes that are described include body dissatisfaction, solutions to weight dissatisfaction, and the importance of appearance. Implications for practice and further study are discussed

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