Department of Psychology, University of Gothenburg, Sweden.
Department of Psychology, University of Gothenburg, Sweden.
Body Image. 2018 Mar;24:102-110. doi: 10.1016/j.bodyim.2017.12.009. Epub 2018 Feb 3.
Although previous research has revealed associations between negative body image and identity problems, there are sound theoretical reasons to assume much greater diversity in relations between body image and identity. The aim of the present qualitative study was to explore the ways people find the body salient to their identities. Young adults (N=121; 51% women) were interviewed, and four main themes were found: identification with the body, body functionality in identity-relevant tasks, appearance and identity in social interactions, and identity-relevant bodily engagement. Both positive and negative ways in which the body is salient in identity were described and descriptions included functionality, embodied experiences, and social environments. Gender differences were not found with one exception: more women than men described experiences of identifying with their bodies. These novel results have implications for the understanding of the interconnection between body image and identity and may open avenues for continued research.
尽管先前的研究揭示了消极的身体意象与身份问题之间的关联，但有充分的理论依据假设身体意象与身份之间的关系存在更大的多样性。本定性研究的目的是探索人们发现身体与身份相关的方式。研究采访了 121 名年轻人（51%为女性），发现了四个主要主题：对身体的认同、身体在身份相关任务中的功能、社交互动中的外貌和身份，以及与身份相关的身体参与。描述了身体在身份中突出的积极和消极方式，包括功能、体现经验和社会环境。除了一个例外，没有发现性别差异：更多的女性而不是男性描述了认同自己身体的体验。这些新颖的结果对理解身体意象和身份之间的相互联系具有重要意义，并可能为进一步的研究开辟途径。
