Liu Zi-Han, Cai Hong, Bai Wei, Liu Shou, Liu Huanzhong, Chen Xu, Qi Han, Cheung Teris, Jackson Todd, Liu Rui, Xiang Yu-Tao
Unit of Psychiatry, Department of Public Health and Medicinal Administration, Institute of Translational Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Macau, Taipa, Macao SAR, China.
Centre for Cognitive and Brain Sciences, University of Macau, Taipa, Macao SAR, China.
Front Psychiatry. 2022 Feb 17;13:771398. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.771398. eCollection 2022.
Body appreciation (BA hereafter), which reflects approval, acceptance, and respect for one's body while also rejecting media-promoted appearance ideals as the only form of human beauty, is an important aspect of positive body image. Much of the BA literature has been conducted on samples from Western nations but less is known about BA or its correlates in Asian cultural contexts wherein concerns with body image are also common. Toward addressing this gap, we examined gender differences in BA and its associations with common psychiatric symptoms (i.e., depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and suicidality) within a national college student sample from China.
This cross-sectional, nationwide study was conducted between December 27, 2020, and January 18, 2021, based on snowball sampling. Aside from measures of demographics and background factors, Chinese versions of the Body Appreciation Scale-2 (BAS-2), Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale-7 (GAD-7), and a standard item on suicidal ideation and planning were administered to assess BA, depressive and anxiety symptoms, and suicidality, respectively.
In total, 2,058 college students (665 men, 1,393 women) in China were assessed. An analysis of covariance revealed that the men had a significantly higher average BA level than did women [ = 13.244, < 0.001, Cohen's d = 0.193]. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed BA was negatively associated with symptoms of depression, anxiety, and suicidality within the entire sample (depressive symptoms, β = -0.129, < 0.001; anxiety symptoms, β = -0.101, < 0.001; suicidality, OR = 0.788 = 0.020) and among women (depressive symptoms, β = -0.172, < 0.001; anxiety symptoms, β = -0.131, < 0.001; suicidality, OR = 0.639 = 0.001) but not men.
Chinese college women reported lower BA than their male peers did. Furthermore, among women but not men, elevations in BA corresponded with protective mental health experiences including lower levels of depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms and suicidality. Findings underscore the potential utility of including BA in mental health assessments of Chinese college students, especially women. Findings also provide foundations for continued research on interventions to increase BA among at-risk young women in China.
身体欣赏（以下简称BA）反映了对自身身体的认可、接受和尊重，同时也摒弃了媒体所宣扬的将外表理想作为人类美的唯一形式，是积极身体意象的一个重要方面。BA相关的许多文献都是基于西方国家的样本进行的，但在亚洲文化背景下，人们对身体意象也很关注，关于BA及其相关因素的了解却较少。为了填补这一空白，我们在中国全国大学生样本中研究了BA的性别差异及其与常见精神症状（即抑郁症状、焦虑症状和自杀倾向）的关联。
这项横断面的全国性研究于2020年12月27日至2021年1月18日进行，采用滚雪球抽样法。除了人口统计学和背景因素的测量指标外，还使用了中文版的身体欣赏量表-2（BAS-2）、患者健康问卷（PHQ-9）、广泛性焦虑障碍量表-7（GAD-7）以及一个关于自杀意念和计划的标准项目，分别评估BA、抑郁和焦虑症状以及自杀倾向。
总共对中国的2058名大学生（665名男性，1393名女性）进行了评估。协方差分析显示，男性的平均BA水平显著高于女性[F = 13.244，p < 0.001，科恩d值 = 0.193]。分层多元回归分析显示，在整个样本中（抑郁症状，β = -0.129，p < 0.001；焦虑症状，β = -0.101，p < 0.001；自杀倾向，OR = 0.788，p = 0.020）以及女性中（抑郁症状，β = -0.172，p < 0.001；焦虑症状，β = -0.131，p < 0.001；自杀倾向，OR = 0.639，p = 0.001），BA与抑郁、焦虑症状和自杀倾向呈负相关，但在男性中并非如此。
中国女大学生的BA水平低于男同学。此外，在女性而非男性中，BA的提高与心理健康状况的改善相关，包括抑郁症状、焦虑症状和自杀倾向水平较低。研究结果强调了在对中国大学生尤其是女性进行心理健康评估时纳入BA的潜在效用。研究结果也为继续研究在中国高危年轻女性中提高BA的干预措施提供了基础。
