Wang Xiangyu, Wang Tianjing, Fu Leyi, Yun Feng, Qu Fan, Wang Fangfang
Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
Women's Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
PLoS One. 2025 Aug 18;20(8):e0330260. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0330260. eCollection 2025.
Body image perception significantly impacts university students' well-being and potentially their creativity. Traditional aesthetic education often neglects direct engagement with body image concerns. To address this gap, we developed an innovative general education course, Aesthetics in Traditional Chinese Medicine and Western Medicine, integrating medical aesthetics with multidisciplinary perspectives. This study aimed to optimize the curriculum of our course with evidence-based insights by exploring the relationship among students' self-perception of physical appearance, well-being, and creative self-efficacy.
A cross-sectional study was conducted among 328 students at Zhejiang University in December 2024. Participants completed validated scales: Negative Physical Self Scale (NPSS), Objectified Body Consciousness Scale (OBCS), WHO-5 Well-Being Index (WHO-5), and Creative Self-Efficacy scale (CSE). Demographic data and course enrollment intention were also collected.
Significant intercorrelations were observed among NPSS, OBCS, WHO-5, and CSE scores. These associations were further influenced by demographic and academic factors, including sex, age, grade, and major. Specifically, female students exhibited higher levels of self-objectification, while lower-year students reported more negative self-perception of physical appearance. Moreover, Life Sciences & Medicine students demonstrated a greater tendency toward negative self-perception, low psychological well-being level, and decreased creative self-efficacy, compared to peers in other disciplines.
Based on these findings, we propose refining the course with targeted educational interventions, fostering positive body image perception, and addressing the specific needs of identified student groups-particularly medical students-to cope with these challenges.
身体意象感知对大学生的幸福感有显著影响，并可能影响他们的创造力。传统审美教育往往忽视了对身体意象问题的直接关注。为了弥补这一差距，我们开发了一门创新的通识教育课程《中西医美学》，将医学美学与多学科视角相结合。本研究旨在通过探索学生对身体外貌的自我认知、幸福感和创造性自我效能感之间的关系，以循证见解优化我们课程的教学大纲。
2024年12月，在浙江大学对328名学生进行了一项横断面研究。参与者完成了经过验证的量表：负面身体自我量表（NPSS）、身体意识物化量表（OBCS）、世界卫生组织-5幸福感指数（WHO-5）和创造性自我效能量表（CSE）。还收集了人口统计学数据和课程报名意向。
在NPSS、OBCS、WHO-5和CSE得分之间观察到显著的相互关联。这些关联进一步受到人口统计学和学术因素（包括性别、年龄、年级和专业）的影响。具体而言，女学生表现出更高水平的自我物化，而低年级学生对外貌的自我认知更负面。此外，与其他学科的同龄人相比，生命科学与医学专业的学生表现出更大的负面自我认知倾向、较低的心理健康水平和较低的创造性自我效能感。
基于这些发现，我们建议通过有针对性的教育干预来完善课程，培养积极的身体意象感知，并满足特定学生群体（特别是医学生）应对这些挑战的特定需求。
