Feelings and reactive behavior generated by self-recognized inferiority in appearance in adolescents

Abstract

The present study investigated relationships between feelings and reactive behaviors of adolescents and young adults about inferiority in their appearance. The participants, junior high school students (7th, 8th, and 9th grades; N = 207; average age, 13.16), senior high school students (N = 188; average age, 15.72), and university students (N = 150; average age, 20.33), completed a questionnaire about recognition of inferiority in their appearance, related feelings, and related reactive behavior. Factor analysis of the items on related feelings resulted in the extraction of 6 factors: dissatisfactory feelings, sad feelings, hostile feelings, self-affirmative feelings, yearning feelings, and self-reproach feelings. Factor analysis of the items on reactive behaviors resulted in the extraction of 7 factors: evasion of others, direct efforts, aggression towTard others, pastime, neglect, desire for approval from others, and vicarious compensation. In all age groups, direct efforts were related to yearning feelings; aggression towTard others and desire for approval from others were related to hostile feelings; pastime was related to dissatisfactory feelings; and neglect and vicarious compensation were related to sad feelings and self-affirmative feelings.