EFFECTS OF BODY-SATISFACTION ON SOCIAL ANXIETY AND SELF-DISCLOSING BEHAVIOR IN ADOLESCENCE

The present study investigated effects of body-satisfaction on social anxiety and self-disclosing behavior, focusing on the relationship between body and self in adolescence. Thirty-six male and thirty-six female undergraduates talked with an interviewer of the same-sex or opposite-sex. Their interactions were video-taped. The following results were obtained: (1) body-satisfaction level had an effect on social anxiety and on the style of self-disclosing behavior, but not on the contents of disclosure, (2) the high body-satisfaction group was shy and passive with an interviewer of the opposite-sex, and this seemed to be common among late adolescents, (3) the low body-satisfaction group was anxious, shy, tense, and passive with an interviewer of the same-sex, (4) the low body-satisfaction group was both tense and active with an interviewer of the opposite-sex (these results suggest that a relationship exists between body-satisfaction and gender identity confusion), (5) body-satisfaction level had no effect on interpersonal distance.