Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
International Journal of Learning, cilt.17, sa.8, ss.251-260, 2010 (Scopus)
Adolescence is a time in human life when growth and development is most important. Adolescents have a need to assert themselves, become accepted, be admired and popular, which mae body shape and appearance important. Due to these reasons, adolescents strive to have the ideal body measures imposed by their societies. If an individual's body structure is substantially different from the ideal body structure they create in their mind and their felt weight, body dissatisfaction (denial of body image) may emerge. Body dissatisfaction causes various psychological disorders, while unhealthy ways of weight loss increases the risk for eating disorders. Individuals who like themselves physically and have a positive body image are largely expected to have positive self-esteem, too. Self-esteem is the degree to which an individual perceives himself/herself as talented, important, successful and valuable. The tendency to feeling sufficient in these respects is considered a positive personal trait. Thus, the present study aimed to examine the body image and self-esteem of adolescents who have and have not normal weight according to their body mass index. Participants were adolescent volunteers from different socio-economic backgrounds who were attending Ministry of Education high schools in central Ankara. Data about the demographics of the adolescents and their families were collected by using a questionnaire, while their body image was determined by using the "Body Image Scale" translated into Turkish by Hovardaoǧlu (1986), and their self-esteem levels were identified by using Güngör's (1989) "Self-Esteem Scale". In order to establish whether adolescents had normal body weight, their height and weight were measured and their BMI was calculated with the formula body weight/height (m2). BMI values were assessed with the reference values of the WHO (2000). Data obtained in the study are being analyzed by using appropriate statistical methods. © Common Ground, Asli{dotless} Uçar, Aynur Bütün Ayhan, F. Pi{dotless}nar Çakiroǧlu, Neriman Aral.