Abstract
Body-image cognitive distortions and self-esteem are two socially important parameters which are reported to be associated with the skin color satisfaction in the young people. However, much of the research till date has been conducted on the populations of color in the color-stratified Western societies and on women, with contradictory results. To better understand the depths of associations between these parameters, we investigated whether greater skin color satisfaction is connected to lower body-image cognitive distortions and higher self-esteem among the young Indian men and women. Data were collected from 145 participants (male 73 and female 72), between ages 18 and 26 years. Results showed a general preference for lighter skin color among the participants with men, in our sample, expressed significant negative and positive associations of skin color satisfaction respectively with body-image cognitive distortions and self-esteem. However, skin color satisfaction is not a good predictor of self-esteem in our study, unlike the parameter body-image cognitive distortions. The findings are discussed in lights of self-perception and mental health of the young adult Indian men and women in a multi-colored society that has internalized the norms of somatic beauty, established by the culture and media.
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This work was supported by the School of Life Science and Biotechnology, Adamas University, Barasat, West Bengal, India.
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Mallick, A., Paul, M., Ahmed, N., Biswas, S., Ghosh, S., Chakroborty, N.K. (2021). Matrix of Skin Color Satisfaction, Body-Image Cognitive Distortions and Self-esteem of the Young Adults. In: Mukherjee, M., Mandal, J., Bhattacharyya, S., Huck, C., Biswas, S. (eds) Advances in Medical Physics and Healthcare Engineering. Lecture Notes in Bioengineering. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-6915-3_33
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