Journal of Education and Human Development

Body Image Perception and Psychological Distress among Students in the University of Buea in Cameroon
Joseph Lah Lo-oh, Elange Carine Bambo

Abstract
Body image is a common concern among young people, especially university-level adolescent students, most of whomseem to be challenged by their bodies, the way they look, their weight and concerns about either losing or gaining weight. Their perceptions and feelings about their bodies and how they physically and psychologically carry themselves allow them to internalize positive or negative body images with corresponding mental health effects. This paper focuses on body image perceptions and psychological distress among some students in the University of Buea in Cameroon. It presents data on four body image-related concerns: eating disorders, body dissatisfaction, avoidance behaviour and thin ideal internalizationand their possible link topsychological distress. A survey was conducted that permitted the collection of questionnaire data from 377 participants, aged 15 to 35. Descriptive statistics were run and the Spearman rho correlation was further used to test the relationship between body image perceptions and psychological distress. Findings showed that eating disorders (r=.610**; P=0.000<0.05), body dissatisfaction (r=0.701**; P=0.000<0.05), avoidance behaviour (r=0.684**; P=0.000<0.05) and thin ideal internalization (r=0.669**; P=0.000<0.05) were significantly related to psychological distress. These implied that psychological distress was more likely among those who portrayedeating disorders as a response to body image, when affected studentsare dissatisfied with their bodies, display excessive avoidance behaviour, and when there are conflicts between student thin-ideal internalizations and their bodies. These findings aligned with previous ones that found similar links between body image perceptions and psychological distress. It was concluded that young people ought to be encouraged to nurture body positivity as a way of helping them develop protective factors for psychological wellbeing and mental health.

Full Text: PDF     DOI: 10.15640/jehd.v12n2a7