Body Shame in Childhood and Adolescence: Relation to Eating Disturbance and Overall Psychological Functioning

This chapter reviews the research to date that has examined body dissatisfaction and shame in normal and clinical samples and explores the environmental and dispositional variables that may contribute to body shame in children and adolescents. This discussion is divided into three areas: bodily shame related to assuming an adult female body; body shame associated with the onset of menarche and menstruation; and body shame related to childhood sexual abuse. This is followed by a discussion of the contributions of each of these factors to the development and maintenance of eating disorders in children and adolescents. We conclude with suggestions for future research in the area of childhood and adolescent body shame