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Cross-Cultural Comparisons of Appearance Self-Schema, Body Image, Self-Esteem, and Dieting Behavior Between Korean and U.S. Women

University of Delaware

Seung-Hee Lee

Sungshin Women’s University

This study conducted cross-cultural comparisons of appearance self-schema, body image, self-esteem, and dieting behavior between women from Korea and the United States. Participants were 201 undergraduates from a central university in Seoul, South Korea and 205 undergraduates from a mid-Atlantic university in the United States. They completed a questionnaire in their native language that included measures of appearance self-schema, body image, self-esteem, dieting behavior, and demographic information. Women in both cultural groups with high appearance self-schema were less satisfied with their overall bodies and revealed lower self-esteem than those with low appearance self-schema. Korean women placed greater importance on appearance, were more critical of their bodies, and revealed lower self-esteem than U.S. women. However, U.S. women showed higher scores on dieting behavior than Korean women. Implications are discussed in relation to the cultural concept (i.e., individualism versus collectivism) and sociocultural factors such as media and gender roles.

Key Words: body image • culture • appearance self-schema • self-esteem • dieting behavior

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