Beautiful skin hides all faults - Effects of body satisfaction on self-esteem and shyness in Japanese female youths

Abstract

This study examined the influence of satisfaction from each body part in Japanese female youths on self-esteem and shyness. We hypothesized that body satisfaction in each body part has influence on shyness (social anxiety, social passivity) through self-esteem; and examined the hypothesis using path analysis. As a result, only the body satisfaction of "skin" has been shown to affect shyness and self-esteem. We conclude that body satisfaction especially in "Skin" has important influences on self-esteem and shyness in female youths. Key words: Body satisfaction, self-esteem, shyness, social anxiety, social passivity.