Of Kate Moss & Marilyn Monroe: Body Dissatisfaction and its Relation to Media Consumption, Body Mass Index and Self-Esteem in Malaysian College Women

Can individual differences in body dissatisfaction be predicted? What would those predictors be? This study investigated whether media consumption, self-esteem, and Body Mass Index (BMI) were predictors of body dissatisfaction. The sample constituted of 149 female college students from 4 universities in Malaysia. To answer the question of the study, participants’ height and weight were collected along with their answers to Media Consumption Scale, the Rosenberg’s Self-Esteem Scale, and Body Esteem for Adolescents and Adults. A few analyses such as the independent samples t-test, One-way ANOVA, Pearson’s Correlation and Multiple Regression were conducted on the data. Results of the study indicated that self-esteem and BMI could predict body dissatisfaction in college women. However, the study indicated that media consumption did not. The findings were discussed with regard to relevant theories such as the self-discrepancy theory, social comparison theory, and objectification theory.