The Contributions of Media, Body Image Concerns and Locality to the Perceived Self-esteem of Female Nigerian Adolescents

Abstract

The contributions of media, body image and locality to the perceived self-esteem of female Nigerian adolescents were studied. Three hundred and  eighty-five female secondary school students from both rural and urban localities of Nsukka local government area of Enugu state, Nigeria participated in  this study. Body image dissatisfaction questionnaire and media influence assessment questionnaire by Amazue and Obi as well as Rosenberg’s self- esteem scale were used for data collection. A multi- group cross-sectional research design was adopted and a 3-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) with  unequal sample sizes was used to analyze the data. Results showed that media, body image concern and locality played significant roles in influencing  the perceived self-esteem of female secondary school students. There was also a significant 3-way interaction effect of media, body image concern, and  locality on students’ perceived self-esteem. It was concluded that there is a need to incorporate self-esteem enhancing programmes in Nigerian  secondary schools. Adolescents should be exposed to intervention programmes that would enable them withstand the pressures of mass media and the  cultural orientation of Nigerians regarding body image should be encouraged.