Demographic and sociocultural predictors of face image satisfaction: The U.S. Body Project I

David A Frederick; Tania A Reynolds; Carlos A Barrera; Stuart B Murray

doi:10.1016/j.bodyim.2022.01.016

Demographic and sociocultural predictors of face image satisfaction: The U.S. Body Project I

Body Image. 2022 Jun:41:1-16. doi: 10.1016/j.bodyim.2022.01.016. Epub 2022 Feb 25.

Authors

David A Frederick¹, Tania A Reynolds², Carlos A Barrera³, Stuart B Murray⁴

Affiliations

¹ Crean College of Health and Behavioral Sciences, Chapman University, Orange, CA, USA. Electronic address: Enderflies1@aol.com.
² Psychology Department, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA; The Kinsey Institute, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA.
³ Department of Psychology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
⁴ Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.

PMID: 35228101
DOI: 10.1016/j.bodyim.2022.01.016

Abstract

Despite substantial literature surrounding how people process and perceive faces, there is very little research investigating how people evaluate their own faces. We examined how gender, body mass, race, age, and sexual orientation were linked to people's satisfaction with the appearance of their eyes, nose, facial shape, and face overall among 11,620 adults recruited via Mechanical Turk. Most people mostly or definitely agreed they were happy with their facial appearance. There were notable racial differences, with Asian participants tending to report greater dissatisfaction. For example, only 66% of Asian women and 60% of Asian men mostly or definitely agreed that they were happy with the appearance of their eyes, which was lower than other racial groups. BMI and age were not strongly associated with face satisfaction. Sexual minority men were less satisfied than heterosexual men. About one in four gay and bisexual men, compared to only one in seven heterosexual men, reported dissatisfaction with their overall facial appearance. Men and women with poorer face image engaged in more appearance surveillance, more strongly internalized the thin-ideal, and perceived stronger sociocultural pressures from peers, parents, and media. The current study highlights important sociocultural and demographic factors tied to poorer face image.

Keywords: Appearance; Body image; Face image satisfaction; Facial attractiveness; Race differences.

MeSH terms

Adult
Body Image* / psychology
Demography
Female
Heterosexuality
Humans
Male
Personal Satisfaction
Sexual and Gender Minorities*