The Influence of Sociocultural Attitude toward Appearance and Narcissism on Body Stress

The purpose of this study is to examine the influence of sociocultural attitudes toward appearance and narcissism on body stress. Questionnaires are being administered to 206 women in their 20's-50's living in Deagu and Kyunbook province. The Frequency, factor analysis, reliability analysis, correlation analysis, regression analysis, ANOVA, and Duncan-test are used for data analysis. Sociocultural attitudes toward appearance are categorized into media appearance internalization and social recognition of appearance. Narcissism factors are found to be leadership/privilege, ostentation, and superiority. Body stress is categorized into 4 factors: weight stress, skin aging stress, body dissatisfaction, and hair stress. Sociocultural attitudes toward appearance was related to the sub-variables of narcissism, and body stress. Media appearance internalization is the sun-variable of sociocultural attitudes toward appearance and has significant effects on weight stress, skin aging stress, and body dissatisfaction sub-variables for body stress. Ostentation, and superiority being the sub-variables of narcissism, have significant effects on weight stress, skin aging stress, body dissatisfaction, and hair stress, the sub-variables for body stress. Ages of women display distinctions between the sub-variables in sociocultural attitudes toward appearance such media appearance internalization, and in narcissism such leadership/privilege, ostentation, superiority, and body stress such weight stress, skin aging stress, body dissatisfaction, and hair stress. This result can be a necessary base line data for adult women's appearance management by examining the influence of the attitude toward the appearance developed from the relationship with people around body stress.