• Fashion & Textile Research Journal
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.481-489
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• 2023

This study aims to explore the relationships between self-esteem, sociality, appearance satisfaction, and subjective appearance satisfaction among college students. A self-administered questionnaire was used to survey students from 4-year colleges in Gwangju Metropolitan City. The findings reveal that personal self-esteem significantly impacts autonomy and activity, while social self-esteem significantly affects sociability and activity. Both physical and psychological self-esteem exhibit a significant influence on sociability, autonomy, and activity, underscoring their pivotal role in shaping social interactions. Further, both social and physical self-esteem significantly affect subjective appearance satisfaction, while bearing no significant influence on personal and psychological self-esteem. Thus, all self-esteem factors influence subjective appearance satisfaction, although some are not statistically significant. In addition, both sociability and activity display a statistically significant influence, whereas autonomy exhibits no such significance. This underlines the centrality of subjective appearance satisfaction in fostering sociability and activity. In sum, the outcomes underscore the interconnectedness of self-esteem, sociality, and subjective appearance satisfaction in college students. Moreover, the results indicate that higher subjective appearance satisfaction is linked with increased perceptions of self-esteem and sociality. Therefore, the development of programs oriented toward enhancing self-esteem and sociality among college students is imperative, enabling them to navigate their academic and social experiences with self-assurance.