Self-esteem and body image of Turkish adolescent girls

The aim in this study was to examine the relationship between self-esteem and body image in female adolescents who are athletes or nonathletes. Adolescent girls (N = 477) between the ages of 12 and 14 participated in the research in Izmir, Turkey. The self-esteem survey developed by Coopersmith (1967) and the Body Cathexis Scale developed by Secord and Jourard (1953) were used in the study. The findings obtained show that there is a significantly stronger relationship between self-esteem and body image in the athletic adolescent girls compared with the sedentary girls (p < 0.05).