The Association Between Anxiety and Self Perception of Body Image

Live Poster Session: Zoom Link to Presentation

Bizzy Katz


Bizzy Katz is a member of the Class of 2025 at Wesleyan University majoring in Psychology and Education. She grew up in Poughkeepsie, New York where she started volunteering in schools, and discovered her love for teaching. Here at Wesleyan, Bizzy volunteers at the Traverse After-School Program, where she works as a tutor/babysitter, she works in Professor Shusterman’s Cognitive Development Lab volunteering in local preschools, and is an active member of the Wesleyan Doula Project. Bizzy did not start off QAC 201 confident in her coding abilities, but it has been an experience full of growth, and now she feels self-assured and proud of the work she can do. Using STATA, Bizzy can now interpret and manage data, and will use this newly acquired skill in her future endeavours.

Abstract: The present study aims to investigate the relationship between Anxiety and self-perceived body image. Prior research shows that social media use is a factor in both increased Anxiety and increased body image dissatisfaction and extremism (Share, 2017). Being a female is identified as a risk factor for both heightened Anxiety and body image dissatisfaction and extremism (Sander, 2021). Gaps in the literature exist regarding the association between Anxiety and self-perceived body image extremism, without the variable of social media. Present data analysis using The U.S National Longitudinal Survey of Adolescent Health (ADDHEALTH) Wave 1 survey has led to results revealing that individuals with an extreme self-perceived body image report a significantly higher number of anxiety symptoms. When controlling for the confounding variable of sex, females have a significantly higher extreme self-perceived body image than males. Further research needs to be done to decipher a more clear correlation to help aid individuals develop healthier body images.

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