Prospective studies have identified factors that increase risk for eating pathology onset, including perceived pressure for thinness, thin-ideal internalization, body dissatisfaction, dietary restraint, and negative affect. Research also suggests that body dissatisfaction and dietary restraint may constitute prodromal stages of the development of…

This paper describes the struggle to develop a female sexual identity and the importance of the roles of the father and mother in this struggle. The clinical illustration is taken from the psychotherapy of an anorectic adolescent.

In this article, the author describes the various changes that are experienced by young adolescents. Physically, early adolescents are growing faster than at any other time in their lives except infancy. They experience significant increases in weight, height, heart size, lung capacity, and muscular strength. Intellectually and cognitively, early…

The psychosocial impact of puberty on changes in girls' feelings about their bodies and their sexuality is discussed. We present a model of girls' sexuality development that incorporates puberty, self, and peer systems. (Contains 2 figures.)

The authors focus on the special issues involved in providing counseling to aging gay men regarding sex and intimacy. Although the stresses of aging experienced by gay men are similar to those of heterosexual men, older gay men face issues of a stigmatized sexual orientation, invisibility, negative stereotypes, and discrimination regarding aging.

This article discusses issues related to body image in adolescents, explaining what school practitioners can do to encourage lifelong healthy habits that enhance body image. Body image is the picture of physical self carried in the mind's eye. This impression can have little resemblance to how a teen actually looks. Body image culturalization is…

This longitudinal study of adolescent girls and boys examined the contributions of social (peer appearance context), psychological (internalized appearance ideals and appearance social comparison), and biological (body mass) factors to the development of body dissatisfaction. Students (165 girls and 139 boys) completed questionnaires when they…

The treatment of body image has to be multifaceted and should be directed toward the treatment of the whole individual - body, mind, and spirit - with an ultimate culmination of acceptance and compassion for the self. This article presents information on a mindful approach to the treatment of body image as it pertains to concerns with body size…