A Study of Body Satisfaction and Clothing Consciousness among American Women between the Ages of 60 and 90

미국 노년여성의 신체 만족도 및 의복 중요도에 관한 연구

This study explored elderly American women's body satisfaction and clothing consciousness with the methods of survey and body measurement. To that end, I first investigated their self-perception of body size and body satisfaction and also the relationships between those, along with the relationships between body measurements and body satisfaction. Then, I analyzed the differences in elderly women's body satisfaction and clothing consciousness among different body type groups. For the last, I examined the degree of their body thinness or obesity and ideal body size in order to explore the standard for ideal body shape among elderly women. Elderly American women were satisfied with most of their body parts except waist circumference and weight. Body satisfaction with stature, weight, and hip circumference was correlated to both size perception and body measurement. Body satisfaction with thigh circumference and leg length was correlated to size perception, and also that with waist circumference and neck length to body measurement. Size perception showed differences among body types, but body satisfaction did not show notable differences among body types. There were significant differences between real size and ideal one. Elderly American women thought that clothing was important in their everyday life.