Body Image Perception and Self-Esteem among College-Age Youth
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.63345/Keywords:
Body Image Perception, Self-Esteem, College-Age Youth, Social Comparison, Digital Health, Explainable Machine LearningAbstract
Body image has become an increasingly complex component of psychological well-being among college-age youth living within highly visual digital environments. This study investigates the relationship between body image perception and self-esteem while conceptualizing appearance-focused digital exposure and social comparison as potentially informative contextual factors. A distinctive research gap is identified in the limited integration of validated psychological measures with computational approaches capable of detecting heterogeneous self-esteem vulnerability profiles among young adults. The proposed research therefore combines psychometric assessment with explainable machine-learning analysis rather than treating body image and self-esteem exclusively through conventional bivariate associations. Body appreciation, appearance-related concern, social comparison orientation, digital appearance exposure, demographic characteristics, and self-esteem are incorporated within a multidimensional analytical framework.
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