Female Body Image Perception: A Study of Teenage Girls

Attending Single-sex Versus Coed Schools

By: Olivia Feehery

QuestionDo either single-sex or

coed schools provide a more accepting or less judgmental environment for girls?

Background Information There are many different opinions about single-sex and

coeducation. Arguments for single-sex education are that there are fewer

distractions for students and the gender stereotypes that exist for certain subjects will be insignificant.

Arguments for coeducation are that separate schools are unequal, and that interaction with the opposite sex is necessary for success.

In a test trying to discover whether girls and boy felt a greater sense of belonging at single-sex or coed schools, it was found that girls have a greater sense of belonging at single-sex schools.

Belonging has an affect on many part of wellbeing. Female body image is especially fragile during the adolescent

years, and the factors that influence body image for girls are personal body evaluations, worry about others’ views of their bodies, and same-sex and opposite-sex relationships.

Hypothesis

It was hypothesized that girls at single-sex schools would have a more accepting or positive perception of others’ bodies.

Procedure1. To begin experimentation a survey was created with 25

questions using four images to reveal the subjects’ perceptions of the body images.

2. Two hundred and forty copies of the survey were produced with an attached informed consent form.

3. Half were distributed to a coed school, and half were distributed at a single-sex school.

4. One hundred six girls from the coeducational school and one hundred four girls from the single-sex school between the ages of 13 and 16 completed the survey.

5. All of the data was collected in spreadsheets. 6. Averages and ranges were calculated for a few questions that

were appropriate. Modes and frequencies were calculated for all of the questions.

7. Graphs were also created to better display the data.

The Survey

Image A Image B Image C Image D

StatisticsStatistics: Ideal Body Weight

Single-sex Coedaverage 115.9 113.1mode 120 120min 100 85quartile 1 110 105median 115 115quartile 3 120 120max 135 150range 35 65

Statistics: Ideal HeightSingle-sex Coed

average 64.1 62.6mode 64 64min 60 55.5quartile 1 63 62median 64 63quartile 3 65 64.5max 67 67range 7 11.5

Statistics: Ideal Pant SizeSingle-sex Coed

mode 4 2min 0 0quartile 1 2 2median 4 4quartile 3 5.5 6max 16 14range 16 14

Statistics: Ideal Hours of Exercise/WeekSingle-sex Coed

average 6.1 7.4mode 4 7min 0 0.8quartile1 4 4median 5 5quartile 3 8 8max 15 28range 15 27.2

Comparison of Ideal Weight

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

80 90 100 110 120 130 140 150 160

Ideal Weight (lbs)

Frequency of Answer

Single-sexCoed

Comparison of Ideal Height

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

50 60 70

Height (in)

Frequency of Answer

Single-sexCoed

Comparison of Ideal Pant Size

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

0 5 10 15 20

Even Pant Sizes

Frequency of Answer

Single-sexCoed

Comparison of Ideal Hours/Week of Excercise

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

0 5 10 15 20 25 30

Hours/Week

Frequency of Answers

Single-sex

Coed

Conclusion It was hypothesized that girls at single-sex

schools would have a more accepting opinion of others’ bodies. The results did not point to either group as more accepting because many of the results were similar or not definitive enough. This knowledge could play a role in education decisions by showing that neither type of education is better for a child in this specific area, and seemingly neither creates a less judgmental environment.

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• What are the standards of beauty?; How do images of beauty affect society? (2010). In The culture of beauty (pp. 19-89). Greenhaven Press.