This portrays a correlation between satisfaction with body shape and self-esteem being greater for women from high SES (Abell & Richards, 1996).Thompson and Thompson (1986) further researched differences in gender relating to body size distortion and self-esteem. Their research investigated body size distortion in males and females as well as the relationship between self-esteem and body size distortion in each gender group. Thompson and Thompson (1986) found that females overestimate body size to a larger degree than males, and higher distortion was associated with lower self-esteem. Research done by Garner and Garfinkel (as cited in Thompson & Thompson, 1986) found similar correlations between self-esteem and body satisfaction and between body distortion and body dissatisfaction in a group of anorexia nervosa patients that generated negative relations between self-esteem and distortion level. Bruch (as cited in Thompson and Thompson, 1986) found that there may be many factors that lead to the development of an eating disorder, but body size distortion has always been one of the most prominent.Directions for Future ResearchConcerning the issue of body size distortion, Thompson and Thompson (1986) indicate the importance of research designed to investigate the causal nature of the relationship between self-esteem, body satisfaction, and body size overestimation. It is also discussed that further research correlating self-esteem and body size distortion should be done on asymptomatic individuals because the majority of research done on this subject has been done on females with eating disorders (Thompson & Thompson, 1986).Abell and Richards (1996) direct further research to explore the impact of social views and religious beliefs on the way in which young men and women perceive their bodies. They also feel that to gain a greater understanding of the relationship between body image and self-esteem the impact of class differences mu...
