Body Esteem among Tunisian adolescents: Prevalence and associated factors

Introduction Body esteem refers to an individual’s self-evaluation of their own body or appearance. It plays a critical role in the psychosocial development of adolescents, who become increasingly aware of their bodies and how they are perceived by others. Objectives This study aims to examine the specificity of body esteem among Tunisian adolescents and its associated factors. Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted via a survey among adolescents attending middle and high schools during the 2023-2024 school year. Participants provided written consent and completed a demographic information sheet, the Body Esteem Scale for Adolescents and Adults (BESAA), and the Adverse Childhood Experiences-International Questionnaire (ACE-IQ). Results The study population consisted of 1,005 adolescents, with a sex ratio of 0.73 and a mean age of 14.62 years. We found that 88,1% of adolescents had high body esteem while 11,9% had low body esteem. We found that body esteem is statistically correlated with : low socioeconomic status (p=0,033, OR=0,58 (95%CI [0,35-0,94])), with the history of organix disease (p<0,001, OR=0,415 (95%[0,265-0,650])), with BMI measurements (p<0,001) specifically with obesity (p=0,014, OR=0,497 (95%CI [0,292-0,846])). The findings suggested that selfie practice was significantly associated with body esteem (p=0,009, OR=1,819 (95% [1,18-2,8])) and that selfie posting on social media was statistically correlated to appearance esteem with p-value =0,027. Additionally, we found that body esteem was directly and significantly associated with all the adverse childhood experiences except for collective violence. Detailed results are shown in the table below: Adverse childhood experiences Family relations Neglect Family dysfunction Psychological abuse Physical abuse Sexual abuse Peer violence Community violence Body Esteem p 0,018 <0,001 <0,001 0,001 <0,001 0,001 <0,001 0,007 OR (95% CI) 0,55 (0,34-0,89) 0,33 (0,22-0,5) 0,39 (0,26-0,6) 0,496 (0,32-0,77) 0,429 (0,28-0,64) 0,47 (0,3-0,73) 0,43 (0,27-0,7) 0,53 (0,33-0,84) Conclusions By understanding the associated factors of body esteem, this study contributes to a broader comprehension of adolescents’ well-being and offers insights for creating a safer and more supportive environment for young people in our country. Disclosure of Interest None Declared