Exploring Body Appreciation among Adolescents in Türkiye: The Intersection of Race, Self-Compassion, Body Image Flexibility, and Sociocultural Influences’’

This study investigated the prediction of self-compassion, body image flexibility, and sociocultural influences on body appreciation as well as the ethnicity, adolescence stages, body mass index, and gender. The study consisted of 378 adolescents aged 11 to 19 years (M = 15.48, SD = 1.08), of whom 51.1% were male and 43.9% were female. Of the overall sample, 29.1% were Turkish and 66.9% were international adolescents of various ethnicities who were living in Türkiye. The participants completed the Demographic Information Form, the Body Appreciation Scale-2, the Self-compassion Scale for Youth, the Body Image Acceptance and Action Questionnaire, and the Sociocultural Attitudes Toward Appearance Questionnaire-4. The data was analyzed using hierarchical regression analysis in SPSS 26. The results showed that ethnicity and self-compassion were the strongest predictors of body appreciation. Additionally, gender, family pressure towards appearance, body image flexibility, and body mass index significantly predicted body appreciation in adolescence. Our findings are consistent with existing literature suggesting that positive body image varies across ethnic groups. However, the adolescence stage did not appear to be a significant factor. This study provides insightful information about adolescents' positive body image, especially in the context of Türkiye and other non-Western ethnic backgrounds.