Exercise, Aggressive Diets, Bariatric Surgery and Other Attempts to Look Better: The Effects of Sociocultural Attitudes Toward Appearance on Social Physical Anxiety

Introduction: There might be a probability that the sporting environment emphasises a body ideal that increases the likelihood of body dissatisfaction among female participants. This study examined the effect of sociocultural attitudes towards appearance on social physique anxiety in women athletes. Materials and Methods: The participants were 43 female students studying at the Faculty of Sport Sciences. The Social Physique Anxiety Scale (SPAS) and the Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Questionnaire-3 (SATAQ-3) were used in the study. There was a total of 43 participants aged between 18 and 27 included in the analysis, and the mean age was 21,7±1,95. There were 10 sports activity types, and the most common sport was volleyball (n=11, 25.6%). The minimum, maximum, and mean values for SATAQ-3 were 32, 123, and 74.70±25.51, respectively. Also, SPA scores showed that the minimum, maximum, and mean values were 20, 51, and 35±5.65, respectively. Results: The correlation and regression analysis results showed that the SATAQ-3 sub-dimensions of internalization general (r=.405, p