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Body Esteem among Tunisian adolescents: Prevalence and associated factors

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 August 2025

N. E. Ayadi ,
S. Bourgou ,
A. Ben Hamouda ,
F. Charfi  and
A. Ghenimi
N. E. Ayadi
Affiliation:
child and adolescent psychiatry department, University hospital Mongi Slim
S. Bourgou
Affiliation:
child and adolescent psychiatry department, University hospital Mongi Slim
A. Ben Hamouda
Affiliation:
child and adolescent psychiatry department, University hospital Mongi Slim
F. Charfi
Affiliation:
child and adolescent psychiatry department, University hospital Mongi Slim
A. Ghenimi*
Affiliation:
child and adolescent psychiatry department, Mongi Slim university Hospital, Tunis, Tunisia
*
*Corresponding author.

Abstract

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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 experiencesFamily relationsNeglectFamily dysfunctionPsychological abusePhysical abuseSexual abusePeer violenceCommunity violence
Body Esteemp0,018<0,001<0,0010,001<0,0010,001<0,0010,007
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

Information

Type
Abstract
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 68 , Special Issue S1: Abstracts of the 33rd European Congress of Psychiatry , April 2025 , pp. S542
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of European Psychiatric Association
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