Relationship between Perceived Somatotype and Body Cathexis of College Males

Abstract

The primary purpose of this study was to determine if males grouped according to self-perceived somatotype differ significantly in body concept, while a subordinate purpose was to identify the perceived somatotype response trends of a college male population. The Perceived Somatotype Scale and the Body Cathexis Scale were administered to 88 male undergraduates, and the data were analyzed by multiple regression. The somatotype the males perceived as their own, and the body build perceived as ideal accounted for 27.9% and 4.3% of the variance in body-cathexis scores, respectively. A measure of discrepancy between the perceived somatotype-self and ideal indices accounted for 22.7% of the variance in the criterion. As self-perception of somatotype deviates from mesomorphic and moves toward the ectomorphic and endomorphic poles, especially the latter, self-concept relative to the body tends to decline rapidly. Moreover, males who perceive their physiques differ from their perceived ideals tend to report significantly less body satisfaction than those who perceive no such discrepancy.