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The Body Image of Women at a Homeless Service Center: An Analysis of an Underrepresented, Diverse Group

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Abstract

The primary objective of this research was to explore the unique body image concerns of women receiving services at a day center for individuals experiencing homeless, an understudied population in body image research. The study also explored a number of factors relevant to homelessness that could relate to body image, including access to hygiene products or facilities, inconsistent access to food, sexual victimization, and self-esteem. A sample of 60 women from a nonprofit homeless service center in Boston, MA, were administered a written questionnaire. Results indicated that participants had moderately high body esteem on average across all three subscales of the Body Esteem Scale, and body esteem was positively correlated with self-esteem. A multiple regression analysis revealed that 54% of the variance in body esteem was explained by self-esteem, access to hygiene products, inconsistent access to food, and sexual victimization, as well as race, age, and BMI as covariates. Importantly, both self-esteem and access to hygiene products were significant predictors of body esteem, such that women with higher self-esteem and more access to hygiene products reported higher levels of body esteem. Because this is the first study to examine body image among women who have experienced homelessness, these results may influence the direction of future research on this diverse, underrepresented group of women, as well as inform the work of shelters and other organizations that provide services and resources to women affected by homelessness.

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Acknowledgements

This study was funded by an Adrian Tinsley Program Semester Grant from Bridgewater State University awarded to Melanie Mitchell.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Bridgewater State University, 337 Hart Hall, 90 Burrill Avenue, Bridgewater, MA, 02325, USA

    Melanie K. Mitchell & Laura R. Ramsey

  2. Division on Addiction, Cambridge Health Alliance, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Sarah Nelson

Authors
  1. Melanie K. Mitchell
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  2. Laura R. Ramsey
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  3. Sarah Nelson
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Laura R. Ramsey.

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Conflict of interest

Sarah Nelson has received funding from St. Francis House in the past to help them build a database system to assess the needs of their guests; she does not currently receive any funding from St. Francis House. Special thanks to St. Francis House of Boston, MA. Melanie Mitchell and Laura Ramsey declares that they have no conflict of interest.

Human and Animal Rights

All procedures performed in this study involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed Consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Mitchell, M.K., Ramsey, L.R. & Nelson, S. The Body Image of Women at a Homeless Service Center: An Analysis of an Underrepresented, Diverse Group. Gend. Issues 35, 38–51 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12147-017-9192-y

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