Abstract
A group of 153 sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-grade girls and a group of 95 college women produced human figure drawings. Comparisons were made between early and late adolescents and, within the group of early adolescents, between pre- and postmenarcheal girls, of the frequency with which secondary sexual characteristics, namely, breasts, were explicitly depicted on the female figures. Early adolescents were found to represent breasts more explicitly than late adolescents. Parallel results were found for pre- and postmenarcheal girls in the seventh grade. The results suggest that early adolescents emphasize and are preoccupied with body parts whose changes signal the beginning of puberty, while later adolescents, being past the period of most rapid growth and change in body contour, have a more integrated body image.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Blos, P. (1962).On Adolescence, Free Press, New York.
Deutsch, H. (1944).The Psychology of Women, Vol. 1, Grune & Stratton, New York.
Dreyer, A. S., Hulac, V., and Rigler, D. (1971). Differential adjustment to pubescence and cognitive style patterns.Dev. Psychol. 4: 456–462.
Douvan, E. (1970). New sources of conflict in females at adolescence and early adulthood. In Bardwick, J. M. (ed.),Feminine Personality and Conflict, Brooks/Cole, Monterey, Calif.
Erikson, E. H. (1950).Childhood and Society, New York.
Group for the Advancement of Psychiatry (1968).Normal Adolescence, Charles Scribner's Sons, New York.
Kestenberg, J. S. (1967). Phases of adolescence, Parts I and II.J. Am. Acad. Child Psychiat. 6: 426–463, 577–611.
Koff, E., Rierdan, J., and Silverstone, E. (1978). Changes in representation of body image as a function of menarcheal status.Dev. Psychol. 14: 635–642.
Koppitz, E. M. (1968).Psychological Evaluation of Children's Human Figure Drawings, Grune & Stratton, New York.
Laosa, L. M., Swartz, J. D., and Holtzman, W. H. (1973). Human figure drawings by normal children: A longitudinal study of perceptual-cognitive and personality development.Dev. Psychol. 8: 350–356.
Machover, K. (1949).Personality Projection in the Drawing of the Human Figure, Charles C Thomas, Springfield, Ill.
Rierdan, J., and Koff, E. (1980). The psychological impact of menarche: Integrative versus disruptive changes.J. Youth Adoles. 9: 49–58.
Ritvo, S. (1977). Adolescent to woman. In Blum, H. P. (ed.),Female Psychology: Contemporarary Psychoanalytic Views, International Universities Press, New York.
Schilder, P. (1950).The Image and Appearance of the Human Body, Wiley, New York.
Schildkrout, M. S., Shenker, I. R., and Sonnenblick, M. (1972).Human Figure Drawings in Adolescence, Brunner/Mazel, New York.
Schonfeld, W. A. (1969). The body and the body-image in adolescents. In Caplan, G., and Lebovici, S. (eds.),Adolescence: Psychosocial Perspectives, Basic Books, New York.
Tanner, J. M. (1978).Fetus into Man: Physical Growth from Conception to Maturity, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
This research was supported in part by Wellesley College Faculty Development Awards to each of the two authors.
Received Ph.D. in psychology from Clark University. Major interests are clinical psychology and personality development. Correspondence should be addressed to this author.
Received Ph.D. in psychology from Tufts University. Major interests are psychobiology and adolescent development.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Rierdan, J., Koff, E. Representation of the female body by early and late adolescent girls. J Youth Adolescence 9, 339–346 (1980). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02087985
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02087985