Miller, Errol L.2022-01-182022-01-1819671412https://hdl.handle.net/2139/53511This study sought to: 1) investigate the effect, if any, of physical and physiological development on self-concept on the whole, and body image in particular, during early adolescence; 2) investigate the effect of social class, colour, and other related social variables on body image, self-concept, and anxiety; 3) test certain assumptions based on theoretical considerations, and which have been tested in other societies; and 4) investigate the relationship between anxiety and all the other variables. A number of instruments were developed to collect data from a sample of 987 subjects between the ages of 11- to 14-years-old from three junior secondary and four grant-aided secondary schools in Jamaica. Results of the data analysis revealed that: 1) the actual heights and weights of boys were significantly related to anxiety while this was not so with girls, which seemed to suggest that body size was more important to boys than to girls; it also appeared that small size was a threat to self-esteem among boys; 2) the relationship between body image and self-concept, and between body image and anxiety increased with age; 3) the way in which an individual rated himself in self-concept and body image, and also the degree of manifest anxiety he expressed, were related to the individual's position in the colour/class system; this relationship appeared to be more important among girls than boys, and also appeared to increase with age; and 4) body image was a more important category of the self structure of girls than of boys, and girls were more vulnerable to social factors than boysAdolescentsM.A.