Minding the Body: Parent Impact on Daughters' Self-Image & Relational Flourishing

Abstract

Body image is correlated with potentially serious and far-reaching aspects of physical and mental health (Purton et al., 2019). One such aspect might be a girl’s capacity to flourish in future romantic relationships (Nezlek, 1999; Paap & Gardner, 2011). This dissertation provides a survey of research regarding the relevance of body image in females, factors known to influence the development of body image, and the association between body image and a woman’s ability to flourish in romantic relationships. In exploring the impact body image might have on relational capacities, an integrated conceptualization of body image is presented that considers how the human body expresses the person as a whole (John Paul II, 2006, §123:2). It is proposed that parents have an important vocational role in fostering a daughter’s capacity for self-gift in future vocational relationships by fostering positive models of self, body, and relationships. An overview of research regarding the influence that mothers, fathers, and parents as a whole have in fostering positive body image is presented with discussion of how such influences may also impact the capacity for self-gift and relational flourishing.