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Observational Study
. 2022 Nov 4;17(11):e0275728.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0275728. eCollection 2022.

Impact of body and orofacial appearance on life satisfaction among Brazilian adults

Lucas Arrais Campos  1   2   3 , Juliana Alvares Duarte Bonini Campos  4 , Wanderson Roberto da Silva  4   5 , Timo Peltomäki  1   2   6   7 , Ary Dos Santos Pinto  3 , João Marôco  8
Affiliations
Observational Study

Impact of body and orofacial appearance on life satisfaction among Brazilian adults

Lucas Arrais Campos et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Aims: 1. to elaborate a general model of physical appearance taking into account body image (BI) and orofacial appearance (OA) components; and 2. to evaluate the impact of BI and OA on life satisfaction among Brazilian adults.

Methods: This is a cross-sectional observational study. The cognitive, behavioral, affective, and satisfaction/dissatisfaction aspects of BI, the satisfaction and psychosocial impact of OA, and life satisfaction were evaluated by self-reported psychometric scales. Principal Component Analysis and Parallel Analysis were performed. Structural equation models were elaborated to estimate the impact of BI and OA on life satisfaction. The fit of the models was verified and the significance of the path estimates (β) was evaluated using z-tests (α = 5%).

Results: A total of 1,940 individuals participated in the study (age: mean = 24.8, standard deviation = 5.7 years; females = 70.1%). In the male sample, three physical appearance factors were retained (OA, cognitive and behavioral components of BI, and affective and satisfaction/dissatisfaction components of BI). In the female sample, two factors were retained (OA and all components of BI). All factors had significant impact on life satisfaction (β = |0.26|-|0.48|, p<0.001) in both samples. Individuals dissatisfied with BI and OA had lower levels of life satisfaction. For men, the affective and satisfaction components of BI had a greater impact on life satisfaction (β = 0.48, p<0.001) than the other factors (β =] -0.30;-0.25[, p<0.001). For women, both BI and OA had a similar impact (BI: β = -0.30, p<0.001; OA: β = -0.32, p<0.001).

Conclusion: BI and OA formed distinct clusters in the physical appearance evaluation. Physical appearance was perceived differently by men and women, fostering discussion about the sociocultural construction of the body. BI and OA had a significant impact on life satisfaction and should be considered in assessment and treatment protocols.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Structural model elaborated to assess the impact of physical appearance factors, and the indirect effect of demographic characteristics, on life satisfaction.
Note. BMI: body mass index; F1, F2/F3: factors formed by the components retained in the sample according to gender as described earlier in the text (F1: orofacial appearance; F2/F3: body image).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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References

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Publication types

Grants and funding

This study was supported by the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) in the form a grant [2020/13153-3] and grants to WRdS [2017/20315-7], LAC [2018/06739-1], and JADBC [2019/19590-9], and by the William James Center for Research at ISPA, Instituto Universitário, in the form of funds to JM [UID/04810/2020]. This study was also supported in part by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES), Brasil, in the form of funds to LAC [Finance Code 001]. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.