The concept of a positive body image in modern foreign psychology

Abstract

Research into the problem of body image has more than a century of history, most of which is associated with the study of negative attitudes towards the body and related psychopathology - eating disorders, body dysmorphic disorders, etc. In the last decade there has been a growing tendency in this area to shift the emphasis to the study of a positive body image, just as in psychology in general there are more and more works performed in the paradigm of positive psychology, which calls for abandoning the concept of disease and searching for new approaches based on the positive potential of the individual. This review presents the main stages in the study of the problem of body image in foreign psychology, the origin and development of ideas about a positive body image as a special construct that is not the opposite pole in the general “negative-positive” continuum, the key works of leading researchers who have formed the concept of a positive body image as an independent entity, the main components of a positive body image, methodological tools used to assess a positive body image, and the results of studies of a positive body image in various social groups. The modern perspectives of research in the field of body image are presented in accordance with the views of leading foreign experts.