THE INFLUENCE OF PERSONALITY (EXTRAVERSION AND NEUROTICISM) ON BODY IMAGE, MEDIATED BY CELEBRITY WORSHIP, AMONG THAI FEMALE ADOLESCENTS IN BANGKOK

Abstract

The purpose of the current investigation was to examine the direct and indirect influences of the two dimensions of personality (extraversion and neuroticism) on body image, being mediated by celebrity worship, among adolescents in Bangkok. A total of 250 female adolescents were recruited from various locations/sites in Metropolitan Bangkok through convenience sampling. The participation involved the filling in of a set of Thai-translated questionnaires. The scales used were Celebrity Attitude Scale (CAS), The Eysenck Personality Questionnaire Revised Short Form (EPQR-S), and the Body Appreciation Scale (BAS). Results indicated that there are no indirect influences of personality (extraversion and neuroticism) on body image, being mediated by celebrity worship dimensions (entertainment-social, intense-personal, and borderline-pathological). Furthermore, it was demonstrated that extraversion has no impact on body image. There is, however, a significant direct negative influence of neuroticism on body image such that the higher the female adolescents’ level of neuroticism, the more negative is their body image. There is also a positive influence of extraversion on intense-personal celebrity worship which suggests that the higher the level of extraversion, the more intense and personal is the level of celebrity worship. In addition, entertainment-social celebrity worship has a positive influence on body image such that the higher the female adolescents’ level of entertainment-social celebrity worship, the more positive is their body image.