Study on the correlation between precocious puberty in children and their body image dissatisfaction

Objective To explore the association between precocious puberty and body image dissatisfaction in children by analyzing the body image development data and body image dissatisfaction data of children with precocious puberty and normal children.

Methods The body image dissatisfaction of the respondents was evaluated using the Adolescent Body Image Distress Questionnaire (TBIAQ). The measurement indicators for body image development included the height, body weight and waist circumference, and the waist-to-height ratio and body mass index (BMI) were calculated. Pearson correlation analysis was used to analyze the relationship between body morphological development indicators and body image dissatisfaction scores, and multiple linear regression analysis was used to analyze the association between precocious puberty and body image dissatisfaction.

Results A total of 233 children were investigated, among whom 122 had precocious puberty and 111 were normal children. Precocious puberty was related to the factors such as body shape dissatisfaction and appearance dissatisfaction in children. Body image dissatisfaction was negatively correlated with the height, body weight, chest circumference, waist circumference and BMI (r = –0.160, r = –0.240, r = –0.244, r = –0.243, r = –0.268, P ＜ 0.05). In the dimension of body shape dissatisfaction, the score of the precocious puberty group was higher than that of the normal children group (P ＜ 0.05). In the dimension of disfiguring appearance, the score of the normal children group was higher than that of the precocious puberty children group (P ＜ 0.05). There were no statistically significant differences in the two dimensions of gender and sexual organ dissatisfaction and total score of body image dissatisfaction between two groups (P ＞ 0.05). The results of multiple linear regression analysis showed that the precocious puberty might increase thee children's body shape dissatisfaction (β = 0.21, P ＜ 0.01), but it would improve the children's appearance satisfaction (β = –0.17, P ＜ 0.01).

Conclusions There is a significant association between precocious puberty in children and body image dissatisfaction. Social forces (such as specialized hospitals, families, schools, etc.) need to provide the psychological and physical prevention and treatment for children with precocious puberty.