Problems of the body image in the context of developmental psychology

The article reviews the body image in the context of the developmental psychology. It shows the main directions of modern research in this field. The paper identifies the components of body image: image boundaries, appearance, physicality and sex-role identity. The author determines the system-defined parameters of body image, including physical boundaries, body acceptance (emotional attitude), assessment of the functionality of the body as well as the parameters related to social factors, i.e. exposure to social stereotypes and the “reflected image of the body” that, in the person’s opinion, means the way it is viewed by other people. The article shows the author’s position on this issue. The paper provides the preliminary results of the study on the body image of girls in the period of their adolescence and early adulthood that is carried out at the present time, in particular on the basis of the Body Image Questionnaire developed by the author.