Recreational Ballet Students:
The Mirror Image of Professional Ballet Aesthetics?
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by Jaime F. Kaplan—Towson University
Category: Abnormal, Sport Psychology
The present study investigated body dissatisfaction, drive for thinness, perfectionism, and asceticism in a sample of recreational ballet students and preprofessional ballet students. We questioned whether the differences between the two groups in weight pressures would be reflected in how students perceived themselves. Fifty-five ballet students (23 recreational and 32 preprofessional) completed the Body Image Silhouettes subscale of the Kids Eating Disorder Survey, the Eating Disorder Inventory-3, and a demographics questionnaire. Results indicate the recreational ballet students did not differ significantly from the preprofessional ballet students. Both groups of dancers reported an ideal ballet body image that was significantly smaller than their ideal body image. Recreational ballet students, however, reported a significantly larger perceived body image than preprofessional ballet students.