The Influence Of Older Adults’ Body Satisfaction On Health Promoting Intention:The Mediating Role Of General Self-efficacy

As an aging country,the happiness and well-being of the elderly has become an important social issue.Body satisfaction and health promoting intentions are two factors that are related to the elderly’s lives.Social cultural theory believes that individuals will internalize the "ideal beauty" standard and pay attention to the gap between the external standards and their real body,and then they will produce body（dis）satisfaction.When individuals are satisfied with their body,they will form a good self-evaluation,thereby enhancing their general self-efficacy.According to the theory of planned behavior,general self-efficacy is an important predictor of behavioral intentions.A higher sense of general self-efficacy helps individuals form stronger health promoting intentions.Therefore,this study intends to explore the effect of body satisfaction on health promoting intentions,and to explore whether general self-efficacy plays a mediating role in it.Study 1: This study aims to investigate the relationship between body satisfaction and health promoting intention.By using a questionnaire survey,study 1 collected 208 data.Results: the elderly’s body satisfaction scores and health promoting intention scores are both at a general level and need to be improved.Gender,educational level,monthly income,exercise frequency,self-assessed health,and BMI have significant effects on the elderly’s body satisfaction.Gender,educational level,monthly income,exercise frequency,and self-assessed health have significant effects on health promoting intention.The total score and each dimension of body satisfaction are significantly positively correlated with health promoting intention.Study 2: This study aims to explore the impact of the two levels of body satisfaction on health promoting intention,and add general self-efficacy as an intermediary variable.Study 2 recruits a total of 161 effective subjects.Results: the manipulation of the body function writing task and the body appearance writing task are effective,which can increase the participants’ satisfaction with body function and body appearance respectively.In the body function writing task group,body satisfaction,body appearance satisfaction and body function satisfaction are positively correlated with general selfefficacy,health promoting intention,nutrition and physical exercise dimension（ps < 0.05）;general self-efficacy is correlated with body satisfaction,body appearance satisfaction,and body function satisfaction,the total score of health promoting intention and each dimension are significantly positively correlated（ps < 0.05）,and general self-efficacy plays a mediating role,and the mediating effect accounts for 95.97%.In the body appearance writing task group,body satisfaction is significantly positively correlated with general self-efficacy,health promoting intentions,and nutritional dimensions（ps < 0.05）,body appearance satisfaction is positively correlated with general self-efficacy,health promoting intentions,nutritional dimensions,and health responsibility dimensions（ps <0.05）,body function satisfaction is significantly positively correlated with general selfefficacy,health promoting intention and nutrition dimension（p < 0.05）,general selfefficacy is correlated with body satisfaction,body appearance satisfaction,body function satisfaction,and health promotion;the total intention score and each dimension were significantly positively correlated（ps < 0.05）,and the mediating effect of general selfefficacy in the relationship between body appearance satisfaction and health promoting intention was not significant.Conclusion: Body satisfaction is significantly positively correlated with health promoting intention,and plays a positive role in predicting health promoting intentions;general self-efficacy plays a mediating role in the relationship between body function satisfaction and health promoting intentions.