Psychology Commons^™

A Preliminary Investigation Of The Effect Of Massage On State Body Image, Bonnie Dunigan, Teresa King, Brendan Morse

Brendan J. Morse

Evidence suggests positive effects of massage on psychological health; however, little is known about the effects of massage on body image. This research examined the effect of massage on state body image as well as relations between trait body image and attitudes toward massage. Forty-nine female university students were randomly assigned to either a massage condition or a control condition. It was hypothesized that participants in the massage condition would report improved state body image following the intervention when compared to participants in the control condition. As predicted, participants in the massage condition reported a more favorable state body image …