Self-objectification, a process in which individuals internalise an external observer's opinion of their bodies, has been related to negative psychological effects in the face of increasing social and media demands to adhere to idealised beauty standards. This study investigates the relationships between self-objectification, appearance anxiety, and psychological well-being among female university students in Malaysia during the critical developmental stage of emerging adulthood which falls from 18 to 25 years old. In the current study, a descriptive correlational design was used and 128 participants completed validated scales measuring self-objectification (SOBBS), appearance anxiety (AAS), and psychological well-being (RPWBS). Data were analysed using Pearson correlation and independent samples t-tests via SPSS Version 29. Results revealed a significant, moderately strong positive correlation between self-objectification and appearance anxiety (r = .601, p < .001), and a weak but significant negative correlation between self-objectification and psychological well-being (r = –.233, p = .008). However, no significant differences were found between local and international students across the three variables. These findings support the applicability of Objectification Theory in the Malaysian context and suggest that body image concerns are pervasive across cultural backgrounds due to globalised beauty norms. The study highlights the need for targeted interventions to mitigate the impact of appearance-based pressures. While limitations include reliance on self-report data and a cross-sectional design, the findings contribute valuable insights into promoting mental well-being and healthier self-perceptions among young women in higher education.
Adams, K. E., Tyler, J. M., Calogero, R., & Lee, J. (2017). Exploring the relationship between appearance-contingent self-worth and self-esteem: The roles of self-objectification and appearance anxiety. Body Image, 23, 176–182. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2017.10.004
Anupama K, Chaudhary, P., & T. Lakshmi. (2023). Introduction of a pilot study. International Journal of Ethics, Trauma and Victimology, 9(2), 33–35. https://doi.org/10.18099/ijetv.v9i02.07
Arnett, J. J. (2000). Emerging adulthood: A theory of development from the late teens through the twenties. American Psychologist, 55(5), 469–480. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.55.5.469
Asif, S., Azka, M., Shahzad, T. Z., Raouf, M., & Pervaiz, T. (2020). Frequency of depression, anxiety and stress among university students. Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences, 36(5). https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.36.5.1873
Auerbach, R.P., Mortier, P., Bruffaerts, R., Alonso, J., Benjet, C., Cuijpers, P., Demyttenaere, K., Ebert, D.D., Green, J.G., Hasking, P., Lee, S., Lochner, C., McLafferty, M., Nock, M.K., Petukhova, M.V., Pinder-Amaker, S., Rosellini, A.J., Sampson, N.A., Vilagut, G., Zaslavsky, A.M., Kessler, R.C. (2019). Mental disorder comorbidity and suicidal thoughts and behaviors in the world health organization world mental health surveys international college student initiative. International Journal of Methods in Psychiatric Research, 28(2), e1752. https://doi.org/10.1002/mpr.1752
Auerbach, R. P., Mortier, P., Bruffaerts, R., Alonso, J., Benjet, C., Cuijpers, P., Demyttenaere, K., Ebert, D. D., Green, J. G., Hasking, P., Murray, E., Nock, M. K., Pinder-Amaker, S., Sampson, N. A., Stein, D. J., Vilagut, G., Zaslavsky, A. M., & Kessler, R. C. (2018). WHO world mental health surveys international college student project: Prevalence and distribution of mental disorders. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 127(7), 623–638. https://doi.org/10.1037/abn0000362
Barzoki, M. H., Vahedi, M., Nourmohamadi, S., & Kalantari, S. E. (2018). The mediating role of contingent self-esteem in the association between self-objectification and self-esteem. Sexuality & Culture, 22(4), 1300–1309. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12119-018-9533-3
Behera, N., & Khuntia, S. (2025). Self-esteem, self-objectification, appearance anxiety, resilience, and gender: Testing a moderated mediational analysis. The Open Psychology Journal, 18(1). https://doi.org/10.2174/0118743501347628250114054620
Boursier, V., Gioia, F., & Griffiths, M. D. (2020). Objectified body consciousness, body image control in photos, and problematic social networking: The role of appearance control beliefs. Frontiers in Psychology, 11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00147
Burns, D., & Brady, J. (1992). A cross-cultural comparison of the need for uniqueness in Malaysia and the United States. The Journal of Social Psychology, 132(4), 487–495. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224545.1992.9924728
Carvalho, M., Branquinho, C., & de Matos, M. G. (2020). Cyberbullying and bullying: Impact on psychological symptoms and well-being. Child Indicators Research, 14(1), 435–452. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12187-020-09756-2
Cascalheira, C. J., Nelson, J., & Kalkbrenner, M. T. (2022). Factorial invariance of scores on the self-objectification beliefs and behaviors scale (SOBBS) among transgender and nonbinary people. Measurement and Evaluation in Counseling and Development, 56(1), 48–63. https://doi.org/10.1080/07481756.2022.2032758
Cella, S., Iannaccone, M., & Paolo Cotrufo. (2020). Does body shame mediate the relationship between parental bonding, self-esteem, maladaptive perfectionism, body mass index and eating disorders? A structural equation model. Eating and Weight Disorders - Studies on Anorexia Bulimia and Obesity, 25(3), 667–678. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40519-019-00670-3
Cheah, W. L., Chin, E., & Helmy Hazmi. (2022). Examining gender difference in disordered eating behaviour and its associated factors among college and university students in Sarawak. Nutrition and Health, 026010602211325-026010602211325. https://doi.org/10.1177/02601060221132597
Cheah, W. L., Hazmi, H., & Chang, C. T. (2017). Disordered eating and body image issues and their associated factors among adolescents in urban secondary schools in Sarawak, Malaysia. International Journal of Adolescent Medicine and Health, 29(2). https://doi.org/10.1515/ijamh-2015-0044
Chiang, H.-H., Lee, T.-H., & Sun, H.-F. (2019). Development and validation of the short-form Ryff’s psychological well-being scale for clinical nurses in Taiwan. Journal of Medical Sciences, 39(4), 157–157. https://doi.org/10.4103/jmedsci.jmedsci_191_18
Chin, Y. S., Mahenderan Appukutty, Kagawa, M., Gan, W. Y., Wong, J. E., Poh, B. K., Shariff, Z. M., & Mohd. (2020). Comparison of factors associated with disordered eating between male and female Malaysian university students. Nutrients, 12(2), 318–318. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu12020318
Daniels, E. A., Zurbriggen, E. L., & Ward, L. M. (2020). Becoming an object: A review of self-objectification in girls. Body Image, 33, 278–299. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2020.02.016
Denchik, A. (2005). Development and psychometric evaluation of the interpersonal sexual objectification scale. The Interpersonal Sexual Objectification Scale. https://kb.osu.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/b4fd321b-532c-5534-811b-948cfc587d12/content
Dimas, M. A., Galway, S. C., & Gammage, K. L. (2021). Do you see what I see? The influence of self-objectification on appearance anxiety, intrinsic motivation, interoceptive awareness, and physical performance. Body Image, 39, 53–61. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2021.05.010
Dion, K. L., Dion, K. K., & Keelan, J. P. (1990). Appearance anxiety as a dimension of social-evaluative anxiety: Exploring the ugly duckling syndrome. Contemporary Social Psychology, 14(4), 220–224. https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1991-17196-001
Dove. (2017). The 2017 Dove Global Girls Beauty and Confidence Report. https://digitaluniversity.womendeliver.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Mod-1-2017-Dove-Global-Girls-Beauty-and-Confidence-Report.pdf
Faro, J. M., Whiteley, J. A., Hayman, L. L., & Napolitano, M. A. (2021). Body image quality of life related to light physical activity and sedentary behavior among young adults with overweight/obesity. Behavioral Sciences, 11(8), 111–111. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs11080111
Faul, F., Erdfelder, E., Lang, A.-G., & Buchner, A. (2007). G*Power 3: A flexible statistical power analysis program for the social, behavioral, and biomedical sciences. Behavior Research Methods, 39(2), 175–191. https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03193146
Field, A.P. (2018). Discovering statistics using IBM SPSS statistics (5th ed.). Sage. https://www.scirp.org/reference/referencespapers?referenceid=3504991
Forte, A., Vichi, M., Ghirini, S., Orri, M., Pompili, M. (2021). Trends and ecological results in suicides among Italian youth aged 10–25 years: A nationwide register study. Journal of Affective Disorders, 282, 165–172. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2020.12.142.
Fredrickson, B. L., & Roberts, T.-A. (1997). Objectification theory: Toward understanding women’s lived experiences and mental health risks. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 21(2), 173–206. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-6402.1997.tb00108.x
Gattino, S., Kamila Czepczor-Bernat, Fedi, A., Brytek-Matera, A., Boza, M., Lemoine, J. E., Sahlan, R. N., Wilson, E., Piccoli, N. D., & Chiara Rollero. (2023). Self-objectification and its biological, psychological and social predictors: A cross-cultural study in four European countries and Iran. Europe’s Journal of Psychology, 19(1), 27–47. https://doi.org/10.5964/ejop.6075
Gattino, S., Piccoli, N. D., Fedi, A., Boza, M., & Chiara Rollero. (2018). A cross-cultural study of biological, psychological, and social antecedents of self-objectification in Italy and Romania. Sex Roles, 78(5-6), 325–337. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-017-0804-5
Hardt, S., Stöckl, H., Wamoyi, J., & Ranganathan, M. (2022). Sexual harassment in low- and middle-income countries: A qualitative systematic review. Trauma Violence & Abuse, 24(5), 3346–3362. https://doi.org/10.1177/15248380221127255
Holland, E., Koval, P., Stratemeyer, M., Thomson, F., & Haslam, N. (2017). Sexual objectification in women’s daily lives: A smartphone ecological momentary assessment study. British Journal of Social Psychology, 56(2), 314–333. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjso.12152
Hu, Z., Wood, C., & Buckland, N. (2025). Measuring self-objectification in cisgender heterosexual women and men: A psychometric validation of the self-objectification beliefs and behaviors scale. Body Image, 52, 101844. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2024.101844
In, J. (2017). Introduction of a pilot study. Korean Journal of Anesthesiology, 70(6), 601–601. https://doi.org/10.4097/kjae.2017.70.6.601
Jung, J., & Forbes, G. B. (2007). Body dissatisfaction and disordered eating among college women in China, South Korea, and the United States: Contrasting predictions from sociocultural and feminist theories. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 31(4), 381–393. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-6402.2007.00387.x
Kang, H. (2021). Sample size determination and power analysis using the G*Power software. Journal of Educational Evaluation for Health Professions, 18, 17. https://doi.org/10.3352/jeehp.2021.18.17
Lin, S., Li, L., & Jiang, L. (2022). Online interpersonal sexual objectification experiences and teenage girls’ self-objectification: The role of broad conceptualization of beauty. Behavioral Sciences, 12(7), 210–210. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs12070210
Lindner, D., & Tantleff-Dunn, S. (2017a). Self-Objectification beliefs and behaviors scale. PsycTESTS Dataset. https://doi.org/10.1037/t85424-000
Liu, L., Liu, G., & Wang, H. (2024). Self-objectification and appearance anxiety in university students: Physical activity as a moderator. Social Behavior and Personality an International Journal, 52(8), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.2224/sbp.13340
Mei, K., He, J., & Tan, Y. H. (2023). The mediation effect of self-objectification from selfie behavior to body esteem: A relationship between selfie-behavior, self-objectification, and body esteem among female undergraduates in Malaysia. UTAR Institutional Repository. http://eprints.utar.edu.my/6182/1/2001259_FYP.pdf
Mekonnen, W. (2020). Review on correlation research. International Journal of English Literature and Culture. https://doi.org/10.14662/IJELC2020.085
Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia. (2022). Higher education statistics 2021. Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia. http://www.mohe.gov.my/web_statistik/
Moradi, B., & Huang, Y. P. (2008). Objectification theory and psychology of women: A decade of advances and future directions. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 32(4), 377–398. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-6402.2008.00452.x
Nasreen, S., & Fareed, H. (2023). Appearance related commentary, self-objectification and psychological well-being in young adults. Pakistan Languages and Humanities Review, 7(2), 58–67. https://doi.org/10.47205/plhr.2023(7-II)06
Neugarten, B. L., Havighurst, R. J., & Tobin, S. S. (1961). The measurement of life satisfaction. Journal of Gerontology, 16(2), 134–143. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronj/16.2.134
Ningning, C. (2021). Nearly 60% of college students have appearance anxiety. China Youth Daily. https://txs.youth.cn/xw/202102t20210225_12728555.htm
Niu, G., Sun, L., Liu, Q., Chai, H., Sun, X., & Zhou, Z. (2019). Selfie-posting and young adult women’s restrained eating: The role of commentary on appearance and self-objectification. Sex Roles, 82(3-4), 232–240. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-019-01045-9
Othman, A. A., & Marzuki, W. (2022). Features of emerging adulthood: What are their relationship with depression symptoms? The Open Psychology Journal, 15(1). https://openpsychologyjournal.com/VOLUME/15/ELOCATOR/e187435012208010/
Pallant, J. (2020). SPSS survival manual. In Routledge eBooks. Informa. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003117452
Petersen, A. C., Schulenberg, J. E., Abramowitz, R. H., Offer, D., & Jarcho, H. D. (1984). A self-image questionnaire for young adolescents (SIQYA): Reliability and validity studies. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 13(2), 93–111. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf02089104
Quek, T. T.-C., Tam, W. W.-S., Tran, B. X., Zhang, M., Zhang, Z., Ho, C. S.-H., & Ho, R. C.-M. (2019). The global prevalence of anxiety among medical students: A meta-analysis. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(15), 2735. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16152735
Rahi, S. (2017). Research design and methods: A systematic review of research paradigms, sampling issues and instruments development. International Journal of Economics & Management Sciences, 06(02), 1–5. https://doi.org/10.4172/2162-6359.1000403
Rahman, M. A., Shariful, M., Alif, S. M., Sultana, F., Sharif, A., Hoque, N., Cross, W. M., Salehin, M., & Nazim, N. B. (2021). Reliability of the tools used to examine psychological distress, fear of COVID?19 and coping amongst migrants and non?migrants in Australia. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, 30(3), 747–758. https://doi.org/10.1111/inm.12845
Razak, A., & Al, A. (2023). The impact of communication mediators on self-objectification among Malaysians - IIUM Repository (IRep). Iium.edu.my. http://irep.iium.edu.my/103772/2/103772_The%20Impact%20of%20Communication%20Mediators.pdf
Riyami, A., Senani, A., Brashdi, A., Balushi, A., Ahmed, J., & Almarabheh, A. J. (2024). Young females experience higher body image dissatisfaction associated with a high social media use: a cross-sectional study in Omani university students. Middle East Current Psychiatry, 31(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s43045-024-00477-8
Rounsefell, K., Gibson, S., McLean, S., Blair, M., Molenaar, A., Brennan, L., Truby, H., & McCaffrey, T. A. (2019). Social media, body image and food choices in healthy young adults: A mixed methods systematic review. Nutrition & Dietetics, 77(1), 19–40. https://doi.org/10.1111/1747-0080.12581
Ruan, J., Yu, R., Zhao, Y., Xie, L., & Mei, Y. (2025). Body talk on social networking sites and appearance anxiety among college students: the mediating role of self-objectification and moderating role of gender. Frontiers in Psychology, 16. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1513923
Ryff, C. D. (1989). Happiness is everything, or is it? Explorations on the meaning of psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 57(6), 1069–1081. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.57.6.1069
Ryff, C. D., & Keyes, C. L. M. (1995). The structure of psychological well-being revisited. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69(4), 719–727. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.69.4.719
Salomon, I., & Brown, C. S. (2020). That selfie becomes you: examining taking and posting selfies as forms of self-objectification. Media Psychology, 24(6), 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1080/15213269.2020.1817091
Saylan, E., & Soyyi?it, V. (2023). Self-Objectification and subjective well-being: A serial mediation analysis on the role of social appearance anxiety and body image. Journal of Evidence-Based Psychotherapies, 23(2), 119–136. https://doi.org/10.24193/jebp.2023.2.13
Sherman, A. M., Tran, S., & Sy, J. (2023). Objectification and body esteem: age group patterns in women’s psychological functioning. Aging & Mental Health, 28(4), 706–716. https://doi.org/10.1080/13607863.2023.2273338
Siddharta, A. (2022). Malaysia: number of university students by gender | Statista. Statista. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1458926/malaysia-number-of-university-students-by-gender/
Stangor, C., & Walinga, J. (2014). Psychologists use descriptive, correlational, and experimental research designs to understand behaviour. Opentextbc.ca. https://opentextbc.ca/introductiontopsychology/chapter/2-2-psychologists-use-descriptive-correlational-and-experimental-research-designs-to-understand-behavior/
Stratemeyer, M., & Holland, D. E. (2019, July 23). Sexual objectification harms women. Unimelb.edu.au; The University of Melbourne. https://pursuit.unimelb.edu.au/articles/sexual-objectification-harms-women
Sun, Q. (2018). Materialism, self-objectification, and capitalization of sexual attractiveness increase young Chinese women’s willingness to consider cosmetic surgery. Frontiers in Psychology, 9. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02002
Tabachnick, B. G., & Fidell, L. S. (2019). Using multivariate statistics (7th ed.). Pearson. https://scirp.org/reference/referencespapers?referenceid=3132273
Vandenbosch, L., Fardouly, J., & Tiggemann, M. (2021). Social media and body image: Recent trends and future directions. Current Opinion in Psychology, 45, 101289–101289. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2021.12.002
Whitehead, A. L., Julious, S. A., Cooper, C. L., & Campbell, M. J. (2015). Estimating the sample size for a pilot randomised trial to minimise the overall trial sample size for the external pilot and main trial for a continuous outcome variable. Statistical Methods in Medical Research, 25(3), 1057–1073. https://doi.org/10.1177/0962280215588241
William. (1965). A Self-Rating Depression Scale. Archives of General Psychiatry, 12(1), 63–63. https://doi.org/10.1001/archpsyc.1965.01720310065008
Wollast, R., Riemer, A. R., Gervais, S. J., Grigoryan, L., Bernard, P., & Klein, O. (2021). How cultural orientation and self-compassion shape objectified body consciousness for women from America, Belgium, Russia, and Thailand. Self and Identity, 20(7), 930–950. https://doi.org/10.1080/15298868.2020.1787220
Wu, L., Niu, G., Ni, X., Shao, X., & Luo, Y. (2019). Body image flexibility moderates the association between photo-related activities on WeChat moments and the body dissatisfaction of female adolescents in China. Current Psychology, 41(1), 99–104. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-019-00553-x
Ee, W. J., & Sani, R. M. M. (2025). The Relationship between Self-Objectification, Appearance Anxiety and Psychological Well-Being among Female University Students In Malaysia. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 15(9), 1665-1680.
Copyright: © 2025 The Author(s)
Published by Knowledge Words Publications (www.kwpublications.com)
This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) license. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this license may be seen at: http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode
