Locus of control and self-esteem as correlates of body dissatisfaction in Croatian university students

The main aim of this research is to explore the relationship between locus of control, self‐esteem and body dissatisfaction in the sample of university students, as well as the sex differences among the measures. The Body Shape Questionnaire (BSQ), Rosenberg Self‐Esteem Scale and the Externality Scale have been used on the sample of 534 female and 183 male university students. The results suggest that body dissatisfaction plays a more significant role in self‐esteem for girls than it does for boys. However, even the girls still have significantly lower BSQ results in comparison with female university students in the UK, and especially in the USA. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Eating Disorders Association.