Body image, self-esteem, and depression in burn-injured adolescents and young adults

The present study was conducted to clarify the effects of burn-related variables (specifically, age at time of burn, years elapsed since burn, locus of burn, and percent of total body surface area burned), demographics, and perceived social support variables on psychological adjustment after injury within a well-defined sample. Subjects were 121 patients, currently 14 to 27 years old, burned within the past 10 years. They completed the following: Semantic Differential Measure of Body Image, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, Beck Depression Inventory, Perceived Social Inventory--Friends, and Perceived Social Inventory--Family. The mean age of the subjects was 17.8 years; the mean percent total body surface area burned was 27.3%, with 75% of the subjects having burns on a visible or socially sensitive area. Correlational and multiple regression analyses showed that subjects perceiving more social support (friends more than family) had more positive body images (p less than 0.01), greater self-esteem (p less than 0.01), and less depression (p less than 0.01) than others, with a significant impact from difference in subjects' gender.