The Effect of Body Image and Interest in Looks Perceived by Female College Students on the Empathy of Overcoming Disaster

Purpose: In the present time, the interest in looks has rapidly increased regardless of gender and age, and we are living through the age of priority over looks. An individual s looks is not merely a simple caring, but has also become a social competitiveness, which increases the interest in looks and enhances the body image and self-esteem. The purpose of this study is to examine and understand the effect of the body image and the interest in looks perceived by female college students on the empathy of overcoming disaster targeting the female college students. Method: As for the research method, a questionnaire was used targeting female college students in Seoul, Gyeonggi, Incheon, and other areas. The questionnaire was consisted of body image, interest in looks, and interpersonal variables, while the frequency analysis was performed to examine the general characteristics of the re-search subjects, and the multiple regression analysis was performed to examine the interpersonal relationship between the body image and the interest in looks. Results: First, in terms of the effect of the female college student s body image on the empathy of overcoming disaster, it turned out that among the body images, the interest in looks turned out to have an effect on cognitive empathy, emotional empathy, and attitude empathy, and among the body images, the body satisfaction turned out to have effect on the emotional empathy and attitude empathy. Second, in terms of the effect of the female college student s body image on the empathy of overcoming disaster, aesthetic orientation turned to have effect on the cognitive empathy, emotional empathy, and the attitude empathy among the interest in looks, and self-expression among the interest in looks turned out to affect the emotional empathy only. Conclusion: Given the current ‘COVID-19’ crisis, many problems have ravaged the world, and as disasters pro-long, the interest in overcoming disasters has also grown. At the same time, the interest in looks is rapidly increasing due to the priority over looks. Hence, this study has examined the effect of body image and interest in looks perceived by the female college students on the empathy of overcoming disaster, and recognizes the importance of empathy for the interest in looks, and hence, more research would be required.