Considerations of positive body image across various social identities and special populations

• Positive body image is related to well-being across age, gender, and culture.
• Exploring social identities allows a more complex understanding of positive body image.
• Behavioural expression of positive body image may be impacted by social identities.
• Developmental trajectories of positive and negative body image need to be explored.
• The intersection of identities needs to be considered in positive body image research.

Although the study of body image has been dominated by a focus on negative aspects, recent research interest has turned towards positive body image. The purpose of the present paper is to provide an integrative review of empirical research on the positive body image of individuals across a range of social identities beyond the typical college student. In particular, the review focuses on research exploring age, culture, gender, and special populations. Overall, the review finds that positive body image seems to confer benefit and operate similarly across a range of populations, although it may be expressed uniquely in different contexts. These results contribute to a more complete account of positive body image, but also raise a number of important additional questions and challenges for future research.