Boarding school influence on self-reported concern for perceived body and face morphology in Taiwan

•Studied boarding/nonboarding females in Taiwan to determine whether boarding affects body image.•Result was boarding school adversely affects body shape concern in Taiwanese adolescent females.•There was a nonconfounding association with inferred socio-economic status and academic ability.

To determine the influence of boarding school on self-perceived body and facial morphology, the Body Shape Questionnaire (BSQ) and exploratory questions about the orofacial area (OFA) were administered to female boarding (B) and nonboarding (NB) students at two Catholic schools in Taiwan.The mean total BSQ scores of Bs were significantly higher than NBs, with both being significantly higher than the published normative score but lower than probable bulimics with no significant B vs. NB difference in mean total OFA scores. Because the Bs were significantly taller and reported more orthodontic treatment than NBs, the possible confounding by the higher economic status of the Bs was minimized by finding similar significantly higher BSQ scores for the small number of Bs (5%) than the remaining NBs (95%) in the documented lower socio-economic school.In summary, the experience of boarding in religion-dominated schools significantly increases body image concerns of adolescent females.