Abstract
60 black 5-yr.-olds were rated for body type on the Ponderal Index and by two independent judges. The children were shown three black, same-sex stimulus figures corresponding to the endomorphic (chubby), mesomorphic (average), and ectomorphic (thin) body builds. The children were asked to select the figure that (a) looked like them, (b) they liked best, and (c) they did not like at all, and (d) which figure best fitted each of 16 adjective descriptors. The results indicated that the children were not able to identify their own body types and they did not have a particular preference for any of the body types. However, like previous samples, a significant number of these children expressed dislike for the endomorphic body type.
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