i EXPLORING APAREL RELATIONSHIPS AND BODY IMAGE OF TWEN GIRLS AND THEIR MOTHERS THROUGH QUALITATIVE ANALYSI OF SEGMENTED FOCUS GROUPS Except where reference is made to the work of others, the work described in this thesis is my own or was done in collaboration with my advisory commite. This thesis does not include proprietary or clasified information. _______________________________________ Mary Katherine Brock Certificate of Approval: ______________________________ ______________________________ Lenda Jo Connel, Co-Chair Pamela Ulrich, Co-Chair Profesor Asociate Profesor Consumer Affairs Consumer Affairs ______________________________ ______________________________ Daniel Gropper Wi-suk Kwon Profesor Asistant Profesor Economics Consumer Affairs ______________________________ ______________________________ Karla Simons George T. Flowers Asistant Profesor Interim Dean Consumer Affairs Graduate School i EXPLORING APAREL RELATIONSHIPS AND BODY IMAGE OF TWEN GIRLS AND THEIR MOTHERS THROUGH QUALITATIVE ANALYSI OF SEGMENTED FOCUS GROUPS Mary Katherine Brock A Thesis Submited to the Graduate Faculty of Auburn University in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science Auburn, Alabama May 10, 2007 ii EXPLORING APAREL RELATIONSHIPS AND BODY IMAGE OF TWEN GIRLS AND THEIR MOTHERS THROUGH QUALITATIVE ANALYSI OF SEGMENTED FOCUS GROUPS Permision is granted to Auburn University to make copies of this thesis at its discretion, upon request of individuals or institutions at their expense. The author reserves al publication rights. ________________________________ Signature of Author ________________________________ Date of Graduation iv VITA Mary Katherine Brock, daughter of Dr. Don and Mary Brock, was born October 1, 1980, in Augusta, Georgia. She graduated from Dutch Fork High School as Valedictorian in 1999. She atended Clemson University in Clemson, South Carolina from 1999 to 2003. She graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry and a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Visual Arts in May, 2003. After working as a defense contractor in Washington, D.C., she entered Graduate School at Auburn University in January, 2005. v THESI ABSTRACT EXPLORING APAREL RELATIONSHIPS AND BODY IMAGE OF TWEN GIRLS AND THEIR MOTHERS THROUGH QUALITATIVE ANALYSI OF SEGMENTED FOCUS GROUPS Mary Katherine Brock Master of Science, May 10, 2007 (B.S., Clemson University, 2003) (B.F.A., Cleson University, 2003) 237 Typed Pages Directed by Lenda Jo Connel and Pamela Ulrich Twens are individuals who are no longer a children, but are not quite tenagers. This study defines twens as girls betwen the ages of 9 and 14 years. The U.S. female twen population is estimated to be 10.4 milion (U. S. Census Bureau, 2006), and total twen spending power is said to be more than $221 bilion annualy (de Mesa, 2005). During their twen years, most girls go through puberty and their bodies change at a rapid pace. Like adults, increasing numbers of this group are now characterized as overweight or obese (Centers for Disease Control (CDC), 1999). Thus, given this period of rapid change, compounded by problems with obesity, it was theorized that there are many subgroups, particularly related to age and size, that affect these consumers? apparel vi relationships and body image. Though twens are identified by researchers as a consumer demographic, their intrinsic nature and individual apparel needs have only been studied in a few, limited academic contexts. As the trend towards obesity trickles into the youth generations (CDC, 1999; Torgan, 2002), there are many far-reaching implications for the plus size twen. General problems observed in the apparel marketplace are lack of selction in clothing choices for plus size shoppers and lack of age appropriate garments in the market for larger, but younger plus size consumers. The purpose of this research was to characterize subgroups based on age and size of female twen consumers. This was done within the context of niche markets in the apparel industry. Mothers were included in this study in order to understand how mother/daughter relationships affect the twens? apparel relationships and body image. This exploratory study of twen girls and their mothers used content analysis of segmented focus groups to understand the apparel relationships and body image of twen girls. It is through this qualitative approach that the researcher was able to probe the nuances that exist betwen subgroups based on the age (younger and older) and size (normal and plus size) of twen girls. The results found through an emergent theme methodology, showed that twen girls have complex apparel relationships and are sensitive about the size of their bodies. Subjects in al groups indicated that they were unable to find clothing that was stylish, age appropriate, and fit their bodies. These identified gaps show the potential for niche markets within the twen consumer group and established a conceptual framework for further research. vii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The author would like to sincerely thank Dr. Lenda Jo Connel and Dr. Pamela Ulrich for asistance, guidance, and unbounded patience during this research project. Appreciation is also expresed to comite members Dr. Daniel Gropper, Dr. Wi-suk Kwon, and Dr. Karla Simons for their support and contribution to this thesis. The author would also like to expres her sincere gratitude and appreciation to the Head of the Department, Dr. Carol Warfield, for her consistent encouragement and guidance. Many thanks are also due to the author?s family and friends who continue to support her and love her no mater what. She would also like to specialy thank her parents Dr. Don and Mary Brock whose love gives her wings to fly and offers a gentle safety net for when she fals. vii Style manual or journal used: Publication Manual of the American Psychological Asociation (5 th ed.) Computer software used: Microsoft Word ? , Microsoft PowerPoint ? ix TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES.........................................................................................................xvii LIST OF FIGURES.........................................................................................................xix CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION.........................................................................................1 Background and Seting...........................................................................................1 Current Situation......................................................................................................2 Implications of the Obesity Epidemic on Youth and Apparel.................................4 Gaps in Current Research........................................................................................5 Statement of Problem...............................................................................................6 Purpose of Study......................................................................................................7 Research Questions..................................................................................................8 Significance..............................................................................................................9 Definition of Terms................................................................................................10 CHAPTER II. REVIEW OF LITERATURE....................................................................13 Twens...................................................................................................................13 Twen Market Share..................................................................................15 Twen Subgroups.......................................................................................16 Gender............................................................................................16 Age.................................................................................................17 x Ethnicity.........................................................................................17 Body Size.......................................................................................18 Adolescent Research..............................................................................................19 Body Image and Body Satisfaction/Disatisfaction...................................20 Influences of Weight Status...........................................................24 Familial Influences.........................................................................25 Media and Socio-cultural Influences.............................................26 Influences of Physical Activity......................................................27 Self-Estem................................................................................................28 Role of Apparel in Twen Culture.........................................................................30 Influences of Family and Pers..................................................................31 Role of Apparel in Social Development....................................................32 Obesity and Apparel..............................................................................................33 Apparel Availability for the Plus Size Market...........................................34 Qualitative Research..............................................................................................34 Content Analysis........................................................................................35 Discourse Analysis.........................................................................39 Emergent Theme Analysis.............................................................39 Venn Diagrams to Represent Relationships and Relative Importance of the Themes.......................................................................................................40 Summary................................................................................................................42 CHAPTER III. METHODOLOGY...................................................................................43 Sampling................................................................................................................44 xi Procedures..............................................................................................................46 Instrumentation......................................................................................................48 Focus Group Discussion............................................................................48 Questionnaire.............................................................................................49 3-D Body Scans.........................................................................................49 Dat Analysis.........................................................................................................50 CHAPTER IV. DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSI..........................................56 Description of Sample............................................................................................56 Description of Content Analysis Technique..........................................................57 Summary of Findings.............................................................................................60 Apparel Preferences...................................................................................61 Research Question 1 a................................................................................61 Apparel Preferences of Twen Girls..............................................61 Theme Explanation and Interpretation...............................63 Brand......................................................................63 Color......................................................................64 Comfort..................................................................67 Fit...........................................................................67 Labeled Size...........................................................69 Store-Specific.........................................................70 Style.......................................................................75 Quality....................................................................75 xii Similarities and Differences in Apparel Preferences Among Subgroups of Twen Girls.................................................75 Research Question 1 b...............................................................................78 Apparel Preferences of Twen Girls as Expresed by Their Mothers...........................................................................................78 Theme Explanation and Interpretation...............................78 Brand......................................................................78 Comfort..................................................................81 Fit...........................................................................81 Labeled Size...........................................................83 Quality....................................................................84 Sales/Price..............................................................84 Store-Specific.........................................................85 Style.......................................................................86 Similarities and Differences in Apparel Preferences of Twen Girls as Expresed by Their Mothers.....................87 Research Question 1 c................................................................................89 Similarities and Differences in Apparel Preferences Among Twen Girls and Their Mothers.................................................................89 Apparel Neds............................................................................................91 Research Question 2 a................................................................................91 Apparel Neds of Twen Girls......................................................91 Theme Explanation and Interpretation...............................94 xii Adjustable Clothing...............................................94 Agreement with Parent..........................................95 Consistent Sizing...................................................97 Fit...........................................................................97 Half Sizes...............................................................98 Modesty................................................................100 Price.....................................................................102 Sports Clothes......................................................103 Store Sections.......................................................103 Style for Plus Sizes..............................................104 Similarities and Differences in Apparel Neds Among Subgroups of Twen Girls...............................................105 Research Question 2 b.............................................................................107 Apparel Neds of Twen Girls as Expresed by Their Mothers..107 Theme Explanation and Interpretation.............................107 Adjustable Clothing.............................................109 Agreement with Daughter....................................111 Consistent Sizing.................................................112 Durability.............................................................113 Fit.........................................................................114 Modesty................................................................116 Nice Clothes.........................................................117 Price.....................................................................118 xiv Style for Plus Sizes..............................................119 Versatility.............................................................121 Similarities and Differences in Apparel Neds of Twen Girls as Expresed by Their Mothers...............................122 Research Question 2 c..............................................................................124 Similarities and Differences in Apparel Neds Among Twen Girls and Their Mothers........................................................................124 Apparel Availability.................................................................................126 Research Question 3 a..............................................................................126 Apparel Availability of Twen Girls...........................................126 Theme Explanation and Interpretation.............................126 Online...................................................................129 Pants/Jeans Hard..................................................129 Shirts Easy and Shirts Hard.................................130 Size/Fit.................................................................131 Skirts/Dreses Easy and Skirts/Dreses Hard......132 Similarities and Differences in Apparel Availability Among Subgroups of Twen Girls...............................................133 Research Question 3 b.............................................................................135 Apparel Availability of Twen Girls as Expresed by Their Mothers........................................................................................135 Theme Explanation and Interpretation.............................135 Jeans/Pants Hard..................................................138 xv Nice Clothes Hard................................................139 Online...................................................................140 Shirts Easy and Shirts Hard.................................141 Size/Fit.................................................................142 Skirts/Dreses Hard..............................................142 Style.....................................................................143 Similarities and Differences in Apparel Availability of Twen Girls as Expresed by Their Mothers...................143 Research Question 3 c..............................................................................146 Similarities and Differences in Apparel Availability Among Twen Girls and Their Mothers...............................................................146 Body Image..............................................................................................148 Research Question 4 a..............................................................................149 Research Question 4 b.............................................................................149 Body Image of Twen Girls.........................................................149 Theme Explanation and Interpretation.............................154 Body Features (+) and Body Features (-)............154 Body Parts (+) and Body Parts (-)........................154 Health (+).............................................................156 Shape/figure (+)...................................................156 Weight (+) and Weight (-)...................................157 Similarities and Differences in Body Image of Subgroups of Twen Girls.................................................................158 xvi Similarities and Differences in Body Image Descriptions of Twen Girls as Perceived by Their Mothers....................160 CHAPTER V. SUMARY, DISCUSION, CONCLUSIONS, IMPLICATIONS, AND RECOMENDATIONS.................................................................................................162 Summary..............................................................................................................162 Discussion............................................................................................................164 Overal Findings.......................................................................................164 Problems with Fit.........................................................................164 Modest Apparel for Twen Girls.................................................165 Price.............................................................................................166 Mother/Daughter Agrement.......................................................166 Age-Related Findings..............................................................................167 Brand and Store Recognition and Priority...................................167 Style Preferences..........................................................................167 Positive Body Image....................................................................168 Size-Related Findings..............................................................................169 Finding Apparel...........................................................................169 Negative Body Image..................................................................170 Conclusions..........................................................................................................170 Limitations...........................................................................................................173 Implications..........................................................................................................174 Recommendations................................................................................................175 REFERENCES................................................................................................................177 xvii APENDICES.................................................................................................................188 Appendix A. Focus Group Scripts.......................................................................189 Appendix B. Questionnaires................................................................................196 xvii LIST OF TABLES 1. Comparison of Uses of Qualitative and Quantitative Content Analysis Techniques.............................................................................................................36 2. Frequency Counts of Emergent Apparel Preference Themes of Twen Girls.......61 3. Brands Mentioned by Twen Girls in the Focus Groups.......................................65 4. Apparel Stores Mentioned in Twen Girl Focus Groups.......................................71 5. Frequency Counts of Emergent Apparel Preference Themes of Twen Girls as Expresed by Their Mothers..................................................................................79 6. Frequency Counts of Emergent Apparel Neds Themes of Twen Girls..............92 7. Frequency Counts of Emergent Apparel Ned Themes of Twen Girls as Expresed by Their Mothers................................................................................108 8. Frequency Counts of Emergent Themes Related to Apparel Availability for Twen Girls..........................................................................................................127 9. Frequency Counts of Emergent Apparel Availability Themes of Twen Girls Expresed by Their Mothers................................................................................136 10. Frequency Counts of Emergent Body Image Themes of Twen Girls................150 11. Frequency Counts of Emergent Themes of Mothers? Perceptions of Their Daughters? Body Image.......................................................................................151 xix LIST OF FIGURES 1. Illustration provided on the CDC?s website to describe BMI-for-age percentiles and ilustrate the interpretation of BMI numbers...................................................11 2. Content analysis flow chart showing esential differences betwen quantitative and qualitative analysis models adopted from Mayring (2000).............................37 3. Step model of inductive category development, adopted from Mayring (2000)...38 4. Example of a Venn Diagram constructed using content analysis techniques and procedures (Carney, 1972, p. 239).........................................................................41 5. Twen focus group layout with sample statistics..................................................45 6. Illustration of the emerging theme method of content analysis with respect to focus group analysis of sieve metaphor.................................................................54 7. Outline of methodology with sample Venn Diagram............................................55 8. Sample of content analysis methodology..............................................................60 9. Diagram of emergent apparel preference themes from twen focus groups.........62 10. Diagram of emergent twen apparel preference themes from mothers? focus groups.....................................................................................................................80 11. Side-by-side comparison of Venn diagrams of apparel preferences of twen girls and their mothers ...................................................................................................90 12. Diagram of emergent apparel neds themes from twen girl focus groups...........93 xx 13. Representative body scans from each of the twen girls? focus groups..............100 14. Diagram of emergent apparel ned themes from mothers of twens? focus groups..............................................................................................................110 15. Side-by-side comparison of Venn diagrams of apparel needs of twen girls and their mothers........................................................................................................124 16. Diagram of emergent apparel availability themes from twen girl focus groups128 17. Diagram of emergent apparel availability themes from mothers? focus groups..137 18. Side-by-side comparison of Venn diagrams of apparel availability of twen girls and their mothers..................................................................................................147 19. Diagram of body image themes from twen girls? focus groups.........................152 20. Diagram of body image themes from mothers? focus groups..............................153 21. Body perception results for mothers of twen girls and their mothers................159 1 I. INTRODUCTION Background and Seting The term twen recently emerged in academic literature to describe a consumer group that is no longer a child, but not quite a tenager. In the context of this study, the term twen, which references the subten or preten demographic, is defined as girls aged 9-14. It is important to note this distinction because in literature and popular culture, this term often refers to both boys and girls ranging from 7 or 8 to 13 or 14 years old (Cook & Kaiser, 2004). The term sometimes refers to children as young as 6 years or youths as old as 16 years (Cook & Kaiser, 2004). This group is important to study not only because it is a large consumer segment, but also because twens have tremendous buying power. The U.S. Census Bureau (2006) reports that there are an estimated 10.3 milion female girls aged 10-14 in the United States, and acording to trend forecaster Letieri, there are ?2.7 milion twens who spend more than $14 bilion annualy on clothing? (Neider & Figueroa, 2001). De Mesa notes that this spending power comes in two ways: money from gifts and influence over spending decisions (2005). Alowances, birthday money, and generous grandparents acount for personal disposable income among twens, and twens influence family spending decisions in subtle and direct ways on a daily basis (Paterson, 2003). Through these combined resources, total twen spending power is estimated by 360.com to be approximately $221 bilion annualy (de Mesa, 2005). These twens are concerned with 2 not only conspicuous consumption but also with self-expresion (Gibbs, 2005), and for twens, apparel is a major avenue of this articulation (Argyle, 1988). Current literature does litle to addres this consumer group with respect to their specific interactions with clothing. If apparel manufacturers are to capitalize on this niche market, they must intrinsicaly grasp twen psyche and purchase decisions. Because of the broad range of ages (9-14) and sizes (normal and plus size) represented in this group, it is deemed wise to segment twens into subgroups in order to characterize them as consumers of apparel. By exploring isues facing subgroups of twen consumers (younger and older, normal and plus size), this study discovered some of the implications of age and body size, as defined by weight, on the consumption of apparel by this group. Current Situation Many studies have documented the rise in American obesity as wel as its trickle into younger generations (Centers for Disease Control (CDC), 1999; National Institutes of Health (NIH), 2004; World Health Organization (WHO), 2006). Popular culture has commented on it with newspaper and magazine articles, books, and films. These commentaries carry titles such as, ?Study: Obesity in kids to increase sharply? (Kirka, 2006), ?Why are we so fat?? (Newman, 2004), and ?Super Size Me: A Film of Epic Portions? (Spurlock, 2003). These sources not only speak to the growing girth of waistlines in America, but also to the marketing ploys that led them there. Now is the first time in recorded history that there are as many overnourished as undernourished people in the world (Newman, 2004). With this trend comes the consequences of youth obesity. Today?s youth represent the first generation whose life expectancy wil be les than that of their parents (Kirka, 2006). With this in mind, politicians, governments, retailers, 3 marketers, researchers, and physicians alike are grappling with how to deal with this epidemic. Nonethels, few researchers have explored the implications of added weight on children and adolescents. Even more rare are studies of obese consumers, much les twens, through the lens of apparel. This study described apparel relationships through exploratory research of twen girls and their mothers. Younger and older, normal and plus size girls and their mothers participated in focus groups. It was a goal of this research to analyze the dialogue from these groups in a manner that would enable the researcher to understand the apparel relationships of this consumer segment. By understanding both age and size subgroups, it was theorized that some of the previously unidentified discrepancies betwen both the younger and older and the normal and plus size consumer could be identified. The mothers were included because, as stated before, parents and other influential adults are a major source of income for this consumer group (Forney & Forney, 1995; Gibbs, 2005; Hardt & Craig, 2005). An example of the type of insight twen mothers can offer is found in this quote from Janis Prado, mother of a plus size 10-year old daughter. Ms. Prado said that, ?a lack of [sizing] variety in children?s departments often forced her to shop in junior departments?even though the clothing costs more and she considers the styles too mature? (Canedy, 1997). The collection and understanding of statements such as this wil enable researchers to begin understanding the apparel neds and preferences of the subgroups of twen consumers because trend analysis shows that twens acquire a majority of their spending power from their parents. 4 Implications of the Obesity Epidemic on Youth and Apparel As stated earlier, the obesity epidemic identified by the CDC (1999), NIH (2004), and WHO (2006) is a problem that now plagues a large portion of the United States and is spreading to other parts of the world (Newman, 2004). The WHO (2006) projects that globaly, there are over 1 bilion overweight adults, 300 milion of whom are obese. In America, an estimated one-third of the adult population is obese (Freudenheim, 2005) and current youth generations are quickly following this trend (Kirka, 2006; NIH, 2004). In the context of apparel, designers, retailers, and manufacturers are grappling with how to provide clothing for overweight and obese consumers. Questions arise such as: What are the apparel expectations of this plus size population? What styles and types of clothing do they expect to find in the marketplace? How much are they wiling to pay for these garments which require higher costs in materials than their smaler-sized counterparts? And, where do these plus size consumers expect to go in order to find this clothing? As this epidemic spreads into younger generations, these same questions emerge. Some retailers such as Old Navy are already addresing this by placing plus size garments in a new section of their store, as wel as adding a ?Women?s Plus Size? section to their website (2006). JC Penney is another retailer that is directing marketing and products toward the plus size market (2006). Also, the retailer Hot Topic addresed these isues by launching an entirely new retail outlet, Torrid, which targets plus size juniors (James, 2001). However, none of these retailers are geared specificaly toward plus size twens who are no longer children, yet not quite juniors. Even mega-retailers such as Wal-mart and Target have struggled in meting the apparel neds of the plus size twen 5 consumer (Kang, 2004). In discovering the apparel needs and desires of this underserved market, it is important to understand the many facets of twens, including the needs of both normal and plus size twens. Implications of providing apparel for the subgroups of twen consumers may reach much further than just providing stylish clothing for a specific onsumer. Understanding the unique neds of plus-sized twen consumers may help some obese individuals overcome isues asociated with obesity such as decreased social interactions?known as social deprivation (Keley, Daigle, LaFleur, & Wilson, 1974)? and low-self estem (CDC, 2006a). Keley et al. (1974) atributed social deprivation of 8 th grade males and females to an inability to purchase (due to economic factors) clothing that alowed them to conform to their desired peer groups. These same isues may apply to obese consumers because like the economicaly deprived group, this consumer segment is size deprived. This concept of social deprivation has not ben studied with respect to obesity. Gaps in Current Research Due to the sensitive nature of younger consumers, it is of no surprise that there is a lack of dat concerning this segment of the American population. There are intensive, apparel-based surveys of the American population such as the recent Size U.S.A. project by Textile/Clothing Technology Corporation ([TC] 2 ), in which 10,800 Americans completd surveys and alowed themselves to be scanned using a [TC] 2 body scanner (Lovejoy, 2005). However, these projects generaly do not include participants younger than 18. Studies such as Shim and Bickel (1994) did not include participants under the age of 16. Moreover, it is important to note that none of these studies specificaly 6 addresed plus size consumers. One could list example after example of apparel-related studies about American female consumers, which only consider females above the age of 18. However, it would be more time fficient to utilize the studies of older consumers and the contextual frameworks of those studies to begin modeling twen behaviors and thus fil in the gaps in current knowledge. Statement of the Problem Though twens have ben identified as a group of consumers, their intrinsic nature and individual apparel needs have only been studied in a few, limited academic contexts. In addition, twens identified within subgroups of age and size may have different apparel needs and desires than those expresed when researchers, marketrs, designers, and manufacturers addres them as a whole. As the trend towards obesity trickles into the youth generations (CDC, 1999; Torgan, 2002), there are many far- reaching implications for the plus size twen. General problems observed in the apparel marketplace are lack of selction in clothing choices for plus size shoppers and lack of age appropriate garments in the market for larger, but younger plus size consumers. These two main problems can be observed simply by walking in any shopping mal in America. Popular twen and ten stores such as Wet Seal, Abercrombie & Fitch, and The Limited cater to smaler sized females and have very limited (if any) offerings for plus size twens and tens. Larger consumers are generaly confined to specialty stores such as Lane Bryant, which caters to plus size middle-aged women. Old Navy is one of a handful of exceptions of ten stores that cater to both the normal and plus size market, yet even there the focus of plus size apparel is on women. A new retail outlet emerging under the Hot Topic onglomerate is Torrid, a fashion-forward store that caters to both 7 sizes and styles of the plus size ten and young adult market (James, 2001). As innovative and busines forward as Old Navy and Torrid are in reaching this underserved market, they stil fail to addres the twen consumer. Litle is known in the marketplace and in academia bout what exactly this group desires with respect to apparel. Purpose of Study The purpose of this research was to characterize the under-researched subgroups of the female twen consumer within the context of niche markets in the apparel industry. This was acomplished by conducting focus groups with twens and their mothers, and comparing and contrasting dialogue of younger and older plus size twens and their mothers to their normal size counterparts in terms of their apparel preferences, apparel needs, and apparel availability. The mothers of the twens were used for the two primary reasons of money and influence. It has been shown that although twens do have spending power (Hardt & Craig, 2005; Neider & Figueroa, 2001), a majority of these funds come from non-alowance gifts from parents (Gibbs, 2005; Hardt & Craig, 2005). Thus, exploring apparel perceptions of mothers of twens with respect to clothing for their daughter(s) provided more insight as to the needs and desires of this market, as wel as determined how much influence mothers have over the apparel spending of their daughter(s). The research questions that guided analysis of the focus groups were as follows: 8 1. Apparel Preferences (i.e., desired styles and fashion sensibilities of consumers) a. Do younger and older, normal and plus size twen girls expres, through conversation, different apparel preferences? b. Do mothers of younger and older, normal and plus size twen girls expres, through conversation, different apparel preferences for their daughters? c. Do younger and older, normal and plus size twen girls expres different opinions about apparel preferences than their mothers? 2. Apparel Neds (i.e., actual and perceived needs of consumers with respect to apparel) a. Do younger and older, normal and plus size twen girls expres, through conversation, different apparel needs? b. Do mothers of younger and older, normal and plus size twen girls expres, through conversation, different apparel needs for their daughters? c. Do younger and older, normal and plus size twen girls expres different opinions about apparel needs than their mothers? 3. Apparel Availability (i.e., how easy or hard it is for consumers to find what they are looking for in terms of apparel in the marketplace) a. Do younger and older, normal and plus size twen girls expres, through conversation, different isues with respect to the availability of apparel in the market place? 9 b. Do mothers of younger and older, normal and plus size twen girls expres, through conversation, different isues with respect to the availability of apparel for their daughters in the market place? c. Do younger and older, normal and plus size twen girls expres different opinions about apparel availability than their mothers? 4. Body Image (i.e., ?The disparity betwen estimated current body image and ideal body image? (Fitzgibbon, Blackman, & Avelone, 2000, p. 583)) a. How do younger and older, normal and plus size twen girls expres their body image through conversation? b. How do mothers of younger and older, normal and plus size twen girls expres their images of their daughter?s bodies through conversation? Significance As highlighted earlier, litle is known about the twen consumer demographic, particularly in the context of the apparel industry. Through this study, it was thought that researchers in academia would be able to more intimately understand the isues, problems and shopping behaviors of both younger and older, normal and plus size twen girls and their mothers. In doing so, this information can then be funneld to industry, which in turn may enable industry to provide goods and services to met the needs of this consumer group. Particularly, this study may help the apparel industry equip itself to combat health risks of obesity in children such as low self-estem and social discrimination (CDC, 2006a). 10 Definition of Terms The following terms wil be a part of the common vernacular for this research study. Apparel availability ? The difficulty with which consumers find what they are looking for in terms of apparel in the marketplace. Apparel needs ? Actual and perceived neds of consumers with respect to apparel. Apparel preferences ? The desired styles and fashion sensibilities of consumers and shopping preferences in terms of apparel stores, brands, sizes, and styles. Body Mas Index (BMI) ? A standard established by the NIH and the CDC, which is a ratio of height (in inches) to weight (in pounds). BMI is calculated using the following formula: weight (lb) / [height (in)] 2 x 703 (CDC, 2006b). BMI standards are both sex and age-specific (CDC, 2006b) and scales for measuring BMI are available at several online resources (CDC, 2006b; Kep Kids Healthy, 2006; KidsHealth, 2006). Figure 1 is the example the CDC (2006a) provides on their website for how BMI numbers are interpreted. Body disatisfaction ? ?The disparity betwen estimated current body image and ideal body image? (Fitzgibbon, Blackman, & Avelone, 2000, p. 583). Body image ? ?An internalized view of one?s appearance that drives behavior and influences information procesing? (Altabe & Thompson, 1994, p. 171). Discourse analysis ? A generalized term meaning qualitative content analysis techniques to interpret writen and spoken words. Emerging theme method ? A method of content analysis that alows the analyst to aggregate focus group dialogue based on initialy identified themes, and in the course of 11 this grouping, expand the themes to encompas new information gathered from the data. This data reduction method asists the analyst in capturing compeling data while also parsing the data into manageable chunks (Marshal & Rossman, 1989). Normal size ? Either underweight (<5 th percentile) or healthy weight (5 th to 85 th percentile) of sex and age range acording to BMI scales established by the CDC (2006a). Plus size ? At risk of overweight (85 th to 95 th percentile) or overweight (> 95 th percentile) of sex and age range acording to BMI scales established by the CDC (2006a). Figure 1. Illustration provided on the CDC?s website to describe BMI-for-age percentiles and ilustrate the interpretation of BMI numbers (CDC, 2006a). 12 Self-estem ? An individual?s global atitude (favorable or unfavorable) towards himself/herself (Simons, F. Rosenberg, & M. Rosenberg, 1973; Sukumaran, Vickers, Yates, & Garralda, 2002). Twen ? Girls aged 9-14 years old. Younger Twen ? Twens betwen 9 and 11 years old. Older Twen ? Twens betwen 12 and 14 years old. 13 II. REVIEW OF LITERATURE The purpose of this study was to explore apparel preferences, apparel needs, apparel availability, and body image for younger and older, normal and plus size twen consumers. In understanding these consumers, it is important to understand how apparel impacts their lives. This was done by comparing the younger and older, plus size twens to their normal size counterparts as wel as by exploring how the mothers of younger and older, normal and plus size twens described their daughters relationship to clothing. The review of literature examined isues related to understanding twens and their relationships to apparel. Understanding who twens are and how they have ben studied in the past created a platform from which to explore the proposed subgroups (age and size) of twens. Research related to apparel such as body image, clothing deprivation, social development, self-estem, perceptions of beauty, and body satisfaction is also presented. In understanding the role of apparel in each of these things, one can then begin to understand the multidimensionality and impact of apparel. Additionaly, information related to obese and overweight consumers is presented. Justification for the exploratory nature of the focus group approach and subsequent analysis methodology are also provided at the end of this literature review. Twens In understanding who twens are, it is first important to understand them in a historical context. In their article, ?Betwixt and Be Twen: Ambiguity and the 14 Sexualization of the Female Consuming Subject,? Cook and Kaiser (2004) outline the emergence of this term in both historical and consumerist terms. Historicaly, the term ?subten? or ?preten? emerged sometime after World War II. In 1954, Life magazine (April 12, 1954) was published under the theme ?Subten Styles? and it included an article titled, ?Not Yet Thirten: Sub-Tens Foster Whole New Branch of Dres Busines.? These terms continued throughout the rest of the twentieth century and began to expres nuances in this consumer subject. Cook and Kaiser (2004) highlight this and provide academic definitions of each term. The mixed use of the terms twen, Twen, subten and preten is teling of the shifting boundaries and meaning of this persona. In this article, subten/preten refers to the 1940s-1970s trade use of the term; twen with a lower case ?t? refers to the age range or market in general. Twen with a capital ?T? refers to the newly constructed persona and market of the 1990s (p. 205). Although this study is more concerned with the market personality of Twen culture as defined by Cook and Kaiser (2004), the word twen with a lowercase ?t? wil be used because this study is not only addresing the market concerns of this group but also the age-related concerns. By 1998, the twen idea was comon in marketing jargon (Cook, & Kaiser, 2004). In the same time period, Fairchild Publishers began publishing, Tween Busines, a supplement to its Children?s Busines monthly (Cook & Kaiser, 2004). Academia, however, only peripheraly dealt with this emerging demographic, and not until the late 1990s did the term twen emerge in the literature. Even then, academicians were stil grappling with what exactly constituted a twen. Though marketers had long been capitalizing on this new demographic, it was not until Cook and Kaiser?s article that 15 academia defined twens. Prior literature can be reviewed and information related to the twen demographic with this lens of understanding. Tween Market Share Though there is limited characterization of this demographic in the literature prior to 2000, there is quite a bit of commentary found in popular culture. Acording to the Dualstar Entertainment Group, founded by Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, twens defined as kids ages 8-12 constitute a $335 bilion market (Hopkins, 2005). The Dualstar estimate may be quite high, as other estimates range from $170 bilion (Ko, 2001) to $221 bilion (de Mesa, 2005). Regardles of the actual number, it is important to note that a) the market is there and b) they spend money. In fact, by pioneering this market, the Olsen twins took first mover advantage and each landed on Fortune?s list of the richest people under 40 by 2004 (Hopkins, 2005). Though most of this spending power is projected to come from parents and other family adults such as grandparents (de Mesa, 2005; Forney & Forney, 1995; Hardt, & Craig, 2005; Paterson, 2003), twens show tremendous economic influence in both their own personal spending and in their influence over family purchase decisions for things ranging from groceries to cars (de Mesa, 2005; Paterson, 2003). Rice of NPD Funworld states that twens: tel you exactly what they do and don?t want . . . they [twens] influence the family car, what food you are going to buy . . . I think they [twens] have much more influence at an earlier age, and they can wield that power. And they [twens] are going to continue doing that throughout their lives. They are learning to be savvy consumers and that is going to be very important. (Paterson, 2003, p. 19) 16 Though it is clear that marketrs grasp that the twen consumer exists, there is a lack of understanding of what this consumer expects in the marketplace particularly when it comes to apparel. Even les understood are the subgroups that exist within the context of twens. In order to understand and benefit from the economic influence and power to which Rice aluded, marketers and academicians alike must understand this consumer physicaly and psychologicaly, and perhaps recognize the notion that there may exist subgroups within this demographic. This is particularly important in the context of apparel where body shape, body size, buyer preference, fashion trends, socio- demographics, and other factors play into consumer apparel buying behavior. Tween Subgroups Though marketers and academicians have both noted the existence of twens, there are studies, which show that twens may be too broad a category. The folowing discussion presents literature supporting the notion of twen subgroups. The subgroups were identified by gender, age, ethnicity, and body size. Gender The Cook and Kaiser (2004) article mainly focused on twen females, but obviously there is a male counterpart. Marketers and academicians are beginning to study this portion of the group, but there is even les information on boys than on girls. In a study investigating gang dres, Forney and Forney (1995) gathered data from junior high students (male and female) of varying ethnicities (white, Hispanic, Asian, Filipino, and other) using a structured questionnaire that asesed gang dres level, fashionability level, and fashion reference sources. The results showed that female participants in this study appeared to be more fashionable than the male participants. Because the proposed 17 study reported here focuses on twen girls, primarily studies involving females wil be used in this review of literature. Age In studying the types of beauty valued by predominately Caucasian American females aged 7 to 13 years old, Martin and Petrs (2005) evaluated 80 girls in this age range through card sorting and collage construction exercises. The researchers used 47 advertisements chosen from popular magazines that target females in America. In the results, the girls were segmented into thre age groups: 7-8, 9-10, and 11-13. Though the purpose of this study was to determine how these younger females perceive the advertising mesages of popular culture, these researchers also noted in their results and discussion sections that there were distinct differences betwen the age brackets of girls. For instance, the researchers noted that, ?while some brands and products were chosen more frequently . . . in general, the use of brands and products in the girls? collage constructions increased, as they got older (p. 400).? The researchers noted that this was particularly true for the 11-13 year old age group, and concluded that there were distinct periods within the twen age group where the girls develop brand and product asociations. Ethnicity Subcultures that are defined by the ethnicity of their mebers are not a new concept in academia, marketing, or popular culture. Ethnicity may define one?s group mebership such as a nationality, culture, or social group. The study investigating gang dres (Forney & Forney, 1995) showed that ethnicity for this sample did appear to be a factor in gang dres. 18 Research has also shown that ethnicity may be an element in one?s body image. Fitzgibbon, Blackman, and Avelone (2000) performed a study of 389 women from three ethnic groups: white, Hispanic, and black. The women completd a three-part questionnaire. The three parts consisted of a general demographic self-report questionnaire, the Figure Rating Scale to ases body image (Stunkard, Sorensen, & Schulsinger, 1983), and the Short Aculturation Scale (Marin & Marin, 1991) to ases the aculturation of the Hispanic participants. The BMI?s for al participants were also calculated using height and weight measurements taken by the researchers. Regresion models were then constructed for the data collected. Although the researchers found no difference in the percentage of women in each ethnic group expresing body disatisfaction, they did find that white women experienced body disatisfaction at a lower BMI level than women of other ethnicities. It is discrepancies such as these that suggest if one is to study concepts such as body image and/or body satisfaction, ethnicity should be a factor considered when examining sample configurations. Body Size As noted in Chapter one, there is a rising number of overweight and obese children in America (Freking, 2005; Kirka 2006; Newman, 2004), and yet, there is a gap in the literature exploring this consumer segment. Currently, only popular culture addreses this group with respect to apparel. In 1997, retailers began to bring sizes and brands to the marketplace for the plus size twen shopper (Canedy, 1997). However, in terms of research, there is litle, aside from proprietary marketing data, which delve into the apparel preferences, needs and desires of the plus size population. For example, Kahn, the chief executive of a children?s clothing manufacturer states that, ?we?ve done 19 some focus studies and found that large children are not realy pleased to shop where the word ?chubby? is used? (Canedy, 1997, p. D1). Current marketing and merchandising methods targeting this group are more like guesing games (Canedy, 1997; Kang, 2004) than strategic plans based on sound research. Though there exists an abundance of research surrounding disordered eating for adolescents, it is primarily focused on anorexia and bulimia, and neglects the other end of the spectrum, under which most plus size individuals fal. There are no known studies that addres the effects of obesity on apparel relationships for twens. The only studies known, which are somewhat peripheraly related, involve clothing deprivation isues faced by adolescents (Francis, 1992; Keley & Eichner, 1970; Knes, 1983; Smucker & Creekmore, 1972). Each of these studies wil be discussed in more detail, but are mentioned here because of their relevance to adolescents and clothing deprivation, which is an important consideration for the plus size twen consumer (Canedy, 1997; Hey, 2002). However, none of these studies specificaly dealt with obesity in the twen context. Obviously, the size requirements of plus size twen consumers are different than their normal size counterparts, and perhaps twens should be addresed academicaly under both contexts: normal and plus size. Adolescent Research Under the guise of research on adolescents, there exists a plethora of research on concepts such as body image, body satisfaction/disatisfaction, and self-estem. Each of these topics wil be explored through the lens of twen consumers as defined by Cook and Kaiser (2004) so as to build a base for what is known about these consumers in terms of psychology, social development, and apparel relationships. 20 Body Image and Body Satisfaction/Disatisfaction Academic literature defines body image in the context of a cognitive schema where body image is, ?an internalized view of one?s appearance that drives behavior and influences information procesing? (Altabe & Thompson, 1994, p. 171). Body image is a multidimensional construct, and researchers have determined that within body image, there are thre sociocultural contructs: awarenes, perceived presures, and internalization (Cash, 2005; Presnel, Bearman, & Stice, 2003). However, in the literature researchers are stil grappling with the conceptual framework needed to evaluate these constructs; in other words, there is not a clear understanding about, ?how these various constructs should relate to one another and, ultimately, to evaluate body image? (Cash, 2005, p. 439). Thus in investigating these constructs, psychological, psychiatric, somatic, and neurological aspects must be addresed when dealing with asesing a subject?s body image (Brodie, Bagley, & Slade, 1994). Body disatisfaction is a related concept and is often referred to in the literature as body image discrepancy and is defined as the difference betwen one?s perceptual body image (how they se their body) and one?s atitudinal body image (how they feel about their body) (Fitzgibbon, Blackman, & Avelone, 2000). Blyth, Simons, and Zakin (1985) asert that body satisfaction and disatisfaction are respectively, the positive and negative manifestations of one?s body image. With respect to body image and body satisfaction/disatisfaction among the twen age range, there are many studies that aim to understand body image, yet they are mostly in the context of the onset of eating disordered behaviors. In fact, in speaking to the dramatic increase in academic studies on body image, Cash (2005) states, ?one driving 21 force behind the escaltion of body image scholarship is the ardent clinical and scientific interest in eating disorders among girls and young women? (p. 438). There are also many studies that speak to influences on twen?s body image. The concepts of body image and body disatisfaction are multidimensional (Blyth, Simons, & Zakin, 1985; Cash, 2005; Presnesl, Bearman, & Stice, 2003; Sinton & Birch, 2006), and may be predicted by multiple factors, such as: ? pubertal timing (Blyth, Simons, & Zakin, 1985; Brodie, Bagley, & Slade, 1994) ? BMI (Brodie, Bagley, & Slade, 1994; Wils, Backet-Milburn, Gregory, & Lawton, 2005) ? familial influences (Usmiani & Daniluk, 1996, Sinton & Birch, 2006) ? media nd socio-cultural variations (Abrams & Stormer, 2002; Sinton & Birch, 2006) ? physical activity (Neumark-Sztainer, Goeden, Story, & Wal, 2004). The concept of body satisfaction/disatisfaction wil be addresed in tandem with the concept of body image due to the interconnectednes of these two ideas. In the context of twens, body disatisfaction is very important because of its implications in the onset of eating disorders as they enter their ten years. RoperASW conducted a 2003 Unilever/Girl Scout Self-Estem Survey (Troy & O?Donnel, 2003) of more than 800 twens aged 8-12. Perhaps the most striking result is that for twen girls, looks are a major source of disatisfaction. More than half of the girls surveyed (54 %) say they like how much they weigh only ?a litle? or ?not at al,? and 15% are completly disatisfied with their bodies (Market Wire, 2003). These high percentages may lead these twens 22 toward an increased predisposition to develop disordered eating. Thus, much research in the field of body image and body satisfaction/disatisfaction is geared towards preventing such behavioral developments. In a series of three studies, Altabe and Thompson (1994) confirmed a schema view of body image, with the term schema meaning, ?a mental representation of information with procesing consequences? (p. 172). The first study involved 117 females aged 18 to 41 (mean age of 20.66). Each female completd a series of questionnaires, and the results determined that physical discrepancy was significantly correlated with prior body image and mood. In their second study, 64 undergraduate females completd questionnaires similar to those in the first study, as wel as participated in an experiment where they completd experimentaly controlled timed sentence tasks (i.e the participants were given prompts like ?women with smooth elbows . . .? and asked to complet the sentence). The results of this experiment combined with the questionnaires, alowed the researchers to determine that paterned mood responses to the experimental manipulation of body image existed. In their third and final study, Altabe and Thompson replicated the results from experiment two and expanded the experiment from sentences to pictures. The sample for this study was 102 female undergraduates. The results from the third study confirmed the findings from experiment two, and when combined with the first study, confirmed the notion that body image is a cognitive structure. Esentialy these researchers confirmed that body image has a schematic structure that for females can be activated by factors such as reading a fashion magazine or viewing a commercial with beautiful women. Once activated, these environmental factors have the potential to interact with one?s perceived body image and 23 cause them to have a negative self-reaction to themselves, and in doing so, ?elicit a negative mood and body image distres? (Altabe & Thompson, 1994, p. 188). In asesing the multidimensionality of body image, other researchers have tested various factors to detrmine their effect on body image. In a study measuring perceived and ideal body image of pre- and post-adolescent females, Brodie, Bagley, and Slade (1994) studied 59 girls whose average age was 9.3 (SD +/- 1.3) years old and 41 girls whose average age was 14.1 (SD +/- 1.3) years old. These girls were within the age range of twens in the research reported here. Each girl completd a visual distortion task and two body satisfaction scales (one pictorialy and one Likert-type format). In performing this study, the researchers were trying to ases the relationship betwen adolescence and body image disturbance. Their results concluded that disturbances in body image were unrelated to the onset of puberty. However, the researchers also noted that there were increased desires for thinnes betwen pre-adolescents and post- adolescents tested in this study. In an earlier study, Blyth, Simons, and Zakin (1985) found through longitudinal research of 225 white females in grades six and seven that there were was a strong relationship to pubertal timing (early, middle, and late developers) and satisfaction with body image. Satisfaction with body image was determined by a questionnaire that asked the girls to ases aspects of their bodies (height, weight, figure development, and evaluation of overal looks) on a 4-point scale ranging from ?not happy at al? to ?very happy.? The findings from this study support the idea that body image is a multidimensional construct. 24 In another study by Brodie, Bagley, and Slade (1994) involving body image and puberty, researchers asesed 182 females ranging from 11-18 in a single-sex school. Participants completd questionnaires that asked them to ases their bust, waist, and hip measurements as wel as rank their features acording to how much distres each induced. The results showed that as the girls became proportionately heavier for their height (i.e. their BMI increased), they became les satisfied with their waist and hip measurements. Influences of Weight Status A dimension related to body image and body disatisfaction is weight status. BMI is the metric used by the CDC to determine relative body size, and it aseses overal body mas as underweight, normal weight, overweight, or obese. In addition to the Brodie, Bagley and Slade (1994) research, Fitzgibbon, Blackman, and Avelone (2000) conducted a study where ethnic (black and Hispanic) women experienced body image disatisfaction only when they were overweight, whereas white women who were not overweight experienced body disatisfaction. With respect to twens, only one study was found to deal with body image perceptions and body size. This study by Wils, Backet-Milburn, Gregory, and Lawton (2005), was exploratory in nature. The researchers conducted in-depth interviews with 36, 13 and 14 year olds. Half of the sample was clasified by BMI to be overweight or obese, while the other half was clasified as normal. Analysis of the interviews revealed that most of the normal weight participants had litle to say about their body image, while those who were overweight or obese, ?often talked in contradictory and complex terms about their weight and body size? (p. 399). This qualitative study is important because it probed the upper end of the 25 twen demographic and showed that the concepts of body image and body satisfaction/disatisfaction are complex and multidimensional. Barker and Galmbos (2003) found, through a 3-year longitudinal study of 91 girls, that having higher BMI predicted higher body disatisfaction. Familial Influences Familial influences are very important to twens. In the study reported here, mother and daughter relationships and influences were particularly of interest. In a study by Usimani and Daniluk (1996), body image was asesed for 82 mothers and their menstrual daughters (aged 11-16 years old, mean = 13.42) and 31 mothers and their premenstrual daughters (aged 11-14 years old, mean= 12.5). The girls were betwen grades 7-11. This study was of particular interest because the sample includes the upper age range of twens. A self-image questionnaire and the Rosenberg Self Estem Scale (Rosenberg, 1965) were administered to the girls and their mothers. Usimani and Daniluk?s results showed that there was, ?not a significant correlation betwen body image scores for the mothers and their premenstrual daughters? (p. 55); but there was a significant correlation found betwen the body image scores of the menstrual girls and their mothers. This result suggests that as the girls get older, the influence of their mother on the daughter?s body image may be more prominent. In a longitudinal study of 173 11-year-old girls, where girls were interviewed and completd questionnaires on two separate occasions, Sinton and Birch (2006) found that parental influence on weight concerns was asociated with the girls? level of body satisfaction. Benedikt, Wertheim, and Love (1998) examined 89 mother-daughter pairs. Each mother and each daughter completd eating atitudes and behavior questionnaires 26 and their BMIs were collected through self-report of height and weight. The study found significant correlations betwen daughters? body disatisfaction and mothers? encouraging their daughter to lose weight and mothers? reports of their own body disatisfaction. In another study, researchers Levine, Smolak, and Hayden (1994) surveyed 385 girls from age 10 to 14 years old to evaluate eating behavior, body satisfaction, concern with being slender, and cues from parents, peers, and magazines. The results from this survey showed that one of the strongest correlations observed stemed from girls who exhibited disordered eating behaviors and experienced body size and shape related teasing and criticism from family members. Additionaly, Smolak, Levine, and Schermer (1999) found, through a survey of parents (131 mothers and 89 fathers) and their fourth and fifth grade children, that direct parental comments, more than parental modeling, about body size and body shape appeared to be important in affecting the child?s body- size-and-shape-related concerns and behaviors. This study also showed that mothers appeared to influence children in this regard more than fathers. Media and Socio-cultural Influences Socio-cultural influences and variations have been shown in the literature to affect one?s body image and body satisfaction/disatisfaction. Hargreaves and Tiggemann (2003) found that viewing thin ideals in telvision comercials led adolescent girls to have increased body disatisfaction. In this study 310 adolescent girls aged 13 to 17 years old were either exposed to 15 commercials with actors who exhibited thin ideals for women or 15 comercials containing no such images. The results showed that viewing the commercials with thin-ideal women led the girls to have increased body 27 disatisfaction. In an experiment with 138 Caucasian females aged 18 to 48 years old, Heinberg and Thompson (1994) found that viewing thin ideals on telvision negatively affected the mood and body satisfaction of the participants. Tiggeman, Verri, and Scaravaggi (2005) studied body disatisfaction in similar samples from two different cultures: Australia nd Italy. The researchers developed questionnaires ?to ases the internalization of thin ideals, fashion magazine exposure, and the importance of clothes, in addition to containing measures of body disatisfaction, dieting, and disordered eating symptomatology? (p. 293). The results from this survey resarch (with a sample of 140 Australian and 95 Italian college aged women), showed that although the same factors (i.e. BMI, thin ideals, fashion magazine consumption, etc.) influenced both cultures with respect to body satisfaction/disatisfaction, the magnitude of the influence from each factor differed as a function of nationality. In the Sinton and Birch?s (2006) longitudinal study, socio-cultural influences were also measured by interview and questionnaires. The results showed that both pers and media mesages influenced girls? self-perceptions of their bodies. Abrams and Stormer (2002) recruited 208 adolescent females from ethnicaly diverse backgrounds and had the girls complet a questionnaire that asesed their atitudes towards appearance. The results from this study revealed that primary ethnic group membership was a predictor of the level of awarenes of dominant societal standards of appearance. Influences of Physical Activity In 2004, Neumark-Sztainer, Goeden, Story, and Wal analyzed body satisfaction and physical activity of 4,746 boys and girls aged 11-18 years old (mean= 14.9 years old) of varying ethnic backgrounds. Survey and anthropometric dat were colected from 28 students in their Health, Physical Education, and Science clases. Body satisfaction, physical activity, telvision viewing, team sport participation, and weight status (BMI) were asesed in the dat collection and analysis proceses. With the boys, significant correlations were observed betwen higher levels of physical activity and body satisfaction. The same trend of increased physical activity and increased body satisfaction was observed with the girls, but the findings were not statisticaly significant. Self-Estem Self-estem is defined as an individual?s global atitude (favorable or unfavorable) towards himself or herself (Simons, Rosenberg, & Rosenberg, 1973; Sukumaran, Vickers, Yates, & Garralda, 2002). Thus, it is logical to follow discussion of body image and body satisfaction/disatisfaction, with a discussion of self-estem. Rosenberg is the most prominent researcher in the area of self-estem. His Likert scale measures global self-estem (Rosenberg, 1965), and is ubiquitous with this type of research. Modified versions exist for use with younger adolescents. In a survey study of 82 female students in grades 7 to 11 and their mothers conducted by Usmiani and Daniluk (1997), the researchers used the Rosenberg Self- Estem Scale and determined that mothers? self-estem was closely correlated to their daughters? self-estem. In postmenstrual daughters and in both groups of mothers, self- estem ade a statisticaly significant contribution to the participants? body image perceptions. However, in the premenstrual group, self-estem was not significantly related to body image. In another study looking at self-image disturbance, Simons, Rosenberg, and Rosenberg (1973) gathered data from a random sample of 2,625 students from 25 urban 29 schools. The students ranged from grades 3 to 12. The students? self-estem, self- consciousnes, self-image, and perceived self were asesed through questionnaires. In analyzing the results, the younger participants were compared to the older participants to se if age was a factor in producing disturbance in the participants? overal self-picture. The findings related to self-estem showed that global self-estem (defined in this review as self-estem) improved in later adolescence. However, self-estem based specific traits (inteligence, honesty, diligence, good behavior, helpfulnes, good athlet, humor, and most important to this study, looks), declined sharply betwen childhood (8 to 11 years old) and early adolescence (12 to 14 years old) and continued to decrease into later adolescence (15 years old and older). These findings are significant for several reasons. They reinforce the notion that within the twen demographic, there are subgroups delineated by age that exist and show that looks are an important factor to twens and can negatively affect their self-estem. In continuing the notion that looks affect self-estem, Daters (1990) addresed the role of apparel and self-estem in adolescents. The two-fold purpose of Daters? study was to a) ases the importance of clothing comfort for adolescents in thre urban situations, and b) ases the relationship betwen the importance of clothing comfort and the level of self-estem of adolescents in those situations. Daters randomly selcted s sample consisting of 197, 7 th and 8 th grade female students. These students completd a series of questionnaires, and the results showed that clothing comfort was more important to these students in social and school environments than in leisure situations. Daters showed that for this group, self-estem was not related to situational clothing comfort. 30 Other researchers atempted to develop a model to relate the proximity of clothing to self (Sontag & Le, 2004). Despite the fact that the model developed held true in the adults tested and the results were confirmed in several rounds of trials, when applied to adolescents, results could not be confirmed. Though the findings of Daters (1990) and Sontag and Le (2004) were not conclusive in relating clothing to self-estem, clothing is important to self-estem in other capacities such as social development (Francis, 1994). Role of Apparel in Twen Culture Apparel is a means of comunicating oneself to one?s peers. Through dres, we portray who we are and who we perceive ourselves to be to the world around us (Lowe, 1996). For instance, employee roles such as scientist, doctor, nurse, and postal worker are al asociated with certain types of dres. These uniforms are but one avenue of the way dres identifies social function (Smucker & Creekmore, 1972). Daters (1990) explains ?society recognizes the role of clothing as a comunicator of information during social interaction and as an aid in the establishment of self identity? (p. 45). In youth culture, social tribes such as jocks, cheerleaders, and the ?in? crowd are al delineated by dres (Forney & Forney, 1995; Keley & Eicher, 1970). Observation of any grouping of people, particularly youth in Western cultures, reveals these paterns. Though the Uniquely ME! Survey mentioned earlier found that 80% of twens said that they are ?not at al worried? about having cool clothes (Market Wire, 2003), academic and other research has shown that clothing does have an effect on social interactions for this age group. In fact, Litrel and Eicher (1973) stated that, ?adolescents regard clothing and social aceptance as very important? (p. 197). Nickelodeon market researcher, Bruce Friend stated that twens are very concerned with their look, and cited stores like 31 Abercrombie & Fitch and Delia*s as catering to this phenomenon (Hymowitz, 1999). Twens also have preferences with respect to fit (Tselpis & de Klerk, 2004) and brand (BUZBACK Market Research, 2004). Through a survey of 1000 female consumers aged 16 to 64 years old, Shim and Bickle (1994) identified different benefit segments of the female apparel market. The three segments were: symbolic/instrumental, practical/conservative, and apathetic users of clothing. Though twens did not constitute any of this sample, the models and segments identified by this study may be useful in exploring the twen demographic. Influences of Family and Pers In a study closely linked to the twen demographic, Kernan (1973) found, through a survey study of 57 girls from 7 th and 8 th grades, that younger girls are ?compliant shadows? of older girls with respect to their fashion choices and that younger girls se use of the same clothing and cosmetic fashions of older girls as ?shibboleths? or rather, proof of their asociation with the older girls. In the same study, Kernan (1973) also noted that this asociation with older girls is acompanied by a ?simultaneous pasage from the hovering influence of their mothers? (p. 349). Such pasage may acount for the tensions betwen parents and twens observed in popular culture (Kaiser, 2003; Walis, 2003). In the context of apparel marketing, this group membership has strong implications for marketing to the twen consumer. In a study investigating gang wear and fashion, Forney and Forney (1995) identified, through questionnaire and interview methods, how 131 male and female tens in 7 th and 8 th grades from one school used clothing to asociate with groups (in this case, gangs). These researchers also explored reference sources for clothing choices and 32 identified that both the girls and the boys overwhelmingly relied on their friends? advice for making decisions about clothing. Role of Apparel in Social Development In the 1970s, Keley and Eicher pioneered research that related apparel to social participation and group membership (Keley, Daigle, LaFleur, & Wilson, 1974; Keley & Eicher, 1970; Eicher & Keley, 1974). The 1970 research conducted by Keley and Eicher was a longitudinal study of high school girls. Each year for four years, social clas and social aceptance data were collected from each girl through questionnaires. The results showed that although clothing and appearance were important factors in ten culture, each alone was insufficient for explaining group aceptance or exclusion. Following this, Keley et al. (1974) investigated 324 8 th grade students. The researchers investigated how gender, ethnicity and social clas level (working and lower clas) related to clothing and social participation. Results showed that regardles of gender, ethnicity, or social clas level, respondents having a high level of participation in group activities felt a low level of clothing deprivation feelings. This confirmed results from a study by Smucker and Creekmore (1972) that showed significant positive correlations betwen peer aceptance and conformity in clothing. In other words, adolescents from the same social situations (in this case high school), dresed alike in order to appear as part of the group. In 1974, Eicher and Keley also completd another longitudinal study where they examined this socialization effect. In this tudy, the researchers examined and confirmed clothing deprivation feelings of girls from lower social levels who were placed in school environments with girls from upper social levels. This study also revealed that the lower 33 social clas participants exhibited a lower level of social participation. In terms of obesity, this study may have other implications. Perhaps socioeconomic status is not the only predictor of clothing deprivation and depresed social participation. In 1983, Knes continued to build upon the work of Keley and Eicher, by investigating clothing satisfaction and deprivation felings of three adolescent ethnic groups: Anglo-American, Afro-American, and Mexican-American. Her study found that for each ethnic group, feelings of clothing deprivation were affected by different factors unique to each group. In another study, also on high school students, Francis (1992) found that inability to buy clothing and clothing deprivation relative to peers significantly affected the participants? social participation. In terms of plus size twens, such findings could have significant implications with regard to the lack of plus size apparel in the marketplace. Obesity and Apparel As previously discussed, there is an increasing trend towards obesity in America (CDC, 1999; WHO, 2006; NIH, 2004). Current literature does litle to addres obese and overweight consumers in terms of apparel, especialy with respect to plus size twens. Though Tselpis and de Klerk (2004) set up a conceptual framework to study fit expectations of twens, specific concerns of the plus size demographic are not addresed. Some retailers, such as JC Penney, Old Navy, and Torrid are atempting to reach out to the plus size demographic, but there is a lack of knowledge within academia bout this consumer group and their apparel relationships, needs, and preferences. 34 Apparel Availability for the Plus Size Market As stated earlier, the succes of stores and brands like Limited Too, Delia*s and the Olson twins, speak to the fashion sense and market profitability of the twen market. However, the plus size twen is often underserved. Clothing available for these girls, who often exced junior?s size ranges, can be limited to adult sizes and styles. This gap in the marketplace may cause the negative feelings of clothing deprivation (Keley, Daigle, LaFleur, & Wilson, 1974; Keley & Eicher, 1970), which Knes (1983) and Francis (1992) showed had significant effects on social participation factors in high school students. That said, the apparent lack of apparel for this demographic may have significant impact on their social participation. This trend could pour over into their adult lives and have a more widespread and negative impact on society as a whole. Thus, there are more far reaching implications of this research than simply meting the apparel needs of twens. Qualitative Research Due to this lack of knowledge of twen consumers, and even more so plus size twens, an exploratory study is appropriate to probe this demographic. Thus, a qualitative method best suits exploration and description of this consumer group and its subcomponents (i.e. normal size, plus size, younger, and older). Focus group dat was chosen as the source of information for this study because within the focus group seting, conversations can be guided to cover topical areas, and participants have opportunities to offer information and ideas that may have been overlooked by quantitative researchers. By using qualitative analysis techniques, the researcher was able to explore the data nd 35 describe the findings in a manner that wil hopefully reveal something previously unknown about the subject of interest. Content Analysis Content analysis techniques were exploited to analyze the focus group data because they offered the researcher the ability to extract in a systematic manner, basic themes from the focus group data s wel as glean themes that may have emerged during the dialogue (Lindkvist, 1981). There are two aspects of content analysis: quantitative and qualitative. There are advantages and disadvantages to using each of these aspects, and both alow for the data reduction and data interpretation needed to extract meaningful information from the data (Marshal & Rosman, 1989). In discussing qualitative content analysis, George (1959) aserted four designations for this term. These are shown in Table 1. Because of the preliminary nature of this study, George?s (1959) clear outline of qualitative and quantitative content analysis techniques makes it clear that qualitative content analysis should be used in analyzing the focus groups in this study. The flexibility and impresionistic procedures offered by qualitative content analysis are desired because so litle is known about the specific apparel relationships of twens and their mothers. The content analysis flow chart in Figure 2 is adopted from Mayring (2000), and ilustrates the more rigid, deductive, quantitative approach and the flow of the, inductive, qualitative approach to content analysis. This information, combined with the goals of this research, make it clear that an inductive methodology is appropriate for this project. Another figure from Mayring (2000) further breaks down the inductive model in terms of 36 the specific steps of category development. These are shown in Figure 3, which is adopted from Mayring (2000). Table 1 Comparison of Uses of Qualitative and Quantitative Content Analysis Techniques (George, 1959) Uses of Qualitative Analysis Techniques Uses of Quantitative Analysis Techniques The preliminary reading of communications materials for purposes of hypothesis formation and the discovery of new relationships Systematic content analysis for purposes of testing hypothesis An impresionistic procedure for making observations about content characteristics A systematic procedure for obtaining precise, objective, and reliable data Dichotomous atributes (i.e., atributes which can be predicated only as belonging or not belonging to an object) Atributes which permit exact measurements (i.e., the true quantitative variable) or rank ordering (i.e., the serial) A ?flexible? procedure for making content-descriptive observations, or ?coding? judgments A ?rigid? procedure for doing the same 37 Figure 2. Content analysis flow chart showing esential differences betwen quantitative and qualitative analysis models adopted from Mayring (2000). 38 Figure 3. Step model of inductive category development, adopted from Mayring (2000). As outlined in this review of literature, category development is one of the primary methods that wil be used to understand this data. In research involving adolescents, ethnographic techniques are commonly used as a form of qualitative content analysis. Several methodologies fal under the umbrela of ethnography, including: discourse analysis and emergent theme analysis. 39 Discourse Analysis Discourse analysis is a technique where texts are deconstructed and interpreted to reveal hidden meaning through the lens of postmodernism (Palmquist, 2006). In the field of psychology, Korobov and Bamberg (2004) published an article that utilized discourse analysis as a method of interpreting 72 lines of conversation spoken by 10 adolescent boys. Two articles (Campbel, 2004; Edwards & Stokoe, 2004) were published soon thereafter in opposition to Korobov and Bamberg?s technique. Though many holes were found in Korobov and Bamberg?s specific use of discourse analysis, Edwards and Stokoe (2004) were clear to emphasize the validity of discourse analysis in their concluding remarks. In the field of pragmatics, discourse analysis is more acepted as a means of analysis. Tagliamonte (2005) used this technique to analyze conversations of young Canadians aged 11 to 19 years old. In this study, Taglimonte mined conversational data for discourse markers, which alowed the researcher to characterize the linguistic features of the sample with respect to new ?pragmatic markers? in the language of young Canadians. These markers were identified as the following words: like, just, and so. In Tagliamonte?s study, the new meanings of these words were characterized through discourse analysis and paterns extracted from simple frequency counts of the words. Emergent Theme Analysis There is much les controversy surrounding the emergent theme technique of qualitative content analysis. Emergent theme analysis is a technique of inductive analysis where the researcher extracts important categories from the data nd clasifies them in a matrix format (Marshal & Rossman, 1989). In the social sciences, this technique is 40 common in exploratory studies involving focus groups. Wils, Backet-Milburn, Gregory, and Lawton (2005) used this technique to investigate young Scottish tenagers? perceptions of their own and others? bodies. Engebretson (2004) used a more structured version of this technique wherein she analyzed focus group data with preset categories and used a constant comparison to find the central ideas within each category. In another study investigating casual versus formal uniforms in flight atendants, in-depth interviews were conducted and themes identified through line-by-line analysis, a modified version of the emergent theme method (Adomaitis & Johnson, 2005). Due to the limited number of participants in the focus groups, the emerging theme method presented in Marshal and Rossman (1989, p. 114) was chosen. The emerging theme method enabled the researcher to construct logical groupings of the data, while maintaining flexibility in analysis such that themes previously unclear can emerge in the analysis proces (Marshal & Rossman, 1989). This type of flexibility makes content analysis an enriching method for interpreting data. That said, from the Mayring (2000) charts, the step-wise methodology that is provided in Figure 3 was followed except for the final quantitative step of analysis, which was replaced by Venn diagrams as described in the next section. This inductive methodology is consistent with the emerging themes asesment of qualitative data presented. Venn Diagrams to Represent Relationships and Relative Importance of the Themes In utilizing the emerging themes conceptual framework for analysis, visual representations of the dat were constructed to ilustrate not only emerging themes, but also the magnitude and relvance of those themes to each of the twen and mothers of twens subgroups. This step replaced the final step in the Mayring (2000) model. Venn 41 diagrams similar to the one presented in Figure 4 were constructed as a part of the analysis proces. Note, this chart was adopted from Carney ?s (1972) figure, Issues in the carer of Marius, depicted as a form of Venn diagram. It is in constructing these diagrams that the dependent variables emerged in a clear and tangible manner. This conceptual framework for defining and tracking themes in qualitative research was gleaned from Carney (1972, p. 239). Figure 4. Example of a Venn Diagram constructed using content analysis techniques and procedures (Carney, 1972, p. 239). 42 The construction of these Venn diagrams enabled the researcher to visualy link the emerging concepts and themes from the focus groups in a tangible manner. The ultimate goal of content analysis is to enable researchers to qualitatively proces volumes of data and somehow link and describe phenomena that exist within that data. Coupling the emergent theme method with the creation of these Venn diagrams provided the structure necesary to complet valid dat analysis, as wel as easily represent the findings of the analysis. Summary Acording to Gibbs? (2005), the twen consumer segment is formed by a complex group of individuals. Twens desire power and independence, yet stil rely on their parents to provide most of their spending power (Gibbs 2005; Hardt, & Craig, 2005). Twen girls also have strong concepts of beauty and are able to communicate what they desire with respect to fashion (Martin & Petrs, 2005). Based on this information, this research atempted to fil in gaps within current knowledge of twen apparel needs by exploring the similarities and differences due to age (younger and older) and body size (normal and plus size), as wel as exploring how the mothers of these girls influence their apparel relationships. Knowledge gained from this study may contribute to the apparel marketing research models for this demographic. 43 III. METHODOLOGY This research was designed to explore and describe twen girls? and their mothers? relationship to clothing. As shown in the review of literature, twens girls are an under-researched consumer group. In this research project, normal and plus size twen girls and their mothers participated in focus groups, completd questionnaires, and had their bodies scanned using a 3-D body scanner. The primary purpose of the focus group portion was to enable researchers to utilize qualitative data analysis techniques to glean major themes related to twens and their relationships with apparel and shopping. Questionnaire responses and body scans were used to enhance interpretations of the qualitative data and offer more explicit ilustrations of the twens and mothers represented in the sample. This chapter details sample selction, dat collection, and procedures for data analysis. Because the nature of this research was to explore and describe the subgroups within the twen consumer segment as wel as investigate the roles of the twen girls? mothers in making apparel decisions, a qualitative approach to dat collection and analysis is most appropriate. The focus group set-up enabled the researcher to explore themes while at the same time alowing twen girls and their mothers to expres ideas that may be overlooked in other methodologies. The flexibility and exploratory quality of focus groups alowed researcher to delve into the psyche of these twen girls as the researcher tries to understand the twen girls? relationships to apparel. In doing this, 44 there are a myriad of methodologies available to organize the dialogue resulting from focus groups. For this research, the emerging theme method (Marshal & Rossman, 1989, p. 114) was chosen as most appropriate for analyzing the focus groups of the twen girls and their mothers. This method also enabled the researcher to work from established themes (determined by the focus group scripts) as wel as identify and include in analysis the themes that emerge during the analysis proces. Sampling This research was conducted at the Textile Technology Clothing Corporation ([TC] 2 ) in Cary, North Carolina. The focus groups took place at [TC] 2 because of aces to 3-D body scanning equipment. [TC] 2 recruited a purposive sample of twen girls and their mothers from the area surrounding Raleigh, North Carolina. This procedure was chosen because of the sensitive nature of the research and budget constraints, which prevented a broader and more randomized sampling procedure. Mothers were asked in a preliminary phone screening to report the age, height, and weight of their daughter. BMIs of each potential candidate were calculated using these self-reported measures acording to the BMI charts available from the CDC (2006a) as shown in Chapter 1. From these BMI calculations, twen girls and their mothers were asigned to groups based on their daughter?s age (9-11 or 12-14 years old) and BMI (normal or plus size). Twen girls and their mothers each received a $75 compensation for participating in the research. Figure 5 ilustrates the basic makeup of the four separate twen focus groups. The four focus groups of mothers were characterized by the asignment of their daughter to a particular group; thus descriptions of age and BMI are not given for the mothers? focus groups. In the mothers? groups, researcher was more concerned with 45 factors affecting how the mothers shopped with and/or for their daughters, not for themselves. It is important to note that in the normal size 9 to 11 year old group, there were two sets of sisters. This acounts for why there were ten girls and only eight mothers. Sample body scans from each group are also shown in Figure 5 to ilustrate the richnes of body scan data in detrmining body size and shape as wel as to show one facet of how participant dialogue was interpreted in the dat analysis portion of this study. Though ethnicity was not used as a factor of the analysis, self-report of ethnicity was collected. The mothers groups consisted of 56% Caucasian, 22% African-American, 2.5 % Caucasian/Hispanic, 2.5% Native American, 2.5% other, and 14.5% of the mothers did not indicate their ethnicities. For the twen girls, 61% of the sample was Caucasian, 29% African American, 2.5% Caucasian/Hispanic, 2.5% Native American, 2.5% Caucasian/African American, and 2.5% other. Figure 5. Twen focus group layout with sample statistics Normal size 9-1 year olds Normal size 12-14 year olds Number in Group: 10 Mean Age: 10.12 ean BMI: 17.68 Number of others: 8 Number in Group: 1 Mean Age: 13.29 ean BMI: 19.09 Number of others: 1 Plus ize 12-14 year olds Plus ize 9-1 year olds Number in Group: 9 Mean Age: 10.64 ean BMI: 27.40 Number of others: 9 Number in Group: 1 Mean Age: 13.5 ean BMI: 29.4 Number of others: 1 46 The age range of 9-14 was chosen because the researchers felt that this was the most common age range considered in the twen marketing demographic. In recognizing the vast changes (socialy and physicaly) that females undergo betwen the ages of 9 and 14, mothers and daughters were placed in these age-and-BMI-defined groups in order to capture the concerns of younger and older twens in both the normal and plus size categories. These subgroups were some of the subgroups identified in the literature review. It was thought that by placing the twens in groups of similarly aged girls, they would be more verbal. A 9-year-old participating in a group discussion with 14-year-olds might not fel comfortable because of the physical and social differences betwen the two twen age groups. Procedures A series of eight focus groups (four groups of daughters and four groups of mothers) were conducted over two nonconsecutive days in October 2004. Focus group participants were recruited through non-probabilistic sampling to fil the focus groups with a goal of having ten to twelve twen girls per group. Experienced moderators conducted each focus group. The moderator of the twen girls group was a specialist in childhood development and had prior experience moderating focus groups. The moderator for the mothers? focus groups was an experienced moderator and an expert in apparel and consumer research. Both moderators were given scripted questions to ask each group. Auburn researchers conducted focus groups, collected questionnaire responses, and gathered body scans from both twen girls and their mothers. Additionaly, each twen girl was asked to create a colage of a favorite new outfit that she would want to 47 buy for school or meting friends. These collages were then used in the twen girls? focus groups both as icebreakers and as a visual image of what these twen girls look for or expect when they go shopping. These collages spurred the conversation of the focus groups and data colection related to the collages was in the form of dialogue. Though each of these activities produced different types of data, the focus group dialogue was the primary source of analysis, and the other types of data (questionnaire and body scan) were used to supplement analysis of the transcripts in an atempt to paint a clearer picture of the twen girls and their relationships to apparel. As shown earlier in Figure 5, the twen girls were divided into groups based on both age and BMI clasification. Older twen girls and their mothers participated in focus groups on October 9, 2004, and younger twen girls and their mothers participated in focus groups on October 30, 2004. On each day of data collection, the normal and plus size twen girls and their mothers were interviewed at different times in the day (i.e. one group of mothers and daughters came in the morning and the other group in the afternoon). This segmentation prevented the normal size twen girls and their mothers and plus size twen girls and their mothers from being in the building at the same time. Primarily, this was done in order to prevent the twen girls and their mothers from inferring the nature of this study. Each focus group lasted from 45 minutes to a litle over an hour, and participants were only referred to by first name to protect their personal privacy. 48 Instrumentation Focus Group Discussion Because of the exploratory nature of this research, focus group discussion was chosen as a method for investigating twen girls and their relationships to apparel. Particularly of interest were the ways the twen girls expresed shopping atitudes and influences, sizing and fit preferences, and general body size and self-estem isues. Mothers of the twen girls participated in simultaneous but separate focus groups. They explored the same isues related to shopping for apparel with and/or for their daughter. A scripted line of questions guided the discusion for each group and is included in Appendix A. These covered topics such as twen shopping atitudes and influences, sizing and fit, and body size and self-estem. Videotapes and audiotapes of each focus group were recorded for transcription. The basic asumption of this study was that focus group participants were able to understand questions asked by the moderators and were honest in their responses. Another asumption of this study was that although focus group participants were chosen by convenience sampling, content analysis of participant responses to targeted questions enabled the researcher to find generalized themes which relate to understanding the apparel preferences, apparel neds, and apparel availability of the designated subgroups of twen consumers. It is also thought that an analysis of younger normal size, younger plus size, older normal size, and older plus size twen girls and their mothers enabled the unique needs of the plus size twen girls to be discovered as wel as showed if the observed differences are related to the age of the twen. As themes emerged from the 49 focus group scripts, the questionnaire and 3-D body scan data were examined for their explanatory potential. Questionnaire The questionnaires (se Appendix B) developed by Auburn University researchers, based on published instruments, were used to ases various aspects of apparel relationships of twens and their mothers. The questionnaire given to the twen girls examined how they choose clothes to buy and wear, magazine readership, peer influences, familial influences, and personal asesment of their bodies. The questionnaire given to the mothers consisted of four sections which covered topics related to apparel shopping for their daughters, perceived atractivenes of twen girls, personal shopping preferences for themselves, magazine readership, body image, and personal family information and demographics. The information from these questionnaires was used to supplement focus group discussion analysis. Findings from the questionnaire were presented as they were reported in the unpublished disertation of Le (2006). 3-D Body Scans Three-dimensional body scans were taken of each subject (both mother and daughter). The participants were scanned using the [TC] 2 3-D body scanner onsite at the [TC] 2 offices in Cary, North Carolina, where the focus groups took place. Participants were scanned using normal protocol outlined in the [TC] 2 NX-12 Operations Manual. For purposes of this research, these images, as shown in Figure 5, were used as ilustrations to demonstrate the body shapes and sizes of the participants as wel as suggest relationships betwen body shapes and sizes and twen girl apparel preferences, needs, and availability. 50 Dat Analysis As mentioned previously, this study was exploratory in nature and qualitative content analysis was thought to be the best method for asesing the focus group data. In content analysis, there are two categories: inductive and deductive. Each of these categories are ilustrated in Figure 2. The research questions that guided this inductive content dat analysis were as follows: 1. Apparel Preferences (i.e., desired styles and fashion sensibilities of consumers) a. Do younger and older, normal and plus size twen girls expres, through conversation, different apparel preferences? b. Do mothers of younger and older, normal and plus size twen girls expres, through conversation, different apparel preferences for their daughters? c. Do younger and older, normal and plus size twen girls expres different opinions about apparel preferences than their mothers? 2. Apparel Neds (i.e., actual and perceived needs of consumers with respect to apparel) a. Do younger and older, normal and plus size twen girls expres, through conversation, different apparel needs? b. Do mothers of younger and older, normal and plus size twen girls expres, through conversation, different apparel needs for their daughters? 51 c. Do younger and older, normal and plus size twen girls expres different opinions about apparel needs than their mothers? 3. Apparel Availability (i.e., how easy or hard it is for consumers to find what they are looking for in terms of apparel in the marketplace) a. Do younger and older, normal and plus size twen girls expres, through conversation, different isues with respect to the availability of apparel in the market place? b. Do mothers of younger and older, normal and plus size twen girls expres, through conversation, different isues with respect to the availability of apparel for their daughters in the market place? c. Do younger and older, normal and plus size twen girls expres different opinions about apparel availability than their mothers? 4. Body Image (i.e., ?The disparity betwen estimated current body image and ideal body image? (Fitzgibbon, Blackman, & Avelone, 2000, p. 583)) a. How do younger and older, normal and plus size twen girls expres their body image through conversation? b. How do mothers of younger and older, normal and plus size twen girls expres their images of their daughter?s bodies through conversation? To begin the proces of inductive analysis, the researcher watched the DVD of each focus group. In this proces, the researcher made notes and highlighted different themes that characterized the conversations of the focus groups. These themes were combined with the pre-ordained categories established by the focus group scripts 52 (Appendix A). These pre-ordained categories were: shopping atitudes and influences, sizing and fit, and body size and self-estem. Each of the eight focus group discussions were then transcribed verbatim noting each participant?s dialogue by either first name (if it was used in the discussion) or the first leter of their first name. Once transcribed, the transcripts were reviewed alongside a DVD recording of the focus group to clear up any garbled speech from the casete recordings, as wel as to double check the acuracy of the transcription. Once the data set was complet and acurate, the researcher then re- watched each focus group DVD and made another iteration of notes of any themes or any key phrases that appeared to be important per each scripted focus group question. Once identified, these themes and phrases were analyzed to identify topical categories. The emerging theme method for content analysis, as presented in Marshal and Rossman (1989) and ilustrated in Figure 3 (Mayring, 2000), was used to extract themes in the data and answer the research questions. This data reduction method asisted the researcher in capturing ?conceptualy intriguing phrases,? while parsing the data into manageable chunks (Marshal & Rossman, 1989). In using the emergent theme method, the generalized themes of shopping atitudes/influences, sizing and fit, and body size/self estem delineated from the focus group scripts served as the basis for segmenting the data during the first stages of analysis. To bring validity to this methodology, a member check with the researcher?s research advisors (shown as formative and summative checks of reliability in the Mayring (2000) ilustration), was used to validate the identified themes at several steps along the analysis proces such that as much researcher bias could eliminated as possible. In following the generalized ideas of content analysis, one can compare these mergent themes with sieves through which the dat can be procesed 53 (Marshal & Rossman, 1989). By using increasingly finer sieves and two member checks for validity, the dat was systematicaly reduced, alowing previously hidden concepts to emerge. Esentialy, this means that as a theme was identified, the data was re-procesed to look for either support or denial of this theme. This idea is presented in Figure 6. Once themes were identified, Venn diagrams, similar to the one in Figure 4, were constructed. The age and BMI segments intrinsic within the sample nabled the researcher to perform compare and contrast analysis among the Venn diagrams of emergent themes of the different groups and thus explore similarities and differences betwen younger and older twen girls and their mothers, as wel as similarities and differences betwen the normal and plus size twen girls and their mothers. This information was supplemented with additional data from the questionnaire and body scans, which enabled the researcher to explore the multidimensionality of the data and enhance the understanding of this consumer group. Figure 7 ilustrates this proces as wel as shows how the final Venn diagrams ilustrate the emergent themes. 54 Figure 6. Illustration of the emerging theme method of content analysis with respect to focus group analysis and sieve metaphor. Focus Group Transcripts Shoping Attitudes/Influences Sizing and Fit Body Shape/Self Esteem New themes New themes Al themes and concepts for each group 55 Figure 7. Outline of methodology with sample Venn diagram. 56 IV. DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS The data in this chapter were obtained from eight focus groups composed of four sets of twen girls and their mothers. The focus groups were scripted to facilitate discussion as wel as ensure similar topical dialogue among the eight groups. Mothers and daughters were asked paralel sets of questions; each pair also completd questionnaires and was scanned using a 3-D body scanner developed by [TC] 2 . Primary data analysis included content analysis of focus group dialogue, which was supplemented by questionnaire and body scan data. Description of Sample A convenience sample was drawn from a population surrounding Raleigh, NC. A total of 80 subjects participated in the study. There were 41 twen girls, and 39 mothers. Two mothers brought more than one child, which was why in the younger normal size group there were only eight mothers, but ten daughters. To maintain confidentiality, al subjects were asigned a number, and during the focus groups, only first names were used. In soliciting subjects, mothers were asked their daughter?s age as wel as to estimate the height and weight of their daughter. From this information, girls were asigned to one of four groups: younger normal size, younger plus size, older normal size, and older plus size. Mothers were categorized by their daughter?s group. Focus group characterization and demographic information is presented in Chapter II and Figure 5. Each focus group was tape-recorded and videotaped. Transcripts of each focus group were prepared from 57 the audiotapes, and the videos were used to confirm the acuracy of the transcripts. Al quotes presented in this report were derived directly from the transcripts and were not edited for gramar or speech problems. Questionnaire dat were coded and input into the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPS) for analysis. Images of al of the 3-D body scans were collected for each participant. Description of Content Analysis Technique The transcribed focus groups were analyzed using the emerging theme method for content analysis, as presented in Marshal and Rossman (1989) and discussed in the methodology section. This method was employed by the analyst to systematicaly identify themes in the focus group dialogue. Specificaly, the analyst went through the following procedure: 1. Read through the focus group scripts and identified emerging themes through a frequency count of comon dialogue. 2. Compiled a list of themes from the frequency counts. 3. Conducted a meber check of identified themes. 4. Re-read the focus group scripts and verified existing themes through another frequency count, while also looking for new themes. 5. Characterized each identified theme as relating to apparel preferences, apparel needs, apparel availability, or body image. 6. Constructed thematic Venn diagrams for each theme. 7. Conducted a second member check of identified themes. 8. Compared and contrasted Venn diagrams. 9. Interpreted results. 58 10. Reported results and when possible, included enhancement from body scan and questionnaire data. The following is a sample analysis from the data. It was provided in order to clarify the specific method used as wel as asure that the methodology is repeatble. In conducting the frequency count of comon dialogue, the researcher determined intuitive linkages within the text. For example, twen girls in al groups consistently stated things like, ?my favorite color is blue . . . I picked this shirt because it?s al kind of colors blue? (younger plus size twen) and ?I chose this outfit because I like pink and blue together,? (younger normal size twen), which the researcher interpretd as the theme clothing color is important. Clothing color is important was characterized as a theme related to apparel preference because apparel color is related to a desired style or fashion sensibility. If a focus group participant agreed with a previous statement by saying things like ?yes, me too? or ?yeah,? or if they answered a direct question related to a specific topic such as ?is color important to you?? with a ?yes? or ?no,? then their responses were added to the frequency count. Two by two tables, as shown by the sample in Figure 8, were used to conduct the frequency count. A topic was counted twice if that topic was mentioned more than once by the same person under different contexts. If, however, the topic was mentioned twice by the same person within the same context, then it was only counted once. After completing two frequency counts, the themes were segmented under each heading (i.e. apparel preferences, apparel needs, apparel availability, or body image) and any discrepancies for each theme were handled. This was done by averaging the counts from the two readings and rounding to the nearest whole number. For example, if a 59 theme had a frequency count of 4 in the first count, but a frequency count of 5 for the second, then these numbers would be averaged to 4.5 and rounded to the nearest whole number, 5. This was done to ease the conversion from the numeric frequency counts to the visual format of the Venn diagrams. Once the themes were identified and frequency counts compiled and verified through two readings of the focus group transcripts, a third and final reading was done in order to pull key quotes of supporting evidence from the text. Following these conversions, Venn diagrams, as described in the methodology section, were created in order to visualize the scope and magnitude of the various themes and to show how important the themes were to the eight groups of twen girls and their mothers. A sample Venn diagram is also shown in Figure 8. It is important to note that at first, groups of twen girls were compared to each other while moms were compared to other groups of moms. Mother/daughter comparisons took place after the Venn diagrams were constructed. Then, the researcher utilized body scan and questionnaire data to enhance understanding of the focus group themes. It is also important to note, as each theme was defined and supported with evidence, the sample focus group statements were provided verbatim, and thus inconsistencies in speech, particularly for the girls, exist. These inconsistencies included repetitive words, garbled speech, nonsense phrases, and the use of filer words such as ?um? or ?hmm.? 60 Figure 8. Sample of content analysis methodology Note. The left portion represents a sample frequency count, and the right hand side represents a sample Venn diagram. In the Venn diagram, frequency counts were translated into a spherical area so that the themes were visualized. Grids were used in determining the volume of each shape in the Venn diagrams to ensure that volumes corresponded acurately to the frequency counts, but were removed after construction to make the diagrams easier to decipher. Colors were used to diferentiate spheres, but have no interpretable meaning. Summary of Findings Discussions of findings related to the specific research questions are presented below. Each question was analyzed first through frequency charts and Venn diagrams and then, if relvant, supplemented by questionnaire and body scan dat. 61 Apparel Preferences Research Question 1 a: Do younger and older, normal and plus size twen girls expres, through conversation, different apparel preferences? Apparel Prefrences of Tween Girls Content analysis of the girls? focus groups revealed eight themes related to apparel preferences. These themes are listed in Table 2 along with frequency counts for each group. Following Table 2 is Figure 9, the Venn diagram derived from the dat. Table 2 Frequency Counts of Emergent Apparel Prefrence Themes of Tween Girls Emergent Themes Younger Normal (N = 10) Older Normal (N = 11) Younger Plus (N = 9) Older Plus (N = 11) Total Brand 9 18 15 18 60 Color 4 7 9 4 24 Comfort 9 6 6 5 26 Fit 27 49 16 22 114 Labeled Size 0 3 0 1 4 Quality 1 4 0 0 5 Store-specific 27 18 25 21 91 Style 6 12 6 10 34 Total 56 117 77 81 331 62 Figure 9. Diagram of emergent apparel preference themes from twen girl focus groups. Note. In the Venn diagram, frequency counts were translated into a spherical area so that the themes were visualized. Grids were used in determining the volume of each shape in the Venn diagrams to ensure that volumes corresponded acurately to the frequency counts, but were removed after construction to make the diagrams easier to decipher. Colors were used to diferentiate spheres, but have no interpretable meaning. 63 Theme Explanation and Interpretation Each of these apparel preference themes implies various factors that are important to twen girls in choosing apparel and should be interpreted as such. For instance, the theme color should be interpretd as the notion that color is an important factor in twen girls? expresion of their apparel preferences. In the next sections, each theme is described in more detail, and key quotes and other supporting evidence provide ilustrations showing how the girls expresed the various facets of their apparel preferences. Brand. Apparel brand was an important facet of twen girls? expresion of their apparel preferences. Twen girls consistently mentioned brand throughout focus group discussions. Sometimes they described them in a positive manner, and other times they discussed brands negatively. An example of a positive brand expresion was, ?That is my store. Macy?s. It [Macy?s] carries, like urban clothes, like Rocawear [and] Baby Phat.? (older normal size twen). An example of a slightly negative brand discussion was: I know my litle sister has the same problem, and the only brand that I have found, and this is prety sad, it has been the Wal-mart Faded Glory brand, because they fit me and they?re, they fit right; it?s just that they?re Wal-mart brand, (older normal size twen). Here this twen expresed that although Wal-mart?s brand fits her, she was not pleased that it is the only brand available to fit her body type. Regardles of the expresion of brand (positive or negative), the researcher measured the importance of brand to the twen girls, and thus any mention of a brand was included in the frequency count. In 64 addition, the twens indicated on the questionnaire that brand was important in clothing decision factors, but was not the most important factor. The mean score for the importance of brand on a five-point Likert-type scale, with five meaning the factor is always important, was 2.59 (SD = 1.245) (Le, 2006, p. 91). Most of the brand discussion centered around the twens responding to the names of brands they liked or disliked. Other examples of brand discussion were, ?Wel first with my jeans, I like Tommy Hilfiger jeans,? (younger plus size twen), and ?my mom likes to shop like for me like at Kohl?s and stuff, but I don?t realy like to shop there because I like name brand stuff realy . . . Volcom and Bilabong and Quicksilver, Roxy, stuff like that? (older plus size twen). Table 3 shows the compiled list of brands and the brand names mentioned in each group. Check marks indicate that the brand was either mentioned or discussed in the focus group. Color. Throughout the focus group discussions, some of the twen girls referred to specific colors when discussing why they made certain apparel purchase decisions or expresed their apparel preferences. Some statements that showed this were, ?I picked this outfit and I picked it because I kind of like pink,? (younger normal size twen) and ?I chose these two outfits because um, there?s pink in them, and that?s my favorite color.? (older normal size twen). In each case, the twen girls were describing why they picked an outfit that they would purchase out of a magazine. Le?s (2006) findings from the questionnaire supported the theme of color as an important factor in describing twen girl apparel preferences. The mean color score on a five-point Likert-type scale for twen girls in this sample, with five meaning the factor is always important, was 3.15 (SD = 1.062) (Le, 2006, p. 91). 65 Table 3 Brands Mentioned by Tween Girls in the Focus Groups Brands Younger Normal (N = 10) Older Normal (N = 11) Younger Plus (N = 9) Older Plus (N = 11) Abercrombie ? ? ? Abercrombie and Fitch ? ? Aeropostle ? ? ? American Eagle ? Baby Phat ? Bilabong ? Claire's ? ? Delia's ? Energie ? Faded Glory ? Gap ? ? ? ? Hollister ? Hot Topic ? J. Crew ? Just My Size ? L.E.I. ? ? Table 3 (Continued) 66 Brands Younger Normal (N = 10) Older Normal (N = 11) Younger Plus (N = 9) Older Plus (N = 11) Le ? Lerner ? Limited ? Limited Too ? ? L Bean ? Mudd ? ? ? Old Navy ? ? ? ? Pac Sun ? Paul Frank ? Polo ? Quicksilver ? Rave ? Rainbow ? Riders ? Rocawear ? ? ? Tommy Hilfiger ? ? ? Volcom ? Wet Seal ? ? ? 67 Comfort. Apparel comfort was an important theme that emerged in the twen girl focus groups. When describing apparel, the twen girls consistently expresed the following ideas: ? ?I just like comfortable shirts? (older normal size twen). ? ?I chose this one because it looks realy comfortable, and I like it a lot? (older normal size twen). ? ?Um, they have low prices and the stuff that they have is comfortable? (younger plus size twen). ? ?and like these pants I realy like cuz they?re tight up here but a litle looser down here . . . and they?re not high waters . . . and they?re comfortable. They?re realy, realy comfortable? (older plus size twen). This notion was backed up by questionnaire data, which showed that twen girls rated clothing comfort as an important factor in deciding what clothes to wear. The mean comfort score on a five-point Likert-type scale, with five meaning the factor is always important, for twen girls in this sample was 4.05 (SD = 0.947) (Le, 2006, p. 91). Fit. Clothing that fits emerged as the most supported theme for al of the focus groups. The concept of fit as an apparel preference was noted by the researcher as a description of the twen girls? desired fit. It is important to make this distinction because fit can also be interpretd as an apparel need, and this perspective wil be discussed later. For the most part, the twen girls were able to specificaly verbalize how they wanted their clothes to hang on their bodies. In the following quote, the twen girl described how she wanted her jeans to fit: ?I like them to be like . . . skinny fit like up at your thighs and then kinda loose when it gets down? (older plus size twen). Fit was linked to 68 style preferences for the twen girls; they tended to use the word ?fit? to describe a certain desired style of garment. For example, ?I like pants that are tight and I like those stretch jeans, not like the real jeans, cuz they?re hard to bend in, and I like them to [be] tight and I like to wear my pants realy low, because it?s like uncomfortable to wear them high? (younger normal size twen). In this quote, the twen girl described how she wanted her pants to fit. She also described how she wanted the jeans to look and indicated that comfort was important to her. Other quotes related to fit preferences were as follows: ? ?My mom likes me to wear clothes that fit me, and they?re good for my body and my dad likes me to wear baggy clothes and I don?t know? (older plus size twen). ? ?I?ll go because, just because, they have a lot of clearance sales and they have stuff that that best fits me? (younger plus size twen). ? ?Wel, um I love my jeans if they?re like not like the stretch ones that are so tight on you, and but the problem is they?re always too long on me. So I always have to get my aunt or my other aunt to hem them up and then in about two months I?ve already grown a lot so they have to take the hem out and sometimes they cut them so I have to throw them away or give them away, and get more jeans and then the same proceses over and over again? (younger plus size twen). ? ?I kinda like don?t like them too tight or like too like big, and I kinda like them to go like right to my like waist? (younger normal size twen). 69 ? ?I have to go up in size to fit around my waist and my but but then they?re either like too baggy in the legs or too long? (older normal size twen). ? ?I don?t like tops that are real loose like you can pull them up and whatever, I hate tops like that. I like them to fit and sometimes like the shirt I have on now, not too tight but it?s not too loose? (older normal size twen). ? ?Um I know like a lot of shirts for me like they?ll come down to my waist . . . like they?re al the way down to my finger tips. And like I have to wrinkle them up and pull them up and then, when I put my hand back down they just fal. So that realy bothers me? (older normal size twen). ? ? I love the way it feels when I have like long sleves on my jacket, like I can pull them over my hands? (older normal size twen). Questionnaire dat supported this theme of fit as an important theme in describing twen apparel preferences. The mean fit score on a five-point Likert-type scale, with five meaning the factor is always important, for twen girls in this sample was 4.34 (SD = 0.762) (Le, 2006, p. 91). Labeled size. The twen girls revealed sensitivity when expresing the importance of the size indicated on a garment?s label. The most poignant example occurred in the older plus size focus group when one of the twen girls said that she would not shop with her friends because she did not want them to se the size of her pants; she expresed embarrasment over her larger size and did not want her peers to know how big she was. ?I mostly like to shop with um sometimes my friends but not 70 realy cuz I don?t realy want them to know my size in my pants even though there?s . . . I?m kind of self-conscious about that? (older plus size twen). Store-specific. Throughout al of the focus groups, the twen girls named stores towards which they either had positive or negative affinity. These store-specific apparel preferences emerged through quotes like ?I like Hollister? (younger normal size twen) and ? . . . if you were to go to Target, like there?s a lot of like cute things there? (younger normal size twen). These were examples of twen girls expresed a positive affinity towards a certain store. The twen girls also expresed negative felings toward some stores. An example of this was: Cuz I like, I would like to shop at Pac Sun and stores like Delia?s and stuff it?s just that I can?t find the stuff in my size there and the stores like American Eagle that I can find the stuff in my size is too expensive (older plus size twen). In this quote, the twen girl was esentialy saying she would like to shop in these stores, but either the stores did not carry her size or were too expensive. It was more common for the plus than normal size twen girls to expres negative feelings about a store. For example one plus size twen girl said, ?Pac cuz I couldn?t cuz I?ve been to Pac Sun several times in several different mals . . . and they don?t have the stuff in my size? (older plus size twen). Another older plus size twen said: OK, it?s hard cuz some people are real thick and then they?re real smal. But smal people, those are stores you can go to like Rave?s. Rave?s cuz if you?re real smal and then other stores where like probably me and you you realy can?t find nothin? cuz they won?t have it in your size or it?s too much showin? or it?s just you won?t you don?t look right in it. 71 Stil another older plus size twen said: Um, I think it?s real hard to find like stuff that you want for people that are, you know, I gues, kinda big because like most of the realy popular stores that have like realy, realy good clothes like Gap and Rave and Delia?s and that kind of stuff, it [is] for realy smal people. And like they don?t have like bigger sizes and I think they should. Table 4 lists each store (both brick and mortar and online) that the twen girls mentioned, and shows whether they expresed positive (green shading) or negative (red shading) opinions about the store. Boxes that are half red and half gren indicate that twen girls in that particular focus group expresed both positive and negative opinions about that store. Table 4 Apparel Stores Mentioned in Tween Girl Focus Groups Store Name Younger Normal (N = 10) Older Normal (N = 11) Younger Plus (N = 9) Older Plus (N = 11) Abercrombie Abercrombie and Fitch Aeropostle American Eagle Avenue (Continued) 72 Table 4 (Continued) Store Name Younger Normal (N = 10) Older Normal (N = 11) Younger Plus (N = 9) Older Plus (N = 11) Belk's Bloomingdale's Burlington Coat Factory Cato Charlotte Russe Citi Trend Claire's Delia's Dick's Sporting Goods Dilard's Dres Barn eBay Fashion Avenue Fashion Cents Funky Rags Gap (Continued) 73 Table 4 (Continued) Store Name Younger Normal (N = 10) Older Normal (N = 11) Younger Plus (N = 9) Older Plus (N = 11) Goody's Gues Hecht's Hollister Hot Topic J. Crew JC Penney John Alen's K-mart Kohl's Lerner New York Limited Limited Too L Bean Macy's Old Navy Pac Sun Plato's Closet (Continued) 74 Table 4 (Continued) Store Name Younger Normal (N = 10) Older Normal (N = 11) Younger Plus (N = 9) Older Plus (N = 11) Rack Room Shoes Rainbow Rave Ross Sears Shoe Carnival Skateboard Shops Target The Body Shop TJ Maxx Vertical Urge Wal-mart Wet Seal 75 Style. As previously noted in the discussion of fit preferences, the twen girls commonly mixed terms when discussing apparel fit and apparel style. Regardles of this, both themes emerged as factors effecting twen girl apparel preferences. An example of a twen girl describing both fit and style preferences was: When it?s hard to find the jeans that fit you, if you go and look at like the petities and the shorts and stuff, a lot of times it?s not the wash that you want or like they have that realy, realy basic styles but you want like the other styles that come in the regular sizes stuff (older normal size twen). Here, the twen girl was discussing problems with size and style availability for jeans, while also stating that she would prefer to have the styles of regular jeans in her size. Generaly, the twen girls in these focus groups were very specific in describing the styles that they desired, such as baggy pants, jeans with flare, or layered t-shirts. Quality. Though not a major theme, several twen girls mentioned the importance of high quality, wel-made clothes when describing their apparel preferences. Mainly these twen girls said that they would pay more for higher quality clothes and that they preferred clothes that lasted a long time. A sample comment was ?the pants would probably be about 30-40 dollars cuz they?re like realy good quality pant? (older normal size twen). They spoke negatively of clothing that was either too thin (such as a lightweight cotton t-shirt) or faling apart (such as aged blue jeans). Similarities and Diferences in Apparel Prefrences Among Subgroups of Tween Girls Among the twen girls groups, older girls generaly expresed more opinions about their apparel preferences. Although al groups of twen girls were able to articulate what they looked for in terms of apparel fit, comfort, brand, store, and so on, the older 76 twen girls expresed more often their thoughts and feelings about apparel preferences. More specificaly, older normal size twen girls expresed the most in terms of apparel preferences. In addition to this age-related finding, normal size twen girls expresed more specific apparel preferences than plus size girls. Overal, fit preferences, store- specific, brand, and style were the major themes for these twen girls. Other les important themes were style, comfort, and color. Minor themes were quality and labeld size. Fit preference merged as the predominate theme in al four of the twen girl focus groups. In terms of an apparel preference, fit is defined by the author to be a description of the twen girls? desired fit. The twen girls expresed fit as an apparel preference by describing things like how they want clothes to hang on their bodies, where they wanted waistbands to sit, and how long or short they wanted sleves and pant legs. Normal size twen girls more often expresed fit preferences than plus size twen girls, but in both sets of twen girls (normal or plus size), the older twen girls expresed more in terms of fit than the younger twen girls. Second to fit preferences, store-specific apparel preferences emerged as an important theme. Though in each focus group, different stores were mentioned, overal the theme of store-specific apparel preferences was fairly evenly dispersed among the groups. The younger twen girls mentioned more store-specific preferences than the older twen girls. It is unclear why the younger twen girls were more verbal about store preferences than the older twen girls and further research should be conducted to confirm and explain this finding. Table 4 highlights the specific store preferences of the twen girls, and is separated by group. 77 Brand emerged as the third most noted theme overal. Overal, brand was mentioned more often in the older and plus size focus groups. Younger normal size twen girls did not refer to brand when discussing apparel preferences as often as the other three groups. Table 3 shows the different brands mentioned by each group of twens. It is not surprising that brand and store-specific themes closely followed one another because in apparel, brand name and store name are closely related, particularly with private label goods. Private labels such as Abercrombie & Fitch, Wet Seal, and J. Crew make brand name and store name difficult to distinguish. Style preferences were difficult to distinguish from fit preferences because the twen girls tended to mix the terms style and fit when describing specific garments such as pants or shirts. The researcher separated these two themes by deciding if the described garment features were more related to stylistic, non functional features such as flare versus more fit related features such as inseam length. Older twen girls expresed more in terms of style preferences than younger twen girls, and there did not appear to be a discrepancy betwen normal and plus size twen girls. Themes of comfort and color appeared to be more equaly represented themes in al of the focus groups. Questionnaire data confirmed that there were no significant differences betwen the groups with respect to apparel color and comfort decision factors (Le, 2006). Minor themes of labeled size and quality only appeared in a few of the groups. Labeled size only came forth in the older normal and older plus size twen girl focus groups. Finaly, preferences for apparel quality emerged only in the normal size twen girl focus groups. Thus, in answering the research question, these findings suggest 78 that yes, younger and older, normal and plus size twen girls expres, through conversation, different apparel preferences. Research Question 1 b: Do mothers of younger and older, normal and plus size twen girls expres, through conversation, different apparel preferences for their daughters? Apparel Prefrences of Tween Girls as Expresed by Their Mothers Content analysis of the mothers? focus groups revealed many themes related to apparel preferences for their daughters. These themes are listed in Table 5 along with frequency counts for each group. Following Table 5 is Figure 10, which shows the Venn diagram derived from the data. Theme Explanation and Interpretation Each of the apparel preference themes reflect various factors that were important to mothers of twen girls in choosing apparel for their daughters and should be interpreted as such. For instance, the theme brand should be interpreted as the notion that mothers of twens thought that brand was an important factor in their daughters? apparel preferences. Each theme is described in more detail in the next section; key quotes and other supporting evidence are provided to ilustrate each theme and to show how the mothers of twen girls expresed the various facets of apparel preferences of and for their daughters. Brand. Mothers of twen girls identified apparel brand as an important facet of the twens? expresion of apparel preferences. Sometimes the mothers discussed brands in a positive manner, and other times they described brands negatively. An example of a positive brand discussion was, ?L.E.I., that, those are the jeans that we have gotten at Belk?s that fits her [my daughter] realy wel? (mother of older normal size twen). 79 Negative examples were ?[my daughter is] not into a brand name because she?s too big? (mother of older plus size twen), and ?We don?t buy brand name; we buy what fits? (mother of older plus size twen). It is important to note that the mothers of older twen Table 5 Frequency Counts of Emergent Apparel Prefrence Themes of Tween Girls as Expresed by Their Mothers Emergent Themes Mothers of Younger Normal Size Twens (N = 8) Mothers of Older Normal Size Twens (N = 11) Mothers of Younger Plus Size Twens (N = 9) Mothers of Older Plus Size Twens (N = 11) Total Brand 1 19 9 16 45 Comfort 2 3 3 6 14 Fit 10 10 19 42 81 Labeled Size 0 0 2 18 20 Quality 10 18 0 5 33 Sales/Price 10 6 9 2 27 Store- specific 14 11 14 16 53 Style 6 16 8 21 51 Total 53 83 64 126 326 80 Figure 10. Diagram of emergent twen girl apparel preference themes from mothers? focus groups. Note. In the Venn diagram, frequency counts were translated into a spherical area so that the themes were visualized. Grids were used in determining the volume of each shape in the Venn diagrams to ensure that volumes corresponded acurately to the frequency counts, but were removed after construction to make the diagrams easier to decipher. Colors were used to diferentiate spheres, but have no interpretable meaning. 81 girls spoke much more about brands than the mothers of younger twen girls, and when asked, ?how important is brand to your daughter?? mothers in the older plus size group unanimously answered ?very.? The mothers? mean score for the importance of brand on a five-point Likert-type scale, with five meaning the factor is always important, was 2.49 (SD = 1.502), and was not significantly different from the daughters? average score (Le, 2006, p. 91). This evidence supports the qualitative evidence that mothers and daughters appeared to value brand fairly equaly. Comfort. Comfort emerged as an important apparel preference theme for the mothers, meaning that mothers of twen girls perceived comfort to be an important factor for their daughter?s apparel preferences. Mothers of twen girls expresed this theme through statements such as ?she [my daughter] likes to be comfortable in her clothes? (mother of older plus size twen). The mean comfort score on a five-point Likert-type scale, with five meaning the factor is always important, for mothers of twen girls in this sample was 3.56 (SD = 1.141) (Le, 2006, p. 91). This was significantly different than the daughters. Fit. Much like their daughters, mothers in this sample identified fit as an important theme in apparel preferences for their daughter. The concept of fit as an apparel preference is noted by the author as a specific description of the mothers? expresion of a desired fit for their daughters. As previously stated, it is important to make distinctions in the meaning of the word fit because fit can be interpreted in many different ways. The mothers specificaly verbalized how they wanted their daughters? clothes to hang on the body. Some examples were: 82 ? We [my daughter and I] try and buy them [pants] with like the spandex in the [waist] . . . because those just tend to fit a litle beter so you can buy them a smidge smal and then they stay on, cuz she almost never wears a belt (mother of older normal size twen). ? And they [retailers] make it [jeans] what it is, it?s stil not it?s not you know the crotch length isn?t long enough for like a woman, so the kids don?t . . . have that yet, but it?s [the jeans have] a smaler waist and fuler fanny.(mother of older normal size twen). ? You can get extra smal but tal. So it fits her, fited but longer (mother of older normal size twen). ? I don?t wear stuff that?s form fiting for me, I look like a snowman. You know already so, but that?s the style and that?s what she [my daughter] wanted to wear and frankly it didn?t look good on her and I didn?t want her to buy it you know and just, it was just awful shopping umm and I told the father, you take her for now, because I?m not going back. It?s [shopping for my daughter is ] just a terrible experience (mother of older plus size twen). ? She [my daugher] likes big, she likes the-the t-shirts, and she likes the-the men?s pants because [she] can?t [fit into other things]. There?s her shape, she can?t get a form fited shirt, everything has to either be bigger or i-i-if, if she puts it on, it?s like it fits up here, but it goes in down here . . . and that she that?s why she wears big, she likes big. She likes to get a litle 83 litle [movement and she likes to] move around and breathe in the clothes (mother of older plus size twen). Much like their daughters, these mothers used fit to describe style preferences for the twen girls. Questionnaire dat also supported the theme of fit as an important theme in describing twen girl apparel preferences. The mean fit score on a five-point Likert- type scale, with five meaning the factor is always important, for mothers of twen girls in this sample was 3.59 (SD = 1.183) (Le, 2006, p. 91), which is also significantly different from the daughters. Labeled size. The mothers revealed sensitivity when expresing the importance of the size indicated on a garment?s label. The most poignant example ocurred in the older plus size focus group when one of the mothers said that she cut the tags out of her daughter?s clothes before she gave them to her daughter: Yeah, I think it?s [labeld size] an isue for [my daughter] because it it?s an isue with her friends . . . I?ve bought her a sweatshirt one time and I cut the tag out of it before I took it home because it was a large. But I knew it would fit her, and I didn?t want her to know that it was a large and not a medium, so I cut the tag out (mother of older plus size twen). This mother acknowledged that her daughter was sensitive about her size and sensitive about the labels in her clothing. Another mother described how her daughter liked the labels to be printed in inconspicuous places in the garment. ?Now, I like the ones I bought for [my daughter] at Goody?s. The label is in the shirt, but it?s way down in the shirt. It?s like almost midway of your back, nobody can?t se that label? (mother of older 84 plus size twen). Another mother spoke about how her daughter did not like her friends to se the size of her garments: That?s the thing. You know, they don?t want to go into gym clas and change out of a shirt that says you know, large or extra large. And al their friends that are looking, gosh you?re big. You know, you were that big had to wear a extra large (mother of older plus size twen). Al of these statements ilustrated an expresed sensitivity that both the girls and their mothers had about the labeld size of apparel. Quality. Much like label size, quality was a theme that emerged for both twen girls and their mothers. However, for the mothers, quality appeared to be a much more prominent theme. A statement that reflected how the mothers expresed this theme was: I also try to, you know, to teach my daughter that you get what you pay for and if you buy quality, you get quality. And it wil last a long time. I mean, she has some jeans that she?s, she has spent a lot of money on or I?ve spent a lot of money on. We?ve done it together, but they?ve lasted a long time and um, she might she?ll save money or not buy as uh spend as much on tops, and get more tops to spend to wear with a nice pair of jeans that are gonna last a lot longer and hold their color (mother of younger normal size twen). Here the mother described facets of quality in jeans, durability and colorfastnes, as wel as ays that she valued quality in the apparel purchases of her daughter. Sales/price. Though twen girls showed themselves to be price-conscious, mothers of twen grils appeared to place importance on sales and clothes at certain price points in making apparel purchase decisions for their daughters. This theme was 85 clasified as an apparel preference because the mothers expresed favoritism towards apparel items on sale or within certain specific price ranges. They also spoke to how they instiled this notion in their daughters. An example of this was: They [my daughters] like to shop um, and so of course we go shopping. But um, I?m miserly and they?ve learned to be that way because they go straight to a clearance table. They don?t even look at a rack that doesn?t have a big sign on top of it (mother of younger normal size twen). Store-specific. Throughout al of the focus groups, the mothers of twen girls named stores towards which they either had positive or negative affinity. These store- specific apparel preferences emerged through quotes like the following: ? I feel so, my heart goes out to for my baby, cuz she just goes in Limited 2 and she looks around, like I wish I could wear that . . . My baby who?s thick and so [her cousin] is a Limited 2 diva for sure, and then [my daughter is] like I wish I could wear that . . .You know so, so of course then I try and compensate . . . so I shop at any and every store cuz I feel bad for [my daughter] when she, she just wanders around Limited 2 like, I wish I could get those jeans, I wish I could (mother of younger plus size twen). ? [My daughter likes] Abercrombie . . .it is truly a store that you walk in there and you start going like this because the music is so loud and I and the people work there, I ask them one time, I said, ?do you have to take a-a test to se if you can reveal your stomach to be hired here?? because they al the they al the girls show their mid-drift and stuff. But anyway, [for] the kids, that?s a 86 very popular place. For the . . . middle school age (mother of younger normal size twen). ? Um, the last shopping trip um, I remeber, um the family went to Crabtree and she would drag me into. Of course we had to go to Abercrombie (mother of younger normal size twen). ? I mean even if they [my daughter] go to Limited 2, the clothes that they sel at Limited 2, I think, the styles are way too old for these litle girls (mother of younger plus size twen). ? It?s probably when she was beginning the 6 th grade and we shopped at Old Navy and Kohl?s I think and were prety succesful finding things from there (mother of older plus size twen). Here these mothers highlighted the importance of a specific store for their daughters. Some of these coments also showed how these mothers, dealt with their daughter?s inability to purchase apparel at the same stores as her peers. The store-specific theme appeared to be fairly evenly represented in al focus groups. Style. As previously noted in the discussion of fit preferences, mothers of twen girls commonly mixed terms when discussing apparel fit and apparel style. Regardles of this, both themes emerged as factors affecting apparel preferences. The mothers commonly described how the daughters wanted or did not want their clothes to look. An example was ?she [the daughter] liked the fit, they?re real fited . . . And tailored, so she [the daughter] started layering tops and that became that new thing and then the same with the skirts? (mother of older normal size twen). This demonstrates how the mothers 87 specificaly described the styles that their daughters desired. Some other comments the mothers made were: ? [My daughter is] broad shouldered, and some of the litle tops are coming with the litle tiny litle sleve on them. And she wants to wear those, but she?s so broad shouldered that the seam of the shirt is way up here, and the sleves don?t come up to here, and it just looks sily, looks like they?re wearing something that their kid sister should be wearing, and the length isn?t long enough (mother of younger plus size twen). ? One of the problems I have is not, as much fit, is as with the-the fashion sense of the shirts (mother of younger plus size twen). ? And everybody, al her friends want to do a makeover on her [my daughter]. They al, ?we?re taking you shopping.? . . . and she?s [my daughter?s] just like, this is me guys, you know. She had personal style (mother of older plus size twen). Similarities and Diferences in Apparel Prefrences of Tween Girls as Expresed by Their Mothers Like the daughters, mothers of older twens expresed more ideas and opinions in terms of apparel preferences for their daughters than mothers of younger twens. Differing from their daughters, mothers of plus size twens had higher frequency counts than mothers of normal size twens with respect to fit, labeled size, and store specific themes. In general, mothers of older plus size twens had the greatest number of comments on apparel preferences of al the groups of mothers. The major themes for the 88 mothers? groups were fit, store-specific, brand, and quality. Other les important themes were sale/price, labeld size, and comfort. There were no minor themes for the mothers. Like the daughters, fit was the most predominating theme for the mothers. Mothers of plus size twens expresed far more opinions about the fit of clothes for their daughters than mothers of normal size twens. Also, mothers of older plus size twens made more comments on fit preferences for their daughters. The mothers expresed fit as an apparel preference for their daughters by talking about how they preferred for their daughter?s clothes to be snug enough to stay on and be comfortable, but not too tight so that their daughter?s bodies are exposed or made to look too mature. Second to fit preferences, store-specific apparel preferences emerged as an important theme. There did not appear to be any major discrepancies betwen the different groups of mothers. For the third major theme, brand, mothers of older twen girls mentioned brand as an apparel preference for their daughters more often than mothers of younger twen girls. Also, mothers of younger plus size twen girls mentioned brand as an apparel preference for their daughters more than mothers of younger normal size twen girls. The fourth major theme that emerged in the mothers? groups was quality. This theme was much more apparent in the normal size group than the plus size group. In fact, quality did not appear at al in the focus group of mothers of younger plus size twens. The other les important themes were sale/price, labeled size, and comfort. Mothers in al groups were concerned with the price of garments for their daughters and preferred to purchase garments on sale. However, mothers of normal twens semed to be more price-sensitive than mothers of plus size twens. Only mothers of plus size twens mentioned labeled size as an apparel preference for their daughters. More notably 89 mothers of older plus size twens mentioned this nine times more often than mothers of younger plus size twens. This suggests that perhaps, as the girls age, they become more sensitive to their size. Though comfort emerged as a theme for the mothers, and although mothers of older plus size twens mentioned comfort more often than the other groups, there did not appear to be a trend among the groups. Thus, in answering the research question, these findings suggest that mothers of younger and older, normal and plus size twen girls expres, through conversation, different apparel preferences for their daughters. Research Question 1 c: Do younger and older, normal and plus size twen girls expres different opinions about apparel preferences than their mothers? Similarities and Diferences in Apparel Prefrences Among Tween Girls and Their Mothers By showing the two Venn diagrams adjacent to one another in Figure 11, one can imediately se the difference in theme scope and magnitude betwen the twen girls and their mothers. For both groups, fit was the most prominent theme, although it appeared to be much more important to the twen girls than to their mothers. In the questionnaire, twen girls significantly ranked fit as a more important apparel preference factor than did their mothers (Le, 2006). It is also important to note that fit was discussed more by older normal size twen girls in the girls? focus groups while mothers of older plus size twens spoke more of fit in the mothers? focus groups. Both girls and their mothers identified specific stores when speaking about their apparel preferences. Brand also emerged in both sets of focus groups. Frequency counts were relatively equal for both sets of focus groups. The notion of equality is supported 90 by questionnaire data, which found no significant difference in brand importance betwen twen girls and their mothers (Le, 2006). Style as an apparel preference merged in both groups. Twen Girls Mothers of Twen Girls Figure 11. Side-by-side comparison of Venn diagrams of apparel preferences of twen girls and their mothers. Note. In the Venn diagram, frequency counts were translated into a spherical area so that the themes were visualized. Grids were used in determining the volume of each shape in the Venn diagrams to ensure that volumes corresponded acurately to the frequency counts, but were removed after construction to make the diagrams easier to decipher. Colors were used to diferentiate spheres, but have no interpretable meaning. Comfort emerged as a more important theme for the twen girls. It had a frequency count of 14 for the mothers and 26 for the daughters. The questionnaire revealed significant differences betwen mothers? and daughters? value of comfort in the daughter?s choice of apparel, with the girls valuing comfort more than their mothers (Le, 2006). Quality appeared to be more important to the mothers than to the twen girls, while color was identified as important to the girls, but did not emerge at al in the 91 mothers? focus groups. Labeled size was a major theme for the mothers while it appeared minimaly in the girls? focus groups. Finaly, sale/price emerged as a theme for the mothers but did not appear in the girls? groups. In answering the research question, it is interesting to note that the same top three major themes emerged for the mothers and the daughters. These were, in order of magnitude: fit, store-specific, and brand. In terms of fit, distribution across the groups differed betwen the mothers and the daughters. Normal size twen girls expresed more fit descriptions than plus size twen girls, but for the mothers, mothers of plus size twen girls, expresed more fit descriptions than mothers of normal size twen girls. However some differences did emerge betwen the apparel preferences for the girls and their mothers. For example, the fourth major theme differed betwen the girls and their mothers. For the girls, style emerged and for the mothers, quality. With respect to the leser themes, the girls and their mothers also differed. For the girls (in order of magnitude), comfort, color, quality and labeled size emerged, and for the mothers (in order of magnitude), sale/price, labeled size, and comfort emerged. Apparel Neds Research Question 2 a: Do younger and older, normal and plus size twen girls expres, through conversation, different apparel needs? Apparel Needs of Tween Girls Analysis of the girls? focus groups revealed ten themes related to apparel neds of twen girls. These themes are listed in Table 6 along with frequency counts for each group. Folowing Table 6 is Figure 12, which shows the Venn diagram derived from the data. 92 Table 6 Frequency Counts of Emergent Apparel Neds Themes of Tween Girls Emergent Themes Younger Normal (N = 10) Older Normal (N = 11) Younger Plus (N = 9) Older Plus (N = 11) Total Adjustable Clothing 3 0 0 0 3 Agreement with Parent 11 4 5 18 38 Consistent Sizing 3 0 0 0 3 Fit 16 10 10 10 46 Half Sizes 6 6 7 0 19 Modesty 13 28 20 12 73 Price 8 8 10 13 39 Sports Clothes 4 1 1 5 11 Store Sections 2 0 7 2 11 Style for Plus Sizes 0 2 2 9 13 Total 66 59 62 69 256 93 Figure 12. Diagram of emergent apparel needs themes from twen girls focus groups. Note. In the Venn diagram, frequency counts were translated into a spherical area so that the themes were visualized. Grids were used in determining the volume of each shape in the Venn diagrams to ensure that volumes corresponded acurately to the frequency counts, but were removed after construction to make the diagrams easier to decipher. Colors were used to diferentiate spheres, but have no interpretable meaning. 94 Theme Explanation and Interpretation Each of these apparel neds themes implies various factors that are important to the twen girls. For instance, the theme consistent sizing should be interpreted as the notion that being able to find consistent sizes among stores and brands is either an actual or perceived need for these twen girls. In the following section, each theme is described in more detail, and key quotes and other supporting evidence are given to ilustrate ach theme and show how the twen girls expresed the various facets of their actual and perceived apparel neds. Adjustable clothing. Though only mentioned in the younger normal size focus group, it was very clear that these twen girls perceived a need to have adjustable clothing. For instance, one twen girl described how she was able to adjust the waistband of her pants as she grew and could therefore wear her pants longer. When asked what the they would say to people in the fashion industry, one girl?s response was: I?d tel them [industry] that . . . they should they should, um, make like in every like shirt, like and pants, every single thing, of clothing. Um, they should make . . . I know that there are a lot of pants that are stretchy . . . [so] that when you like grow older you?ll stil have them, but um, like they?ll also fit [when you are older] (younger normal size twen). Though slightly discombobulated in her speech, this twen gril was describing how she wanted more clothes to be stretchy and esentialy, adjustable so that when she grew, her clothes would stil fit her. Another twen girl said, also in a slightly uninteligible manner: 95 I have to usualy shop at like Gap . . . because um, like I have long legs but I?m prety short and I have like a realy short I mean long waist but it?s realy smal. It?s kind of hard to find something that I could, expandable waist, cuz I like kep my legs get longer and my middle half gets longer (younger normal size twen). Here the twen girl expresed her desire to get pants with an expandable waist so that as she grew, she could stil wear the same clothes. Agrement with parent. Mother/daughter agreement emerged as a theme in al of the focus groups. It was more prominent in the younger normal and older plus size groups than in the older normal and younger plus size groups. The twen girls consistently acknowledged that this was important for them in deciding what clothes to wear and buy. This theme was categorized as an apparel need because when discussing mother/daughter agreement, the twen girls consistently qualified that they neded their mothers to concur on their clothing purchasing and wearing decisions because, their mothers otherwise would not pay for the clothes and/or not alow them to wear the clothes. The twen girls made coments such as the following: I care [about my mom?s opinion] because I might get something that?s not appropriate, and then I might wear it to school because my friends were going to wear it to school that day, and then I know that I?m gonna wear, it and then I plan on not wearing it because my parents wil find out so I wouldn?t get it because I wouldn?t wear it more than once (younger plus size twen). Other statements included ?They [a particular store] have clothes that I like, and clothes that my mom would agre with, and low prices? (younger plus size twen), and ?pants that I think that fit and she [my mother] might think that they don?t and, umm, shirts 96 that she doesn?t like the look, um, wording on them [the pants]? (younger plus size twen). These statements described where the twen girls liked to shop and garments they are alowed to purchase. Some twen girls described how they even had to agre with their mothers about how to wear their clothes. In the following pasage, the twen girl discussed how she liked to wear her pants lower on her hips than her mother preferred: Wel, I always like to wear my pants like low down on my hips, like hip huggers and my mom doesn?t realy like that cuz sometimes I have realy short shirts and sometimes you can se like some of my stomach, and she doesn?t like that, so . . . wel, I kind of like I don?t realy care what my clothes look like, but my mom does (younger normal size twen). Another twen girl stated: Not at al, I don?t realy care [about my mother?s opinion], I know that was mean to say, even though, but there?s some things that I wanna wear that she won?t let me, and so then I have to be conscious of that. Like she [my mother] wil not let me wear tube tops, halter tops, the skirts have to be a . . . certain length so do the shorts, so stuff like that. But I realy don?t, if I didn?t have a a dres code, for school or . . . [a dres code] for my mother (older normal size twen). Though some twen girls, like the one above, did say that they did not care if their mother agred with them about their clothes, the same twen girls added that their mothers? would not buy clothes or would prohibit them from wearing clothes if they did not agree with them. A final example of this was: 97 The only reason I would care if my mom doesn?t like any of the clothing that I picked out or I would wear, is because like it like, that I wouldn?t, I wouldn?t be able to get any of those kind of clothes (younger normal size twen). Here the twen girl confirmed that her mother?s opinion matered to her because her mother would not let her purchase the clothes that she did not agree with. Consistent sizing. A problem with consistent sizing was a theme that only emerged in the younger normal size focus group. These young twen girls expresed frustration at not being able to go from store to store or brand to brand and purchase the same size. The following coment ilustrates how the twen girl wanted jeans to have the same sizing label so that it would be easier for her to find what she neded: Wel, it?s kinda hard, cuz, I have to wear a 12 slim, and those are kinda hard to find, cuz some labels don?t have slim and um, it?s weird, cuz I like geting shirts from places like juniors stores but I can?t fit in the pants, so it?s like you have to go to two different stores (younger normal size twen). Two other younger normal size twen girls expresed this same sentiment by saying similar things about discrepancies in the labels of clothing. Fit. Fit, in terms of an apparel ned, is described by the author to be the desire to find clothing that fits. As in apparel preferences, notions of fit emerged as the second most prominent theme for the twen girls. In the case of apparel needs, twen girls made statements like ?I would probably only shop at It?s Fashion or Fashion Sense because they do have a lot of clothes that I could fit in? (older plus size twen), or ?I think that it?s very hard for me to find clothes that I like and that would fit my size? (older plus size twen). In the first quote, the twen girl was describing that she shopped in a certain 98 store because she knew that she could find clothes that fit her. In the second quote, the twen girl described the difficulty of finding clothes that fit. Other twen girls described how they had to get garments altered in order for them to fit. The following statements ilustrate this: Wel, um, I love my jeans if they?re like not like the stretch ones that are so tight on you . . . but the problem is they?re always too long on me. So I always have to get my aunt or my other aunt to hem them up and then in about two months I?ve already grown a lot so they have to take the hem out and sometimes they cut them so I have to throw them away or give them away, and get more jeans and then the same proceses over and over again (younger plus size twen). And, I had to get my 8 th grade dance, um,dres, um, altered because . . . it was way too long cuz it dragged on the floor when I walked and I, that was even with heels on. And, also, um, the area underneath the arms was cut way too low, and you could se skin underneath where my bra was and that was like realy bad; so I had to get it altered (older plus size twen). Together, these pasages ilustrate how twen girls characterize fit as an apparel need. Half sizes. The expresed need for half sizes emerged in three of the four focus groups. Examples of how the younger normal, younger plus, and older normal size twen girls verbalized the need included, ?[tel industry] to make clothes for people that are stuck in the middle, um umm, kids clothes and juniors? (younger plus size twen); ?It?s prety hard for me cuz I?m not yet a 10-12, but I?m not a 7-8 stil . . . so I?m kind of 99 stuck in the middle? (younger normal size twen); and ?I?d tel them [industry] if they [industry] could just make some sizes for people that are in the middle of their size? (younger normal size twen). One twen girl clearly expresed this theme when she described how different sizes fit her body: . . . and yet like if you try to make it [waist measurement in jeans] smaler, it sems like the legs are too long, but then you try to go up one size and it?s baggy again, and it?s just there?s too, there?s always one size that you?re stuck in the middle, but there?s no half size (older normal size twen). Older plus size twen girls did not mention a need for half sizes. This may have been because their bodies were the most developed of al of the focus group participants; they primarily stated that they found their clothing in either Junior?s or Women?s sections. Body scan data shown in Figure 13 ilustrates the discrepancy in body development among the four groups of twen girls. Because, height and weight are difficult to discern visualy in these images, they are listed below each body scan. These scans ilustrate the differences in body shape and body development of the twen girls. They also show how the plus size twen girls appear more developed and curvier than their normal size counterparts. 100 Figure 13. Representative body scans from each of the twen girls? focus groups. Three representative scans were chosen for each group. Both side and frontal views are shown. Modesty. A need for modest apparel emerged as the most prominent theme within the twen girl focus groups. This theme was expresed in several different ways. However, many of the total coments, expresed a statement of affirmation, which is why the sample statements are limited. In some instances, the twen girls described a need to find apparel that complied with school dres codes. One such comment was: My mom thinks of, my parents think of the price range and appropriate cuz, say your school say, says if you?re wearing to school, something to school and it?s 101 against your school rules, and you forget . . . the school won?t be happy to cal your parents to come and bring you something.(younger plus size twen). At other times they discussed how they did not like showing their stomachs or other parts of their bodies. For example, one twen girl said ?I don?t like shirts that are like have your stomach showing because it shows a litle too much? (younger normal size twen). While some twen girls said that they were not as modest as their pers, they also recognized that finding appropriate clothes for certain ocasions such as a church function was important. Additionaly, these twen girls expresed the ned for other people to be more modest in their apparel choices. One twen girl said: I se people like at the mal, and their pants are like below their hips; they?re like realy low like and I wear mine like at my hips, but theirs are like past that and they?re realy low and that doesn?t look realy right because they look like realy just like unatractive (younger normal size twen). Girls in al groups expresed both perceived and real needs for modest apparel for both themselves and for others. Other comments that the twens made related to modest apparel were: ? Wel my opinion is if you, there?s a certain size to where you should stop wearing [clothing] that shows [too much skin]. You know, like, real skinny people, yeah, they show it [their belies], but some [larger-sized] people shouldn?t (older plus size twen). ? Um, I wil shop at J.C. Penny?s because, um, they have lots of sales including, you can find things [that] won?t show like a whole bunch of stuff [too much skin] 102 for kids like . . . lately [the style is that] you have your stomach showing, your whatever showin? (older plus size twen). ? Yeah I agree with, like, people that have, like, a lot of cleavage and they?ll wear, like, realy low cut shirts, and you just don?t wanna se that sometimes, like, especialy at school, but I just think that?s sorta gross (older normal size twen). ? But most of the stuff that I choose is appropriate for school (younger plus size twen). ? Like, um, there?s this girl who is in my school and she?s kinda like her shirt doesn?t realy fit her sometimes and so like her stomach is like coming out and it?s realy disgusting (younger normal size twen). Price. Overal, most of the twen girls described real needs to find apparel within their price range. This theme was relatively evenly dispersed in al of the groups. In talking about price, the twen girls reported not being able to shop in certain stores because the clothes were too expensive, and other times they stated specific prices that they would be wiling to pay for apparel products. Quotes that ilustrate this theme are, ?and they have like acesories and, uh, shoes; it is realy nice, but it is very expensive? (older plus size twen); ?also, looking at like sales, and stuff, like even like sometimes they have realy good stuff on sale? (younger normal size twen); and ?Oh, I thought you said Dilard?s, I?m like you know that costs a litle too much!? (older plus size twen). Limited examples are provided here because many of the twen girls said similar things when talking about price, and the examples provided ilustrate a majority of how the twen girls expresed their opinions about price. For the most part, these twen girls showed themselves to be very price-conscious. However, further studies ned to be 103 performed in order to ases whether the price ranges specified in this group are applicable to a larger population or are influenced by other factors such as socioeconomic status. Sports clothes. The theme, sports clothes, encompases the twen girls? expresed needs for clothes for specific sporting activities, like swiming, soccer, and volleybal, or clothes for gym clas. Though linked to apparel availability in that some of the twen girls could not find the sports clothes that they needed, this theme was categorized as a need because in most statements supporting it, the twen girls described specific needs for sports clothing. This description usualy was coupled with the shopping mechanisms such as the internet or catlog that the twen girls used to get the neded clothes. For example, ?me and my sister sometimes, cuz we?re into swiming too, and, so, like, we look in magazines and we look on the internet for stuff? (younger normal size twen). Only in some instances did the twen girls state that they could not find the sports clothes that they needed. Store sections. The theme, store sections, was derived from the twen girls? expresed need for clearly marked areas in stores (i.e. Kids, Juniors, Women?s, etc). For example, one twen girl said, ?Wal-Mart does not have a Juniors section. Target does not have a Juniors section? (older plus size twen). This particular discussion was followed with the twen girl and moderator discussing how it was hard for her [the twen girl] to find clothes in Wal-mart and Target because the Women?s and Juniors? sections were not separate. Other twen girls reported frustration with the gap betwen Kids? and Juniors? sections with statements such as, ?Because since I?m realy tal, I can?t fit in the Childrens and I?m like smack dab in the middle of Juniors and Childrens, so it?s realy 104 hard? (younger plus size twen). Older normal twen girls were the only group not to addres this theme. Style for plus sizes. The theme, style for plus sizes, was mentioned in al groups except for the younger normal size twen group, the subjects in this study clearly articulated the need for beter styles for larger sizes. Statements like the folowing ilustrate this point: ?I would like to shop at Pac Sun and stores like Delia?s and stuff; it?s just that I can?t find the stuff in my size there? (older plus size twen); ?I?ve ben to Pac Sun several times in several different mals . . . and they don?t have the stuff in my size? (older plus size twen); and ?Mudd, but the only thing that?s wrong with Mudd, a, they don?t fit on, uh mms, they don?t fit on like people my, um, shape. It?s either too too tight, not they don?t have my size? (older plus size twen). In al of these comments, the plus size twen girls were showing that they wanted to wear popular brands and styles, but they could not because of their size. Also, the normal size twen girls expresed recognition that there were not stylish clothes for plus size twen girls their age. An example of this, found in the older normal size group, was: Um, I think it?s real hard to find like stuff . . . for people that are . . . big because like most of the realy popular stores that have like realy, realy good clothes like Gap and Rave and Delia?s and that kind of stuff; it [is] for realy smal people. And like they don?t have like bigger sizes and I think they should. Perhaps the most poignant ilustration of this theme was the following statement, in which an older plus size twen girl shared that she could not find a youthful style in her size and had to buy adult women?s clothing: 105 I rarely wear t-shirts anymore, but it?s hard to find shirts like that in my size because there?s are normaly kept in the junior department. And I wear a size that?s like one size larger than what you normaly find in the junior department so, I?m kind of upset about that you know. And I have to wear shirts that out, if they?re OK, and I wear them, it?s just that the first day of school I walk in to my English clas, I have the same shirt on as my English teacher, so . . . umm, that?s that was scary, so . . . Discussion generaly painted a picture of the style needs for larger sized twen girls, the expresed desire of these twen girls to shop at the same stores as their normal size counterparts, and a recognition by the normal size twen girls that their larger friends had a hard time finding stylish apparel. Similarities and Diferences in Apparel Neds Among Subgroups of Tween Girls When looking at al of the twen girl apparel needs themes together, there did not appear to be a patern like the one found for apparel preferences. Twen girls in al groups expresed apparel needs with similar frequency counts. The major themes that appeared were modesty, fit, price, and agrement with parent. Other les important themes that emerged in the twen girls? focus groups were half sizes, style for plus sizes, sports clothes, and store sections. Minor themes were consistent sizing and adjustable clothes. Although the overal frequency distribution is similar for al groups, younger normal size twen girls talked about more overal topics than the other three groups. This is because themes about adjustable clothing and consistent sizing emerged in this group, but were not found in the other groups. 106 Modesty emerged as the most prevalent theme in the twen girl focus groups. In terms of an apparel need, these twen girls expresed a need to find clothes that were age- appropriate, not too grown up, and conformed to school dres codes. It is interesting to note that normal size twen girls expresed this need more often than the plus size twen girls. Additionaly, older normal size twen girls expresed this need for modest apparel more than any of the other groups. Second to modesty, fit-related apparel neds emerged as an important theme. Fit, in this context, is described by the author to be the desire to find clothing that one perceives to fit their body. Twen girls in al groups expresed this apparel need, but younger normal size twen girls talked about this need more often than the other groups. The next two major themes, price and agrement with mother, were very close in their frequency counts. It was not surprising that girls in these groups were exhibiting evidence of price consciousnes. Although twen girls influence spending decisions, they are not completly independent from parental controls. As the twen girls revealed the theme agreement with parent, they acknowledged that their parents stil maintain authority in their lives. The twen girls also stated that if their parents did not agree with an apparel choice, the parent would either not alow her to purchase the garment or not alow her to wear the garment in certain contexts. This theme appeared most often in the older plus size and younger normal size groups. Other les important themes were each more predominant in particular groups. Neds for half-sizes appeared most in the normal size groups than in plus size groups. In fact, this theme does not appear at al in the older plus size group. Style for plus sizes as a need emerged most in the older plus size group and not at al in the younger normal size 107 group. A need for clearly marked store sections was expresed most in the younger plus size group while older normal size twen girls did not expres it at al. A need for sports clothes emerged most in younger normal and older plus size groups. As stated previously, minor themes of adjustable clothing and consistent sizing were only found in the younger normal size group. Though minor theme in the twen girls? focus group, mothers of twen girls found problems with inconsistent sizing to be a major theme when discussing the apparel neds of their daughters, as wil be shown later. Research Question 2 b: Do mothers of younger and older, normal and plus size twen girls expres, through conversation, different apparel neds for their daughters? Apparel Needs of Tween Girls as Expresed by Their Mothers Content analysis of the mothers? focus groups revealed ten themes related to the apparel neds of their daughters. These themes are listed in Table 7 along with frequency counts for each group. Following Table 7 is Figure 14, which shows the Venn diagram derived from the data. Theme Explanation and Interpretation Each of these apparel neds themes reflects factors that the twen girls? mothers viewed as important to their daughters. Each theme is described in more detail in the following sections, and key quotes and other supporting evidence are given as ilustrations and show how mothers expresed the various facets of their daughters? actual and perceived apparel needs. 108 Table 7 Frequency Counts of Emergent Apparel Ned Themes of Tween Girls as Expresed by Their Mothers Emergent Themes Mothers of Younger Normal Size Twens (N = 8) Mothers of Older Normal Size Twens (N = 11) Mothers of Younger Plus Size Twens (N = 9) Mothers of Older Plus Size Twens (N = 11) Total Adjustable Clothing 6 0 2 6 14 Agreement with Daughter 4 11 7 16 38 Consistent Sizing 1 10 16 11 38 Durability 4 3 1 7 15 Fit 12 13 19 31 75 Modesty 34 33 40 77 184 Nice Clothes 4 3 19 21 47 (Continued) 109 Table 7 (Continued) Emergent Themes Mothers of Younger Normal Size Twens (N = 8) Mothers of Older Normal Size Twens (N = 11) Mothers of Younger Plus Size Twens (N = 9) Mothers of Older Plus Size Twens (N = 11) Total Price 9 17 13 5 44 Style for Plus Sizes 0 5 12 20 37 Versatility 2 5 1 0 8 Total 76 100 130 194 500 Adjustable clothing. Though not mentioned in the older normal size twen girl focus group, mothers in al of the other groups discussed a need for adjustable clothes for their daughters. For instance, one mother described how she was able to purchase pants at Old Navy that had adjustable waistbands: A 10 fits her [my daughter] around the waist, but you know, now they?re just right but as soon as I wash them, they?re gonna start to crep up, and then she?s growing so, they?re not gonna last long, but, uh, she can?t wear a 12 because the way they fal off of her. One thing, good thing about Old Navy is they have those adjustable waist [bands] (mother of younger normal size twen). 110 Figure 14. Diagram of emergent apparel need themes from mothers of twen girls? focus groups. Note. In the Venn diagram, frequency counts were translated into a spherical area so that the themes were visualized. Grids were used in determining the volume of each shape in the Venn diagrams to ensure that volumes corresponded acurately to the frequency counts, but were removed after construction to make the diagrams easier to decipher. Colors were used to diferentiate spheres, but have no interpretable meaning. 111 This adjustable feature alowed her daughter to wear pants that fit both her waist and length. Another mother stated, ?Yes, I was just thinking that and the Gap does too, those, uh, adjustable waists are wonderful? (mother of younger normal size twen). These mothers were expresing a need for adjustable clothing as wel as showing how they favorably viewed stores that provided this for their daughters. Agrement with daughter. Mother/daughter agreement emerged as a theme in al of the focus groups but was more comon in the older focus groups. The mothers consistently acknowledged that this was important for them in deciding what clothes their daughter could wear and buy. This theme was categorized as an apparel need because when speaking about mother/daughter agrement, the mothers consistently qualified that they needed to agree on clothing purchases with their daughters in order to have pleasant shopping experiences. One mother?s description was: The last time [my daughter] and I went shopping we did find a shirt that she realy like[d] that was too low cut. And I said, ?we can get it, but you?l have to wear something under it.? And she said, ?but it won?t look good with something under it,? and I said, ?wel then don?t buy it.? . . . So, and that was what we did; we ended up picking a different shirt that we could both agre on, cuz that one obviously wasn?t going to work for both of us (mother of older normal size twen). This quote was typical of the statements made by mothers when talking about agreing with their daughter?s apparel purchasing and wearing decisions. Some mothers had a harder time finding apparel that both they and their daughters liked. One mother talked about shopping for bathing suits with her daughter and said: 112 I mean it was, when I saw her in them [bathing suits], she?s 12 years old. It was, it was very horrible for me because she wanted it; she thought this was the fashion; this was what her friends were wearing who are toothpicks, and I mean I it was a fight because you know, she was not, I did not think she was covered. I didn?t think that if she was going on a beach where there are men or whatever I mean (mother of older plus size twen). For this mother/daughter pair, the lack of agreement caused tension and worry for the mother in that she did not think the style was appropriate, and she felt that men would look at her daughter in an inappropriate manner. Other mothers would negotiate with their daughters about what clothes and styles they could wear. An example of this was: I have to negotiate with her when we talk about age appropriate because, for instance, the skirt doesn?t bother me but something low cut would. Like if she has on a realy short skirt and some tights, I?m cool with that, you know. Um, but like in the summer time she?l take her boxer shorts and for some, and she?s got, she?s thick in here but for some reason she wants to be J-Lo. And so she rolls it down and you know, her stomach?s hanging over the top (mother of older plus size twen). The dimensions of agreement, compromise, rule-seting, and negotiation were al represented in the mothers? groups. Consistent sizing. A problem with consistent sizing was a theme that emerged in al of the focus groups, although it had only one mention in the mothers of young normal size twen girls focus group. This was interesting because in the twen girls? focus groups, this was the only group that addresed it. The mothers repeatedly complained 113 about not being able to buy the same size clothes for their daughters in different stores and across different brands. One example from a mother of a young plus size twen girl was: You [the parent] don?t know what size your child wears; you know, you would be realy excited about that she?s a size 14, in this store, but the next store she?s a size 12 and the next store she?s a size 16, so you you don?t even know; if somebody asked me today, and said, I?ll shoot you if you don?t tel me what your size your child is, I?d be like which store? (mother of younger plus size twen). Another example was: Wel no, like say for example, if we went to Walmart and we picked up a 16 in their young mises department in jeans, which would be fine you know, we could keep buying that same Rider?s brand or whatever brand, but if we went to Kmart and bought their brand of a 16, it would not fit . . . and that?s what?s disappointing; she, she thinks wel, oh I can get this size and we can just buy it. And one day we did that, we bought a bunch in one size and from a different store, and, it doesn?t, or grandma buys her these for Christmas, and they?re so cute, and . . . Just don?t fit (mother of younger plus size twen). Durability. Mothers in al focus groups expresed some need for their daughters? clothes to be durable. The most poignant example was, ?I just have to vent this; I picked up a t-shirt and was so vintage that it was e through and holes on it and it was like 32 dollars!? (mother of younger normal size twen girl). This mother was describing her annoyance with an Abercrombie t-shirt that was not durable. 114 Fit. Fit as an apparel ned, is described by the researcher to be the desire of mothers of twen girls to find clothing that fits their daughters. As in apparel preferences, notions of fit emerged as one of the prominent themes for mothers. In this instance, mothers made statements such as, ?she just doesn?t fit in that stuff any more? (mother of younger normal size twen), or ?I would personaly pay more per item if the things . . . fit beter? (mother of younger normal size twen). Both of these quotes ilustrate how mothers characterized fit as an apparel need in that in each case the mother was stating that fit was a key component in apparel selction for their daughters. Other comments the mothers made in terms of fit were: ? ?And now we?ve moved up to the Junior department, we just discovered this for the back to school. I couldn?t find anything in any store to fit her until we realized she is a Junior. And so then we go in there and they they?re too you know, too revealing, too like tight in the hips and low and then the sayings on the clothes, I?m like ?ahh, we can?t find anything for this girl to wear to school.? So we had a hard time? (mother of younger normal size twen). ? ?I would personaly pay more per item if the things were if they fit beter, they were age appropriate, and they lasted longer? (mother of younger normal size twen). ? ?She [my daughter] loves Aeropostle because the jeans fit her in the waist; that?s the only place she can go and get jeans that fit in the waist. Everything else, the jeans is too balky for her, even if you pay a hundred bucks for them? (mother of older normal size twen). 115 ? ?Yeah they?re-they?re [jeans are] just sometimes they?re even this much [holds up hands to indicate length] too long, to make, you know, to get them to fit her [my daughter]; they?re just so long. She [my daughter] knows that whatever we get is gonna hafta be cut off and hemed? (mother of younger plus size twen). ? ?If they fit her, I?ll buy it. I don?t care what it costs as long as they fit her? (mother of older plus size twen). ? ?It [the shirt] wil be, it wil hang a too low, but then the arms are fiting her right, or tight in the bely part but then the V is down here [points to chest]. You know, it?s just not proportioned for her? (mother of older plus size twen). In these examples, al of the mothers expresed the need to find clothing that fits their daughter?s bodies. Mothers in al groups also spoke about how there was a gap in the marketplace and that if the clothes were there, these women were wiling to pay more for them. Though this was a frustration for the mothers, the mothers of plus size twen girls indicated that not finding the apparel that fit their daughters bodies made shopping a painful and unpleasant experience for both them and their daughter. For example, the following mother explained that trying to find clothes that fit her daughter made shopping not fun: I?d say the number of times she has to change [makes shopping not fun with my daughter], because she?s [my daughter is] in the changing room and you?re trying on 14 different pair of jeans, and the sweaters, that?s no trouble finding a sweater to fit, but it?s the pant and the skirts . . . Yeah, always trying to find the right 116 length, because she?s wider here and she?s tal, but not so tal to fit the, to find the right size around her waist; they?re always gonna be way too long. And so, that?s realy, realy frustrating for her to try to find the right fit, and she?s changing over, and over, and over, and over (mother of younger plus size twen) Modesty. Overal, these mothers expresed both perceived and real needs for modest, age-appropriate apparel for their daughters. Like their daughters, mothers expresed a need for modest apparel. This theme clearly emerged as the most prominent theme within the mothers? focus groups and was discussed in several different ways. In some instances, the mothers addresed a ned to find apparel that complied with school dres codes, and at other times they discussed how they needed to find age-appropriate clothes for their daughters. For example, one mother said, ?if you get too juvenile, they?re way too smal, and if you get size-appropriate, they?re not age-appropriate? (mother of younger normal size twen). Another mother of a younger normal size twen girl noted the influence of older celbrities on her daughter: And they?re very influenced by Lindsay Lohan and Hilary Duff and Britany Spears. And these girls are 16, 17, 21, 22, who have matured; their bodies have blossomed, and they have the curves where they?re supposed to have the curves, and you?ve got this 10?10 year old that?s got mosquito bites and she?s trying to fil in this cris-cross top, and so it?s just it?s a batle, and it?s so frustrating. Another mother said, ?And she?s 10 and the clothes look like she?s 21? (mother of younger plus size twen). Another mother of a young plus size twen girl said: I think part of the problem is that that what is offered for this age is what I dem inappropriate in a lot of places. And not only what I deem inappropriate, like you 117 were talking about the sayings and the low, very low riders; I mean there are some seriously icky clothes out there for girls who are 10 and 11. I mean it?s just ridiculous. The mothers also expresed negative opinions about the sayings and pictures printed on twen garments. An example was: The other thing with like those t-shirts and stuff, where they have sayings like um, hottie, or ohh, I my 11-year-old picked up a shirt yesterday, and it had an owl on it, and it had like ?shake you?re hootie? or, or something that just you, you kinda you, your mother radar went ehhh-eh no, that?s not right. And there?s several of them that they?re veiled sexual references, and then your daughter says, ?but mommy I don?t get, it?s just an owl,? and so then you?re set up because wel, let me tel you what this realy means; so you?re almost in this situation when you?re, you?re having to explain values in a store and it-it-it is difficult (mother of younger normal size twen). Nice clothes. Mothers of twen girls in al focus groups, but particularly those in the older focus groups, stated that they had a need for nice clothes for their daughters. These mothers even stated that they would pay more money for these nice clothes. For instance, one mother of an older plus size twen girl stated: Oh she had, um last year she [my daughter] does cotilions and finding her a bal gown for cotilion. I couldn?t find her one. So I had to go to a specialty boutique in Cameron Vilage and a designer, they caled a designer, and they made her a special dres that was thre hundred dolars for her to wear to cotilion. So you just you do what you have to do. I mean that?s not, you know I don?t do that al 118 the time, but sometimes you get to the point where, you?re back?s up against the wal and you don?t realy, your options are so limited. It?s what you can do. This was not the only instance where mothers of twens stated that they neded more nice and/or dresy clothes for their daughters for events like church and weddings. Other mothers made statements such as the folowing: Oh yeah, if it was something you know, special like a-a birthday and it was a realy good quality outfit, that looked good, I would pay. I wouldn?t do it al the time, but a special ocasion like a birthday for sure. It would be worth it to . . . have something good (mother of younger normal size twen). As a whole, these mothers were wiling to pay more money for nice clothes for special occasions. Price. Mothers in al groups articulated real needs to find apparel within their price range. This theme appeared in al groups. In talking about price, the mothers would say things about not wanting their daughters to shop in certain stores because the clothes in them were too expensive. The following comment is an example of this: ?There?s no way I?m paying $40 [for a pair of jeans]. So, so cost is a real negative thing for me . . . ? (mother of younger plus size twen). Other mothers would talk about only shopping for sale items and expecting that same behavior from their daughter(s). The following statement exemplified this: I?m miserly and they?ve [my daughters] learned to be that way because they go straight to a clearance table. They don?t even look at a rack that doesn?t have a big sign on top of it. Um, and they spend their, they have to earn their own money a lot, or save their own money, um I let them spend it how they want to, but I try 119 to encourage them to think. Do you want to spend 40 dollars for a pair of jeans that you?re gonna probably just wear for you know, a few months and that sort of thing? So, they [my daughters] have become very cost conscious, and they have walked out of stores not buying a thing because, they don?t wanna part with that much money for one item (mother of younger normal size twen). This sort of shopping behavior (i.e. bargain shopping) and the expectation that daughters would contribute financialy to some purchases were common sentiments among al groups of mothers. Some mothers felt that the prices for twen clothing were too expensive, particularly when they did not approve of the clothing. Illustrative coments included: But also, the price, the price point, like you were saying a t-shirt for $26.50, or something at at Limited Too, and my daughter, my 8-year-old, picked out a-an outfit yesterday. We went to South Point, and it was 42.50 for a litle knit dres . . . it?s hard for us to enjoy it, when you know how much it costs and how it?s gonna affect the family budget and your dresing you?re child to look like Britany Spears when she?s only 10 (mother of younger normal size twen). Overal price was a big isue for mothers in al groups. Style for plus sizes. Like their daughters, mothers in most focus groups expresed needs for beter styling for plus sizes. Mentioned in al groups except the mothers of younger normal size twens group, the subjects in this study very clearly articulated the need for beter styles for larger sizes. Comments such as the folowing articulated this theme, and painted a picture of both the style needs for larger sized twen girls and 120 expresed the desire of these twen girls to shop at the same stores as their normal size counterparts. And there?s some other stores, too, in the mal, um, the litle funky rags kind of, stores . . . she [my plus size daughter] goes in and she goes and she tries to find the extra large . . . and I?m like, that?s not gonna work (mother of younger plus size twen). Another mother said: It sems that you would think in marketing as we know society or America, 50% of America is overweight, but yet we stil make clothing for when America was in 1960 and very smal, that, you know, the statistics are always there that America is 50% overweight, but yet we?re stil seling low riders for, you know it?s just almost like we're in denial with some things you know that America is overweight but we don't acommodate that. We acomodate it with eating but we don't acommodate it with apparel (mother of younger plus size twen). Though this mother was speaking more to the American population in general, the crux of what she was saying was that there were limited styles and sizes available for larger, more curvaceous body types. When asked, ?if you could tel people in industry anything about twen clothing, what would you tel them?? two mothers of older normal size twen girls said: I think another thing too, this is my campaign, is everyone is not an ironing board; some have curves, different places, and you need to look at patern sizing and shapes to kinda alter as the population of the United States is kinda more a larger oriented we are shaped a litle bit different . . . So we can?t buy straight up and 121 down. Some of us cannot buy straight up and down (mother of older normal size twen). And, ?And then the styles has just gone once if you get a litle over wel not realy overweight, but if you get to a certain size, you don?t have any style? (mother of older normal size twen). Another mother addresed the inability for her to find styles for her younger plus size daughter with the folowing comment: The full selction, you don?t have very many choices, I mean you can go to Penney?s or Sears, and they may have 4 pair, 4 different styles of jeans for girls that need a 12.5 or a 14.5 and you look at the regular [and there are a lot of choices], you know, 2 to whatever I mean they can have 20 different styles to choose from and we don?t [have very many choices] . . . But you know, even tops you know they?ll have like 14.5 tops but I mean there may be just 6 styles and then the regular departments are for, you know regular normal sizes so we need [more styling or more options]. Yeah or more choices (mother of younger plus size twen). Versatility. A smal theme that emerged in the mothers? focus groups was a need for more versatile apparel for their daughters. It appeared in al groups except the mothers of older plus size twens. Mothers expresed the content with statements such as, ?she [my daughter] picks out a cute belt and I encourage her . . . to make sure she has at least 2 or 3 tops that go with that belt so that she can wear it more than just once? (mother of older normal size twen). 122 Similarities and Diferences in Apparel Neds of Tween Girls as Expresed by Their Mothers Like the daughters, modesty materialized as the most prevalent theme in the mothers? focus groups. These mothers verbalized a ned to find clothes for their daughters that are age-appropriate, not too grown up, not too sexual, and conformed to school dres codes. It is interesting to note that mothers of plus size twen girls communicated this need more often than the mothers of normal size twen girls, which is the opposite from their daughters. Additionaly, mothers of older plus size twen girls proclaimed this need for modest apparel more than any of the other groups. Second to modesty, fit-related apparel neds came forth as an important theme. Mothers in al groups voiced this apparel need, but mothers of older plus size twen girls stated this more often than the other groups, which is different from the twen girls? groups. In the twen girls? group, younger normal size twen girls said the most in terms of fit as a need. The next three major themes ? nice clothes, price and agreement with daughter, were very close in their frequency. Nice clothes was much more prevalent in the plus size groups than in the normal size groups. Mothers of plus size twen girls repeatedly stated that they would pay more for nice clothes for their daughters, and in some instances, charge a credit card if only they could find nice clothes to fit their daughter?s bodies. Lack of clothing is addresed in the apparel availability section of this summary. But, it is consequential to note that these mothers qualified a need for nice clothes for their daughters whereas mothers of older normal twen girls and mothers of younger plus size twen girls semed to be more price conscious than the other mothers. This trend 123 did not appear in the twen girls? groups and may be due more to the socioeconomic status of the mothers in this sample than to other factors, which were not explored in this research because socioeconomic factors were not within the scope of this research. Mothers in al groups revealed that they were price-conscious and would not alow their daughters to shop in certain stores or buy certain brands because they perceived them as too expensive. Consistent sizing and style for plus size twen girls were the final two major themes for the mothers. Consistent sizing emerged least in the young normal size group and most in the younger plus size group. Mothers of plus size twen girls articulated the need for style for plus size twen girls more often than mothers of normal size twen girls. This was an expected response because these mothers are much more familiar with the apparel needs of their plus size daughters than mothers of normal size twen girls. In terms of lower moderate themes, these mothers spoke to needs about adjustable clothing and apparel durability. These two themes are somewhat related because in both instances, the mothers voiced a desire to extend the wearable life of their daughter?s clothing. The only minor theme that appeared for the mothers was versatility. This concept is theoreticaly linked to the notion of durability and adjustable clothing because versatility implies that the clothing can be worn in many different contexts and can thus be worn more often. There did not appear to be a trend betwen the groups for any of these themes. Thus in answering the research question, there did appear to be similarities and differences among the groups of mothers. 124 Research Question 2 c: Do younger and older, normal and plus size twen girls expres different opinions about apparel needs than their mothers? Similarities and Diferences in Apparel Neds Among Tween Girls and Their Mothers Twen Girls Mothers of Twen Girls Figure 15. Side-by-side comparison of Venn diagrams of apparel needs of twen girls and their mothers. Note. In the Venn diagram, frequency counts were translated into a spherical area so that the themes were visualized. Grids were used in determining the volume of each shape in the Venn diagrams to ensure that volumes corresponded acurately to the frequency counts, but were removed after construction to make the diagrams easier to decipher. Colors were used to diferentiate spheres, but have no interpretable meaning. By showing the two Venn diagrams adjacent to one another, one can imediately se the difference in theme scope and magnitude betwen twen girls and their mothers. In general, apparel needs themes appear to have been discussed more in the mothers? groups. Modesty and fit were the two largest themes in both the twen girls? and mothers? focus groups. The mothers? frequency counts for both themes were more than 125 double those for their daughters. This can be sen most clearly in Figure 15. Other areas of thematic overlap betwen twen girls and their mothers were price, mother/daughter agreement, adjustable clothing, style for plus sizes, and consistent sizing. Themes appearing in solely the daughters? group were sports clothes, store sections, and half- sizes, whereas themes of nice clothes, durability, and versatility appeared only in the mothers? focus groups. Overal the themes that surfaced within the mothers groups appeared to be more established (i.e. higher frequency counts for each theme) than those of their daughters. Also, like the daughters, ten themes emerged in the mothers? groups. However, the mothers had slightly different themes. In other words, the mothers perceived different apparel neds for their daughters than the daughters perceived for themselves. The daughters identified needs for half sizes, sports clothes and store sections whereas mothers identified durability, nice clothes, and versatility as apparel needs themes for their daughters. This aside, there were many similarities betwen the mothers and the daughters in terms of themes. The themes that came forth in both groups are adjustable clothing, mother/daughter agrement consistent sizing, fit, modesty, price and style for plus sizes. Overal modesty was the most important apparel ned identified by both the twen girls and their mothers; second to that, fit emerged as the second most important apparel ned. After this, the mothers and daughters diverged in their ranking of apparel need themes. For the mothers, nice clothes, price, and agrement with daughter emerged; for the daughters, price and agrement with mother were revealed as the major themes. Also different were the distribution of counts within the groups. For example, normal size twens indicated more of a ned for modest clothes than plus size twens, but 126 the opposite was true for the mothers (i.e. mothers of plus size twen girls exhibited more needs for modest apparel than mothers of normal size twen girls). Another example was that mothers of normal size twen girls said that price was more of an apparel ned than mothers of plus size twen girls; but plus size twen girls identified this theme more than normal size twen girls. This was not the case in for al themes. For example, mothers and daughters were similar in that plus size twen girls and their mothers identified mother/daughter agreement as a need more often than the normal size groups. Overal, the twen girls and their mothers established similar themes when speaking to the apparel needs of twen girls. The thematic differences in the themes among the groups were minor. Apparel Availability Research Question 3 a: Do younger and older, normal and plus size twen girls expres, through conversation, different isues with respect to the availability of apparel in the market place? Apparel Availability of Tween Girls Content analysis of the girls? focus groups revealed seven themes related to apparel availability. These themes are listed in Table 8 along with frequency counts for each group. Following Table 8 is Figure 16, which shows the Venn diagram derived from this data. Theme Explanation and Interpretation Each of these apparel availability themes implies various factors about how easy or hard it was for twen girls to find apparel in the marketplace. For instance, the theme pants/jeans hard should be interpreted as the notion that the twen girls had a hard time 127 finding pants and/or jeans in the marketplace. Each theme is described in more detail below, and key quotes are provided to ilustrate each theme. It is important to note that discussion of some themes was combined due to their intuitive linkages in their interpretation. Table 8 Frequency Counts of Emergent Themes Related to Apparel Availability for Tween Girls Emergent Themes Younger Normal (N = 10) Older Normal (N = 11) Younger Plus (N = 9) Older Plus (N = 11) Total Online 6 7 6 11 30 Pants/Jeans Hard 10 11 5 6 32 Shirts Easy 7 1 4 3 15 Shirts Hard 4 6 3 3 16 Size/Fit 11 12 7 18 48 Skirts/Dreses Easy 3 1 0 0 4 Skirts/Dreses Hard 1 6 4 4 15 Total 42 44 29 45 160 128 Figure 16. Diagram of emergent apparel availability themes from twen girl focus groups. Note. In the Venn diagram, frequency counts were translated into a spherical area so that the themes were visualized. Grids were used in determining the volume of each shape in the Venn diagrams to ensure that volumes corresponded acurately to the frequency counts, but were removed after construction to make the diagrams easier to decipher. Colors were used to diferentiate spheres, but have no interpretable meaning. 129 Online. This theme implies that the twen girls utilized the Internet in finding apparel. Though this theme is somewhat disconnected from other themes in this category, the author put it in this section because of how the twen girls spoke about online shopping. These twen girls viewed websites of brick and mortar stores as store extensions. Therefore, if the twen girls could not find the clothes they neded in the store, they would go online to purchase apparel. The twen girls expresed this theme through statements such as, ?I know that kind of like at American Eagle, and places like that wil, they only carry jeans up to a certain like size 8, and you have to go online to buy any sizes that are larger than that? (older plus size twen). Overal the twen girls in al groups held similar views of online shopping, but older twen girls expresed somewhat more interest in shopping online than the younger twen girls. These older twen girls provided specific examples of their online purchases such as, ?I got two skirts for $19.99; it was the same thing just different colors. And they [the online store] send them to you, I mean it?s [shopping online] just a lot easier? (older normal size twen). Pants/jeans hard. Twen girls revealed that finding pants and/or jeans that they liked and that fit their bodies was the most chalenging shopping task. Most problems were due to the waist-to-length ratio of the pants. In other words, the twen girls said that they had trouble finding pants and/or jeans that fit their waist and were the right length. The twen girls spoke negatively about having to have their pants and/or jeans hemed or altered. Overal, the twen girls expresed the most frustration about availability of pants and/or jeans that fit them and that were in the style they liked. Some key comments were: 130 ? ?Like up here my legs I can?t fit into some pants but then once I can fit into them they?re too big in the waist. So I have a hard time? (older normal size twen). ? ?It?s hard for me to find jeans at Pacific Sun where I like to go because usualy they don?t have like my length; like I went, I bought a pair like last wek, and when I got home they were like way too short? (older plus size twen). ? ?But pants are realy difficult because I don?t know I?m short and like I?m not huge, but sometimes trying to find things that aren?t so long, like, a lot of times when I go to the store and I try on jeans, I?m like walking on them, so? (older normal size twen). ? ?It?s hard to find the jeans that fit you, if you go and look at like the petites and the shorts and stuff, a lot of times it?s not the wash that you want or like they have that realy, realy basic styles but you want like the other styles that come in the regular sizes stuff? (older normal size twen). Each of these comments was a response to the question, ?how hard or easy is it for you to buy pants/jeans?? Overal, the inability to find jeans and/or pants frustrated the twen girls. Shirts easy and shirts hard. When talking about the availability of shirts, twen girls said that finding shirts was sometimes easy and sometimes hard. The twen girls were not as specific in describing how they wanted shirts to fit them as they were in describing jeans and pants. A number of twen girls from the groups were involved with sports and preferred wearing t-shirts, which they said were easy to find. However, when 131 talking about finding specific types of shirts or more dresy shirts, the twen girls said that shirts were harder to find. Overal, the older normal and older plus size twen girls expresed the most frustration about shirt availability. These twen girls made statements such as: Shirts Easy: ?for me . . . these shirts that have like stuff on them, it?s kinda easy to find because they?re . . . at Kohl?s? (older plus size twen). Shirts Hard: ?I rarely wear t-shirts anymore, but it?s hard to find shirts like that in my size because [they?re] normaly kept in the junior department. And I wear a size that?s like one size larger than what you normaly find in the junior department; so, I?m kind of upset about that, you know? (older plus size twen). Size/Fit. Size/fit emerged as a major theme for al focus groups. In the context of apparel availability, size/fit encompases the availability of sizes and desired fit. Though older twens expresed more frustration in the lack of availability of clothing that was their size and fit them, twens in al groups discussed this isue. These girls expresed this theme through statements such as: Like when, um, me, and my friend, um, go shopping, we always, like, want, like, the same shirt, but, um, the problem is, like, I?m way taler than her so, we can like-like, they might have her size, but they never have mine (younger normal size twen). And: I?m very short. So, like, I usualy have to find, like, a short slim, like, put together and everything and I can, and it?s very hard to find something like that. And I?m 132 in that stage where I have a very hard time finding what I need (older normal size twen). Other twen girls made statements such as, ?Wel I have a problem cuz I have, like, no butt so when I go to find jeans, like, either it?s too big, like I could fit another person back here? (older normal size twen); ?Like up here my legs I can?t fit into some pants, but then once I can fit into them, they?re too big in the waist. So I have a hard time? (older normal size twen); and ?But when I go down [in size] it?s too smal and when I [look for] . . . the half size, it doesn?t work out because they [the stores] don?t have them? (older normal size twen). This theme overlapped many of the other themes, such as pants/jeans hard, because the twen girls expresed problems with fit and sizing when they talked about finding specific types of clothing. Skirts/dreses easy and skirts/dreses hard. When talking about the availability of skirts and dreses, twen girls in al groups said that sometimes finding skirts and/or dreses was hard; only normal size twen girls said that sometimes finding skirts and/or dreses was easy. Statements ilustrating each theme were: ? Skirts/dreses easy: ?But I like to go to Aeropostle for my jeans and skirts because I?m prety tal, and, wel, I?m not smal, but I?m smaler than my height, so I have to get a smaler size and get longs; that way it wil fit me right? (older normal size twen). ? Skirts/dreses hard: ?And the other thing I don?t like is that al the skirts there are based on like what the model shapes are. They?re not based on what the shape we 133 have; it?s based on people out there already. So, it?s harder to find skirts? (older normal size twen). Similarities and Diferences in Apparel Availability Among Subgroups of Tween Girls When looking at al of the twen girl apparel availability themes together, twen girls in the younger normal, older normal, and older plus groups communicated more in terms of apparel availability than girls in the younger plus size. The major themes that appeared were size/fit and jeans/pants hard. Other les important themes that came forth were online, shirts hard, shirts easy, and skirts/dresed hard. The minor theme that emerged was skirts/dreses easy. Although, the overal frequency distribution was similar for three of the groups, normal size twens talked about more overal topics than the plus size groups. This was because in these groups, the theme skirts/dreses easy turned up. Plus size twens did not indicate that finding skirts and/or dreses was easy. The twen girls talked about apparel availability by answering a series of questions about how easy or hard it was for them to find particular garments such as jeans or skirts that they like and that fit them. There did not appear to be any differences betwen normal and plus size twen girls in the ability to find clothes that fit them or were their size. Despite that, older plus size twen girls noted more than twice as many problems related to finding apparel that fits them than the younger normal size twen girls. The other major category for the twen girls' groups was pants/jeans hard. This theme was more almost twice as dominant in the normal size groups than in the plus size groups. Online was a theme related to how the twens solved problems with lack of apparel availability. These twen girls stated that using the online stores is a mechanism 134 for them to get sizes that brick and mortar stores do not carry, find styles they cannot find in other places, search for deals/sales, and research apparel choices and availability. Older plus size twen girls indicated that they use online tools more than the other twen girls. Other themes of shirts easy, shirts hard, and skirts/dreses hard appeared in al of the groups. Shirts easy surfaced most in the younger normal size group than in the other groups. Normal size twen girls indicated that they have a harder time finding shirts than twens in the other groups. For skirts/dreses hard a similar patern appears. The only minor theme that became apparent was skirts/dreses easy. As stated before, this was only in the normal size groups. Overal, twens in al groups expresed frustrations in finding the apparel they desired. Twen girls in al groups utilized the Internet to compensate for lack of apparel availability in traditional brick and mortar stores. Also, twen girls in al groups had isues with finding the desired fit and size they needed. The availability of shirts semed to be a 50/50 split betwen easy and hard. The twen girls in al groups provided evidence that finding skirts and/or dreses was difficult for them as wel. Only normal size twen girls indicated that finding skirts and/or dreses was easy. Twen girls in al groups expresed frustrations over the lack of availability of pants and/or jeans in the marketplace. This lack of availability stemed primarily from isues about a lack of size, style, or fit. The twen girls in al groups identified these gaps and articulated their expectations as shown in the dialogue provided. A majority of these themes were expresed as negative comments about the inability to find apparel in the market. Size/fit isues and the inability to find pants/jeans showed up as the two main themes among al of the twen girls. Also, the twen girls indicated that they view online retailers as an 135 avenue to obtain the clothes they cannot find in brick and mortar establishments. This notion came forth as the third overal major theme for the twen girls. Older normal twen girls appeared to expres the most in terms of apparel availability. This is interesting in that acording to the market survey of plus size apparel (J. C. Penney, 2006; Kang, 2004; Old Navy, 2006), one would suspect that plus size twen girls should not be able to find as many clothes in the marketplace as their normal size counterparts. Thus, these findings indicate that al subgroups of twen girls had trouble finding apparel. Research Question 3 b: Do mothers of younger and older, normal and plus size twen girls expres, through conversation, different isues with respect to the availability of apparel for their daughters in the market place? Apparel Availability of Tween Girls Expresed by Their Mothers Content analysis of the mothers? focus groups revealed eight themes related to apparel availability for their daughters. These themes are listed in Table 9 along with frequency counts for each group. Following Table 9 is Figure 17, which shows the Venn diagram derived from the data. Theme Explanation and Interpretation Each of these apparel availability themes implied various things about how easy or hard it was for mothers of twens to find apparel for their daughter. For instance, the theme, nice clothes hard should be interpretd as the idea that mothers of twens had a hard time finding nice clothes for their daughters. Each theme is described in more detail below, and in most instances, key quotes are provided to ilustrate ach theme. Discussions of some themes are combined due to linkages in their interpretation. 136 Table 9 Frequency Counts of Emergent Apparel Availability Themes of Tween Girls Expresed by Their Mothers Emergent Themes Mothers of Younger Normal Size Twens (N = 8) Mothers of Older Normal Size Twens (N = 11) Mothers of Younger Plus Size Twens (N = 9) Mothers of Older Plus Size Twens (N = 11) Total Jeans/Pants Hard 10 10 17 39 76 Nice Clothes Hard 3 7 3 7 20 Online 0 7 0 4 11 Shirts Easy 6 0 0 3 9 Shirts Hard 0 1 2 10 13 Size/Fit 5 8 29 30 72 Skirts/Dreses Hard 6 8 19 9 50 Style 4 10 4 9 27 Total 34 51 74 111 270 137 Figure 17. Diagram of emergent apparel availability themes from mothers? focus groups. Note. In the Venn diagram, frequency counts were translated into a spherical area so that the themes were visualized. Grids were used in determining the volume of each shape in the Venn diagrams to ensure that volumes corresponded acurately to the frequency counts, but were removed after construction to make the diagrams easier to decipher. Colors were used to diferentiate spheres, but have no interpretable meaning. 138 Jeans/pants hard. Al groups of mothers expresed difficulty in finding pants or jeans for their daughters through statements like, ?And so it?s, it?s hard to find jeans that fit her [my daughter] now? (mother of younger plus size twen). The problem semed more pervasive for mothers of plus size twen girls. Most of this deficiency was found in problems with the waist to length ratio. This was also a common problem expresed by both normal and plus size twen girls. The mothers expresed frustration about the lack of sizes as wel as having to alter the pants once they were purchased. One mother?s description of this isue was: . . . but what?s the problem with her is when she se[s] a pair of jeans that she can fit up here [her waist], and this, say it?s the bel botom, and by the time, but it?s long . . . So, by the time . . . [I] cut it [the extra length in the pant legs] off and hem it. Wel, you done cut the bel out. So it?s not a bel bottom anymore, you know; it?s just a regular pair of jeans . . . So that?s when she becomes frustrated. Then, cuz she can fit it, but it?s too long, and it?s hard to find a size that fit her because she?s short. So I have to go, as everyone was saying before, you gotta get it longer to fit here, but then you cut the design out (mother of younger plus size twen). When elaborating on this theme, other mothers made statements such as: ? ?I mean you have to buy them [jeans] like a size too big, for them to fit her thighs. Then they?re too big everywhere else? (mother of older plus size twen). ? ?Wel I, you know. My daughter you know in around age 11, 12 somewhere in there, they realy don?t you know, a lot of them don?t have defined waists and hips . . . Their figure?s are not real defined yet. And I think . . . a lot of these, these 139 jeans are made for full figures . . . with the curves and everything, for girls who haven?t achieved that yet? (mother of older normal size twen). ? ?Because she is slimer, she has realy long legs but they?re thin, and her hips are thin, and, I mean, those are stil falin? off, but you know she?s sort of betwen sizes, where a 12?s too smal, a 14 is too big. We try and buy them with like the spandex in the, that because those just tend to fit a litle beter, so you can buy them a smidge smal and then they stay on, cuz she almost never wears a belt? (mother of older normal size twen). ? ?They?re [jeans/pants] tight, but they?re tight in . . . and [my daughter is] muscular so her legs are a litle bigger, so they?re realy tight here, but then the waist is big, and we were in American Eagle, and she put these jeans, and I thought, oh my. I can se [my daughter?s] underwear, you know it?s just the back, . . . Yes, she said, ?wel mom, I can wear a belt;? I said, ?wel let?s just try a different size.? I mean she?s just geting to where she fits into those, so she?s in the smaler sizes? (mother of older normal size twen). By and large, mothers in al groups said that finding jeans and pants that fit their daughters and was a style they wanted was difficult. Nice clothes hard. Mothers in al groups said that it was hard for them to find nice clothes for their daughter. Generaly nice clothes were for things like weddings, church events, or school dances. Most notably, this theme merged in the older groups, although some mothers of younger twen girls had isues with finding nice clothes as wel. Mothers expresed this theme through statements such as: 140 At school or if you?re buying clothes for Easter Sunday, and you try to pick out something that?s age appropriate but trendy enough for your daughter to be happy with, and they don?t want the litle girl looking dres, . . . But you don?t want the dres that looks like it should be on a 19-year-old (mother of older normal size twen). And: I had a isue with, um, al my daughters were in a wedding recently, and they needed, they had their dreses for the wedding as flower girls and brides, junior bridesmaids, but finding something for the rehearsal dinner; it was very difficult finding something betwen looking to Gymboree as [my daughter] said, which was the younger like, um, linen, the Strasburg kids, I mean that?s of course I was, like oh, you?re beautiful . . . And they were like ?Mom.? So then you go looking at other dreses, and they?re al spagheti strapped, . . . they look like miniature cocktail dreses, eh-eh they should have ben carrying martini glases. It was the weirdest thing; I just look at them going they?re . . . like shrunk adults, it?s just that was very difficult. We ended up having to buy blouse and skirts that were not too tight and clingy (mother of younger normal size twen). Generaly, these mothers had a hard time finding nice clothing for special occasions without having to either have the garment altered or in one case, custom made. Online. Mothers of older twen girls utilized the Internet in finding and researching apparel options for their daughters. Though mothers of younger twen girls discussed online shopping, many of them were hesitant to actualy shop online, due to insecurities about the fit of the garments, and would instead only use the internet as a 141 research tool. An instance of this was, ?I mean, we have researched things online at different stores, and then we?ve gone to the store to get a particular item that we saw online but we don?t order it? (mother of older plus size twen). However, mothers of older twen girls did utilize the Internet as a shopping resource. Many of these women saw online stores as an extension of their brick and mortar complements and perceived there to be more variety and selctions online. Thus, these mothers used the Internet as a means to find apparel not otherwise available to them. This is similar to how their daughters used online shopping. For example, ?I?m starting to a lot, do research on the Internet because I?ve been doing a lot on eBay. Because I don?t, I?m lery on what would fit? (mother of older plus size twen). Shirts easy and shirts hard. When talking about the availability of shirts, only mothers in the younger normal and older plus size group expresed that finding shirts was easy. One mother of an older plus size twen girl said, ?And I was absolutely delighted because I found . . . shirts too that weren?t screaming at the seams that she could put on.? However, other mothers, in al groups except the younger normal size one, expresed that finding shirts for their daughters was hard. Many of these mothers expresed frustration with not being able to find shirts that were age appropriate for their daughters. This idea particularly emerged in the older plus size group. Perhaps the co-existence of the themes shirts easy and shirts hard in the older plus size group was due to the notion that there were some twen girls who only wore baggy t-shirts, which are fairly ubiquitous in the market, whereas twen girls desiring more style had a harder time finding shirts with styles that were also age appropriate. 142 Size/fit. The theme size/fit in terms of apparel availability emerged in al groups, but was much more prominent in the plus size groups. In this instance, as with the daughters, size/fit refers to the availability of sizes and desired fit. Some key coments describing this theme were as follows: ? ?It [clothes] probably doesn?t fit them, so that is real frustrating? (mother of older plus size twen). ? ?It [not finding clothes that fit] lowers their self-estem I think for sure? (mother of older plus size twen). ? ?If they fit her in the hips, then they?re you know, it it?s not long enough for her? (mother of older plus size twen). ? ?And I think that?s common for other girls you know to be too big in the waist but tight around the rear end. And they like them realy tight in the thighs, and of course a lot of them have this spandex, so they?re more comfortable than they look like they would be, but they?re stil realy big and baggy in the waist? (mother of older normal size twen). ? ?I mean you have to buy them like a size too big, for them to fit her thighs. Then they?re too big everywhere else? (mother of older plus size twen). Esentialy, mothers in al groups, but particularly mothers of plus size twen girls, expresed that finding apparel in an available size that fit their daughter was difficult. Skirts/dreses hard. The theme skirts/dreses hard emerged in al groups, but was observed more in the younger plus size group. This theme emerged as mothers expresed an inability to find skirts and dreses that either met the style requirements of their daughter or complied with the regulated length of school dres codes. A few examples of 143 this theme were, ?Most of them [skirts] are too short . . . It?s very hard to find [skirts]? (mother of older normal size twen), and ?I have had a terrible time, finding clothes to fit the school regulations? (mother of younger normal size twen). Style. Style emerged as a theme related to apparel availability. This theme was discussed more in the older groups than in the younger groups. These mothers said things such as, ?wel the problem that I?ve had with my daughter if, if you buy a dres to fit her, cuz she is larger, uh, she has to go to a style perhaps I would wear? (mother of older plus size twen). And: Yeah no, like [my daughter?s] dres I had to get the 8 th grade dance, we got from Belk?s from the ladies department. And it had to be altered a litle bit on the shoulders to-to make it fit her aross her shoulders cuz it was a litle big, but mostly in the ladies department is where we have to shop (mother of older plus size twen). Both mothers are describing how their daughters have to shop in adult departments, and are forced to compromise style for fit. These mothers were unable to find both style and fit for their daughters. Similarities and Diferences in Apparel Availability of Tween Girls as Expresed by Their Mothers Overal, mothers of twen girls in al groups expresed frustrations in finding the apparel their daughters either needed or desired. Mothers in al groups found pants and jeans difficult to find. This theme of jeans/pants hard was, however, much more apparent in the plus size groups. Al groups had a hard time finding nice clothes for their daughters. This theme was expresed more in the older than in the younger groups. Only 144 some mothers of older twens found online shopping to be a method with which to fulfil some of their daughters? apparel needs. Only mothers of younger normal and older plus size twen girls found shirts easy to find, whereas mother of older normal, younger plus, and older plus size twen girls described difficulty when finding shirts in the market. Al mothers expresed difficulty finding the correct size/fit for their daughters, but like the jeans/pants hard theme, this was much more apparent in the plus size groups. Size/fit were also themes in apparel availability and al size/fit relationships stemed from an inability to find clothes that were the correct size and the daughters. This problem was more concentrated in the plus size groups. These women were unable to find skirts and/or dreses to fit their daughters. And finaly, there was an inability for these women to find styles that were either age appropriate or stylish enough for their daughters. This isue occurred more often with the older twen girls. Mothers of older plus size twen girls voiced the most comments in terms of apparel availability for their daughters, followed by mothers of younger plus size twens. Interestingly, unlike their daughters, mothers of plus size twen girls followed the trend of difficulty in finding apparel for their plus sized daughters. Like their daughters, pants/jeans hard and size/fit emerged as two major categories. However, for the mothers, skirts/dreses hard also emerged as a third main category. This was primarily due to the mothers? discontent with the current style of short skirts. Overal these mothers did not think that this style was age appropriate for their daughters. Other les salient themes for the mothers were style, nice clothes hard , shirts hard, and online. The only minor theme that emerged in the mothers? focus group was shirts easy. 145 Though not in the same order as their daughters, major themes of pants/jeans hard and size/fit were the dominating themes in the mothers groups. When shopping for pants and/or jeans for their daughters, mothers of plus size twen girls, particularly mothers of older plus size twen girls, voiced much frustration in terms of the availability of jeans and/or pants that their daughters like and that fit them; where as mothers of normal size twen girls only moderately expresed this theme. A similar trend occurred when observing the frequency counts for size/fit. Here, mothers of older plus size twen girls communicated the most frustration, and were closely followed by mothers of younger plus size twens. The normal size mothers did not convey this theme nearly as much. The third major theme of skirts/dresed hard appeared most in the mothers of younger plus size twen girls group and only moderately in the other groups. Style was manifested more in the mothers of older twen girls groups than in the younger groups. There did not appear to be any trends with this theme related to size. Nice clothes hard was similar to style in that mothers of older twen girls indicate more often that it was difficult for them to find nice clothes for their daughters than mothers of younger twen girls. When looking at the shirt hard theme, mothers of plus size twen girls indicated more difficulty than mothers of normal size twens. In fact, mothers of younger normal size twen girls did not mention this theme at al. Also, mothers of older plus size twen girls made coments related to this theme five times more than mothers of younger plus size twen girls. Most of the time when mothers addresed this theme, they talked about difficulties finding more formal shirts or more stylish shirts. When looking at the converse minor theme of shirt easy, this theme was revealed in only two groups: mothers of younger normal size twen girls and mothers of older plus size twen 146 girls. When mothers spoke about this theme, they mostly referred to sports wear clothing, like t-shirts or other more casual tops. The theme online, showed that like their daughters, these mothers recognized and identified that their daughters and/or themselves used Internet shopping to fil gaps in the marketplace with respect to apparel. Different from the twen girls though, was the fact that in the twen girls groups, al groups mentioned this theme; yet, in the mothers groups, only mothers of older twen girls mentioned online shopping as a mechanism their daughters use to mitigate isues with apparel availability. Research Question 3 c: Do younger and older, normal and plus size twen girls expres different opinions about apparel availability than their mothers? Similarities and Diferences in Apparel Availability Among Tween Girls and Their Mothers By showing the two Venn diagrams adjacent to one another, one can imediately se the difference in theme scope and magnitude betwen twen girls and their mothers. Differences in theme emergence (i.e. which themes emerged in which groups), also becomes more apparent in this visualization. Apparel availability themes emerged more within the mother?s focus groups than within the daughter?s focus groups. This can be sen in Figure 18 with the mother?s themes taking up more area on the chart than the daughters. This could be due to the mothers making many of the apparel purchases and being more cognizant of neds than their daughters. It is interesting to note that al groups had some similar isues with apparel availability, but mothers identified some isues not mentioned by daughters. 147 Twen Girls Mothers of Twen Girls Figure 18. Side-by-side comparison of Venn diagrams of apparel availability of twen girls and their mothers. Note. In the Venn diagram, frequency counts were translated into a spherical area so that the themes were visualized. Grids were used in determining the volume of each shape in the Venn diagrams to ensure that volumes corresponded acurately to the frequency counts, but were removed after construction to make the diagrams easier to decipher. Colors were used to diferentiate spheres, but have no interpretable meaning. In answering the research question, several similarities and differences emerged betwen subgroups of twen girls and their mothers. Much like apparel neds themes, the mothers groups appeared to be more established (i.e. higher frequency counts for each theme) than those of their daughters. There did not appear to be a major overal patern for the twen girls groups other than younger plus size twen girls talk the least about apparel availability. On the other hand, for the mothers groups, plus size mothers talk more than twice as much about apparel availability for their daughters than mothers of 148 normal size twen girls. Also, mothers of older twen girls talked more about apparel availability, than mothers of younger twen girls. Similar themes appeared for both twen girls and their mothers, except that some normal size twen girls identified the theme skirts/dreses easy whereas this theme does not appear in the mothers groups. Also, mothers (particularly mothers of older twen girls) identified the themes style and nice clothes hard, but these did not appear in the twen girls? group. A theme related to nice clothes also appeared when the mothers spoke about apparel neds, but again did not appear in the twen girls? groups. These differences aside, there were many similarities betwen the mothers and the daughters in terms of apparel availability themes. The themes that came forth in both groups were online, pants/jeans hard, shirts easy, shirts hard, size/fit, and skirts/dreses hard. Overal, the mothers and daughters said that the right fit/size and jeans/pants is the hardest thing for them to find in terms of apparel. Also of note was that only mothers of older twen girls identified online shopping as a resource for their daughters, where as twen girls in al groups identified the internet as a resource. Though the frequency counts and ranking of themes differed betwen the moms and the daughters, overal each group identified gaps and problems in the market for both normal and plus size twen girls. Body Image Body image, though related to apparel through concepts such as social deprivation, is different than the other three topics analyzed in this report. With respect to body image, twen girls were asked what they liked and what they would change about their own bodies. The mothers were asked similar questions in relation to what they 149 thought their daughters would like to change about themselves. Because the two questions were closely related and the emergent themes had very low frequency counts, discussion of twen girl body image is combined for mothers and daughters. For instance, discussion of the themes, body parts positive and body parts negative, are combined for both twen girls and their mothers, and examples given for each extreme. Questionnaire responses concurring body satisfaction and disatisfaction, as reported by Le (2006), are included in this discussion because these findings complement each other and provide insight into the findings. Research Question 4 a: How do younger and older, normal and plus size twen girls expres their body image through conversation? Research Question 4 b: How do mothers of younger and older, normal and plus size twen girls expres their images of their daughter?s bodies through conversation? Body Image of Tween Girls Content analysis of the twen girls? focus groups revealed eight themes related to the body image of the twen girls. These themes are listed in Table 10. Five themes related to mothers? perceptions of daughters? body image are listed in Table 11, along with frequency counts for each group. Note that the dat in Table 10 were from the twen girls? focus groups while the dat in Table 11 were from the mothers, but both tables are related to the body image of the daughters. In this section, the mothers and daughters are not segmented into two sections, because the themes are more inter-related and can be explained and defined together. Figure 19 shows the Venn diagram derived from the girls data, and Figure 20 shows the diagram from the mothers? data. 150 Table 10 Frequency Counts of Emergent Body Image Themes of Tween Girls Emergent Themes Younger Normal (N = 10) Older Normal (N = 11) Younger Plus (N = 9) Older Plus (N = 11) Total Body Features (+) 7 3 11 7 28 Body Features (-) 2 2 4 0 8 Body Parts (+) 0 2 2 3 7 Body Parts (-) 1 3 0 4 8 Health (+) 6 0 0 0 6 Shape/Figure (+) 4 2 3 2 11 Weight (+) 4 0 0 0 4 Weight (-) 3 0 0 1 4 Total 27 12 20 17 80 151 Table 11 Frequency Counts of Emergent Themes of Mothers? Perceptions of Their Daughters? Body Image Emergent Themes Mothers of Younger Normal Size Twens (N = 8) Mothers of Older Normal Size Twens (N = 11) Mothers of Younger Plus Size Twens (N = 9) Mothers of Older Plus Size Twens (N = 11) Total Body Features (-) 0 0 1 0 1 Body Parts (+) 0 0 0 3 3 Body Parts (-) 3 0 7 4 14 Health (+) 5 6 4 0 15 Shape/Figure (+) 0 1 0 0 1 Weight (-) 0 0 0 10 10 Total 8 7 12 17 44 152 Figure 19. Diagram of body image themes from twen girls? focus groups Note. In the Venn diagram, frequency counts were translated into a spherical area so that the themes were visualized. Grids were used in determining the volume of each shape in the Venn diagrams to ensure that volumes corresponded acurately to the frequency counts, but were removed after construction to make the diagrams easier to decipher. Colors were used to diferentiate spheres, but have no interpretable meaning. 153 Figure 20. Diagram of body image themes from mothers? focus groups Note. In the Venn diagram, frequency counts were translated into a spherical area so that the themes were visualized. Grids were used in determining the volume of each shape in the Venn diagrams to ensure that volumes corresponded acurately to the frequency counts, but were removed after construction to make the diagrams easier to decipher. Colors were used to diferentiate spheres, but have no interpretable meaning. 154 Theme Explanation and Interpretation Each of these body image themes implies various factors that reveal how the twen girls feel about their own bodies or how their mothers feel about their daughters? bodies. For instance, the theme, weight (+) should be interpreted as the idea that either the daughter or the mother spoke positively about the daughter?s weight. Each theme is described in more detail below and in most instances, key quotes are provided to ilustrate each theme. Body features (+) and body features (-). The theme body features emerged when the twen girls and their mothers were asked questions about what they liked and did not like about their bodies. Features like hair, nails, height, eye color, lips, and smile were combined under the umbrela term body features. Twen girls in al groups identified what aspects they liked about their characteristics through comments such as, ?I also like my height because I?m the talest girl in my clas? (younger plus size twen), and ?I like my eyelashes because they?re realy thick? (older normal size twen). In al groups, except for the older plus size group, the twen girls identified what they did not like about their body features. These included characteristics like problematic skin (several girls reported having eczema) and hair length. Only one mother in the younger plus size group reported a negative body feature for her daughter; she said her daughter did not like her hair. Body parts (+) and body parts (-). The theme body parts emerged through the same line of questioning as body features. Discussions that included, the like or dislike of legs, feet, hands, midsection, thighs, stomach, and arms were combined under the term body parts. Twen girls in groups (except younger normal) discussed body parts that 155 they liked; twen girls in groups other than younger plus mentioned body parts that they did not like. An example, of a positive statement was, I like my hands because my, um, voleybal coach tels me that my hands are like the perfect shape and . . . the way that they?re made up to be a seter. In volleybal, which is realy good considering I?m a seter, so that?s one thing that I realy like about my body (older plus size twen). Conversely, another older plus size twen girl said she would change, ?my legs because I think that they?re realy fat, and, um, I?m a snowman in my rolls.? This was an example of a negative statement about body parts. Among the mothers, only thre positive coments were made in the older plus group about body parts; mothers in groups (except older normal) reported perceiving their daughters to have negative feelings about their body parts. In these focus groups, the mothers of younger plus size twen girls reported the most negative coments about their daughters? bodies. Some examples of what the mothers said about their daughters? body parts were: ? ?[My daughter] is more so her her waist, she just feels that she has a JLo waist? (mother of older plus size twen). ? ?She?s, my daughter?s real conscious about her stomach, because she kinda, like I said she?s stil squishy in the middle. That?s her nickname, is Squishy, you she just used to be this, I look at baby pictures and god, she was like huge. But she was just like, like a teddy bear to me. He squishy. And now you look and her and she?s just got this litle pouchynes around the middle and the clothes that she likes are made for very slender girls, much taler than she is, and so she tries to wear it. The 156 button is just like barely holding on. And so she gets very self-conscious about that button not buttoning and being flat. I?m like but you know you?re trying to wear something that doesn?t fit you and is not your size. She she doesn?t like that, but she?s, I?m trying to tel her, you if you, if you keep you know, exercise a litle bit more, do some more activity, give it another six months, you?re gonna shoot up two inches and then you won?t se that squishynes anymore? (mother of younger normal size twen). ? ?I think [my daughter] likes everything with the exception of her stomach. She?ll say every now and then she?l say I look good, and then she?l look at her stomach and say, but I need to do a litle ab work, don?t I?? (mother of younger plus size twen). ? ?[My daughter?s] breasts, she?s she does not like having larger breasts (mother of younger plus size twen). Health (+). Health emerged as a theme in the younger normal group; the twen girls talked about how they liked that they were athletic or that they didn?t get sick very often. One girl said, ?I like that I?m healthy? (younger normal size twen). Another example was, ?me and my sister do swim so, I kinda like that I?m like fit? (younger normal size twen). Among the moms, al but the older plus group spoke positively about the health (i.e. muscularity or fitnes) of their daughters? bodies. Shape/figure (+). Twen girls in al groups spoke positively about their body shape or their figure development. This topic also encompases dialogue related to height. The twen girls said things like: 157 ? ?Wel, I?m glad that I don?t I?m not short and I?m not um I don?t stay one size. Like I haven?t stopped growing and I?m glad of that? (young normal size twen). ? ?I like that I?m tal? (young normal size twen). ? ?I also like my height because I?m the talest girl in my clas? (young plus size twen). This theme was only mentioned once the mothers groups, when a mother of a older normal size twen girl said: I think my daughter loves everything, she just about everything about about her[self]. She likes, she loves. Yes. She loves her figure. She?s a I gues one, I don?t want to say she loves herself but she has a very outgoing personality and the world is great, it?s great for me? (mother of older normal size twen). Weight (+) and weight (-). As a whole, the twen girls and their mothers did not talk about weight very much. Only twen girls in the younger normal size group and the older plus size groups even mentioned it. They said things like, ?I like how I?m like average weight and average size? (younger normal size twen) and, ?Geting weighed kind of sucked because I realy didn?t want to know my weight? (older plus size twen). Tables 10 and 11 revealed that weight was not a large topic in this group of twen girls, and that weight was only mentioned by the mothers of older plus size twen girls. When asked if there was anything their daughters would like to change about her body, these mothers said that their daughters would like to change their weight. 158 Similarities and Diferences in Body Image of Subgroups of Tween Girls Overal, the twen girls semed to have positive body images. When combined, the themes appeared to reveal more positive than negative statements among al groups of twen girls. But, when compared to questionnaire dat shown in Figure 21, there were more negative body images among the plus size twens than among the normal size twen girls. In the questionnaire, normal size girls reported an average body disatisfaction of -.17, while plus size girls reported and average body disatisfaction of ? 1.13. These values are shown in Figure 21. Acording to the frequency counts, the twen girls spoke thre times more positively about their bodies than negatively. The categories of themes that emerged were related to the like or dislike of specific body features, the like or dislike of specific body parts, health, shape and/or figure development, and weight. The twen girls spoke more positively than negatively about their body features across al focus groups. When looking at the theme body parts, the older twen girls semed more disatisfied with their body parts than the younger twen girls. The normal size twen girls appeared to be more pleased with their shapes and figures than did the plus size twen girls. Mothers, however, expresed more negativity about their daughters? bodies. It is important to note that these mothers were discussing their perception of how their daughters thought about their bodies, not what the mothers thought about their daughters? bodies. Mothers of plus size twens indicated negative frequency counts on weight, body features, and body parts whereas their normal size counterparts only mentioned positive health atributes of their daughters? bodies. 159 159 Figure 21. This diagram shows body perception results for twen girls and their mothers. Note. This chart was developed using Stunkard, Sorensen, and Schulsinger?s (1983) scale, and shows that normal size twens (-0.17) are much les disatisfied with their bodies than the plus size twens (-1.13). It also shows that the mother?s have a thinner ideal figure for their daughter?s (3.02) than the daughter?s have for themselves (normal (3.07) and plus (3.22) (Connel & Ulrich, 2006). Because this figure was gleaned from a source, the smal font sizes could not be altered. 160 160 Overal the twen girls expresed mostly positive things about their bodies. As a whole, the twen girls talked about how they were pleased with their body parts, their shape and figure development, their weight, and their health. However, there was some negativity expresed by the twen girls with respect to weight, features, and body parts. Even so, this negativity was only a minor part of the discussion and there did not appear to be a patern for the groups. Overal, the younger normal size t twen girls expresed the most satisfaction their body image. When compared to the questionnaire data, shown in Figure 21, the twen girls expresed more negativity towards their bodies. The questionnaire found that overal, plus size twen girls were much more disatisfied with their bodies than the normal size twen girls (Le, 2006). This phenomenon may be due to the notion that in groups, the twen girls may not feel comfortable enough to share their true feelings about their bodies, but in a more anonymous seting, they are more apt to expres their felings. Similarities and Diferences in Body Image Descriptions of Tween Girls as Perceived by Their Mothers Mothers of twen girls did not talk about their daughters? bodies as frequently as the twen girls talked about themselves. The mothers identified the most were health positive and body parts negative. Al of the other identified themes were minor: weight negative, body parts positive, and body features negative. The mothers only made a total of 35 comments about their daughters? body image where as the girls made 80 coments about their body images. More over, the mothers spoke much more negatively about their daughter?s body parts, body features, and weight than the twen girls spoke about themselves. Though the mothers mentioned some positive atributes of health (al groups 161 161 except older plus size) and body parts (only older plus size), overal the mothers were negative in discussing their perceptions of their daughters? body image. Mothers of younger normal, younger plus, and older plus size twen girls mentioned that their daughters do not like some of their body parts. One mother in the younger plus size group says her daughter did not like a particular body feature, and ten mothers in the older plus size group said that their daughters do not like their weight. When compared to the questionnaire which only found significant differences betwen how mothers saw their daughters and how daughters saw themselves for the plus size group (Le, 2006). Thus showing that in this sample, mothers and daughters expres the daughter?s body image in different ways. 162 V. SUMARY, DISCUSIONS, CONCLUSIONS, IMPLICATIONS, AND RECOMENDATIONS Summary The purpose of this research was to characterize subgroups of female twen consumers (aged 9 to 14 years old) within the context of niche markets in the apparel industry. The research in this study focused on four areas: apparel preferences, apparel needs, apparel availability, and body image as expresed by twen girls and their mothers. Focus groups were used to collect qualitative dat; 3-D body scans and questionnaires were used to collect supplemental data. Dat analysis of the focus groups was performed using the emerging theme approach to content analysis (Marshal & Rossman, 1989). Questionnaire and body scan data were used to supplement explanations and descriptions of the emergent themes. The sample consisted of 80 subjects who were recruited by [TC] 2 , an independent contractor. There were 41 twen girls, and 39 mothers who were divided into four groups: younger normal, younger plus, older normal, and older plus based on the age and BMI of the daughters. BMI standards established by the CDC were used to categorize the girls as normal and plus size. Twen girls under or at the 85 th percentile were clasified as normal size and twen girls over the 85 th percentile were clasified as plus size. Though ethnicity was not used as a factor of the analysis, self-report of ethnicity was collected. The mothers groups consisted of 56% Caucasian, 22% African-American, 163 2.5 % Caucasian/Hispanic, 2.5% Native American, and 2.5% other. 14.5% of the mothers did not indicate their ethnicities. For the twen girls, 61% of the sample was Caucasian, 29% African American, 2.5% Caucasian/Hispanic, 2.5% Native American, 2.5% Caucasian/African American, and 2.5% other. The focus groups took place over two non-consecutive days in October of 2004, in Cary, NC, at the offices of [TC] 2 . At the focus groups, mothers and daughters were body scanned, completd questionnaires, and then participated in separate focus groups (i.e. mothers were together and daughters were together). Additionaly, the daughters were asked to create a colage from images in ten fashion magazines of an outfit they would like to buy or wear. These colages were used during the introductory phase of the focus groups as the daughters were asked to describe why they chose their colaged outfit and to state how much they would pay for that outfit if they were to purchase it in a store. The dat collected from the colages were in the form of focus group dialogue. The focus group data comprised the largest portion of the data analysis. Themes were identified through the emergent theme method (Marshal & Rossman, 1989) and sorted under the four main categories of apparel preferences, apparel needs, apparel availability, and body image. This was done in acordance with the research questions. Comparisons were made among groups of twen girls, among groups of mothers, and betwen the mothers and their daughters. Through these comparisons, similarities and differences were discovered. The themes are presented in detail in Chapter IV, along with supporting evidence from the questionnaires and body scans. The following discussion section highlights some of the key similarities and differences among and betwen the groups. 164 Discussion This research supports the concept that the isues surrounding clothing are complex. The results showed that there are many complicated isues that emerge when twen girls and their mothers talk about twen apparel relationships and body image. These complex isues were manifested in three main categories of findings: overal findings, age-related findings, and size-related findings. Overal findings were findings related to al of the groups, regardles of age or size. Age-related findings were findings that emerged and appeared to be intrinsicaly linked to the age of the twen girl, whereas size-related findings were more linked to the size (normal or plus) of the twen girls. Overall Findings When looking at al of the themes for the twen girls and their mothers, several overal findings emerged. These were problems with fit (particularly with jeans and pants), a strong desire for modest apparel, brand and store recognition, price, and mother/daughter agreement on apparel. Each of these themes emerged as the twen girls and their mothers spoke about their apparel preferences, needs, and availability. Problems with Fit Twen girls and their mothers indicated overal that fit was their biggest apparel isue. They talked about their inability to find clothes that fit them, preferences for the fit of garments, problems with fit of specific apparel items (such as jeans or shirts), frustrations with discrepancies of fit of sizes across brands and stores, and features (such as spandex and adjustable waistbands) that enhanced the fiting capacity of apparel. These findings are linked to Tselpis and de Klerk?s (2004) work, which laid a conceptual framework for twen girls? expectations of apparel fit. Although their 165 findings did not addres the specific fit expectations of plus size twens, they are linked to this study because the dat showed that twen girls were concerned with fit and had certain preferences and expectations for it. There was not one specific type of desired fit determined for a particular garment, but this research showed that twen girls of al ages and sizes were articulate about concepts related to apparel fit. To more specificaly understand fit preferences, further research must be performed. Modest Apparel for Tween Girls Twen girls and mothers in al groups voiced needs and desires for more modest apparel for twens. This theme had the second highest incidence rate, second only to fit. Both twen girls and their mothers talked about needs for modesty with respect to clothing. Both spoke with frustration about trends involving inappropriate words on clothing, as wel as addresed isues related to age-appropriatenes and compliance with school regulations. Mothers and their daughters expresed that they did not like apparel choices, which showed too much skin or made the girls look more mature than they actualy were. There are many isues that arise when speaking about modesty. Social implications of sexuality and maturity present complex and potentialy disturbing isues. As shown in the body scans in Figure 13, twen girls in this sample are already developing mature bodies, with womanly curves and breasts. With such developments and physique changes, these twen girls may feel added presure from sexual innuendos in their apparel. Mothers spoke of the way men were already beginning to take notice of their daughters and were very uncomfortable with the potential damage this could be doing to their daughters? sense of self-worth and body image. The twen girls and their 166 mothers both voiced concerns to this effect. Apparel designers and retailers should consider the implications of problems with which twen girls must deal simply because there is a lack of stylish, but modest apparel in the marketplace. Price It was not surprising that price merged as a topic of conversation when twen girls and their mothers spoke about apparel. Though the older plus size group was more price-conscious, subjects in al groups had price preferences and ranges. There was not a consistent price range for the entire group, but, rather, each individual appeared to have her own personal threshold for spending on apparel. Further research needs to be conducted to se if the price ranges and thresholds are related to socioeconomic status (as one would expect) or to some other factor. Mother/Daughter Agrement Literature suggested that twen girls and their mothers would argue a lot about apparel (Kaiser, 2003; Walis, 2003). Although some twens and their mothers indicated a strained relationship due to apparel shopping and wearing decisions, both groups appeared to value the other?s opinion. Most girls indicated that they would not wear clothes of which their mothers did not approve, nor would they purchase this clothing. Most of this was related to parental control of both behaviors and money. However, some girls and their mothers conceded that they consciously compromised on apparel items and sought to find things on which they could concur. Many of the twens also spoke about how they valued their mother?s opinion and wanted their mother to asist them with apparel decision-making. This supports the findings of Troy and O?Donnel 167 (2003), who found, through a survey of 800 subjects aged 8-12 years old, that twens expresed concern with making their parents proud. Age-Related Findings This research revealed some age-related results. Brand and store recognition and priority, style preferences, and positive body image were the three major groups of findings that appeared to be related to the age of the twen girl. Brand and Store Recognition and Priority The data in this study suggested that brand and store-specific shopping was more important to older twen girls than to younger ones. The literature suggests that twens are brand savvy (BUZBACK, 2004; Paterson, 2003), and that as they age, their awarenes and recognition of fashion brands is heightened (Martin & Petrs, 2005). Martin and Petrs? study showed that as adolescents age, they place more importance on brand-name apparel. The research reported here confirms these findings. There was some indication that plus size twen girls in this sample were more aware of brands and stores than normal size twen girls. This research showed that only 5 retailers met the apparel neds and preferences of al of the groups of twen girls in this sample. Those were: JC Penney, Kohl?s, Old Navy, Target, and Wal-mart. In terms of brands, only Gap and Old Navy appeared in al of the twen girl focus groups. Style Prefrences Style preferences also appeared to be an age-related theme, as more older twen girls and their mothers expresed specific style preferences for twen girls. Linked conceptualy to the ideas of brand and store-specific shopping preferences, the notion that older twen girls are more style conscious is not surprising. Twen girls in the younger 168 groups expresed style preferences by talking about specific olors that were important to them in apparel, whereas older twen girls verbalized more specific types of styles, like layering shirts in a particular way or talking about how they liked to layer skirts over pants. The shift from more generalized style preferences to more specific style preferences is supported by previous research, which suggests that as twens develop, they come in to their own in terms of apparel choices and decisions (BUZBACK, 2004; Martin & Petrs, 2005; Paterson, 2003). Positive Body Image Another finding that emerged from this exploratory study was that younger twens semed more apt to have positive body images than older girls. In both the normal and plus size groups, younger girls and their mothers expresed more positive asociations about girls? body image than did older girls. Additionaly, girls who indicated that they were active in sports semed to like more things about their bodies than girls who did not acknowledge sports participation. These girls spoke positively about their health as wel as talked about how they liked that they were strong and fit. Neumark-Sztainer, Goeden, Story, and Wal (2004) did a survey to study the effect of physical activity on body satisfaction of adolescents, and their research showed that body image is positively affected by physical activity. Davies and Furnham (1986) showed that body image is related to both age and size. In this study, the younger twens said more positive things about their bodies than the older twens. Body image related to size wil be further explored in the next section. 169 Size-Related Findings Size-related findings emerged in this study. Finding apparel and negative body image were the two major trends that appeared to be related to the size of the twen girl. Finding Apparel Plus size twen girls and their mothers consistently stated that they had difficulty finding apparel. Retailers like Limited Too and Delia*s specificaly target the twen demographic, and Torrid addreses needs of plus size consumers. However, this study?s findings indicate that plus size twen girls are stil unable to find clothes that they like and that fit them. Dat indicated that twen-based stores often did not carry the expanded sizes that fit al the twen girls and that plus size stores like Torrid offered clothing that was more suited for older tenagers and adults, not those betwen the ages of 9 and 14 years. This gap in the marketplace appeared to cause felings of clothing deprivation similar to those identified earlier by Keley, Daigle, LaFleur, and Wilson (1974), and Keley and Eicher (1970) who studied older tens. Knes (1983) and Francis (1992) found significant effects of deprivation on social participation factors in high school students. Sontag and Le (2004) found that clothing and self-actualization are somewhat related. Plus size twen girls in this sample expresed more negative body images than the normal size twen girls. Though not specificaly addresed in this study, literature suggests that lack of appropriately sized apparel could impact social participation and social development of these twen girls (Smucker & Crekmore, 1972). Also, because these twen girls indicated that they were filing their apparel needs with more mature, adult-like clothing, mothers indicated that they were concerned for their plus size daughters? more developed figures because they were being highlighted by the adult 170 clothing. These isues of social deprivation and premature sexual development could become more problematic as the twens age. Negative Body Image Comments in both twen girls? and mothers? focus groups indicated that there were more plus size twen girls who expresed negative things about their bodies than normal size twen girls. Dat analysis of the questionnaire responses for the group also showed that plus size twen girls had more body disatisfaction than normal size twen girls. Although twen girls in al groups showed some body disatisfaction, the degre of body disatisfaction for the plus size twen girls was significantly more than for the normal size twen girls (Le, 2006). Davies and Furnham (1986) also found positive body image to be asociated with age and negative body image being asociated with size. Conclusions This research indicated overal differences among the identified subgroups of age and size status of female twen consumers. These differences were highlighted in the results and discussion portions of this thesis. Among the key differences found, the most striking to the researcher was the twen girls? identification of apparel fit and modesty apparel as overarching themes. The twen girls repeatedly indicated very specific ideas about how they wanted garments to fit their bodies, what they perceived as a comfortable fit, and what they perceived to be an age appropriate or modest fit. In most cases, there were discrepancies betwen the groups in how the twen girls identified these various aspects of their apparel relationships, which are discussed in detail in Chapter IV, and can be easily sen in Figures 9, 12, and 17. The mothers identified the same two themes (fit 171 and modesty), yet there were differences in the frequency and distribution (across groups) of these themes when comparing al of the groups. Mothers of plus size twen girls semed marginaly more concerned with fit, whereas mothers of older twen girls were more concerned with the modesty of their daughters? apparel. Twen girls also showed they were very style conscious. Twen girls in al groups verbalized apparel styles and colors that they liked. Sometimes these ideas were linked to a particular brand or store, and other times the twen girls would talk about things like where they wanted the sleve length to fal, or how they wanted their pant legs to be styled. Overal, the older twen girls expresed more awarenes of branding and styles than the younger twen girls. Store-specific lothing was also important to al twen girls, but the normal size groups had more positive things to say about shopping in certain stores. One cause of this might be that normal size twen girls have more store loyalty than plus size twen girls because they are able to find clothes that they need, whereas the plus size twen girls expresed that they have a harder time finding apparel. The plus size twen girls and their mothers indicated that shopping was often a painful and unpleasant experience for them. The implications of this may manifest in negative brand and store recognition as wel as damaged self-images. The identification of so many stores and brands in al groups is evidence that these twens are not only aware of brands, but also are developing brand loyalties. If this is indeed the case, further research should explore this notion because stablishing brand and store loyalty at such a young age could be profitable for industry over the lifetime of the consumer. Though concentrated more in the plus size groups, twens and mothers in al groups expresed difficulty finding apparel products to match the twen?s specific 172 apparel desires related to fit and style. The girls and their mothers overwhelmingly expresed the most difficulty in finding jeans/pants. This identified gap in the market implies not only that industry is not supplying apparel for plus size twens as suggested earlier (J. C. Penney, 2006; Kang, 2004; Old Navy, 2006), but that industry may not be supplying the correct sizing and asortments of apparel for normal size twens as wel. The twens and their mothers identified problems such as waist and length relationships in jeans; the lack of modest or age-appropriate garments in the market; and the difficulty of finding appropriate or consistent sizes of clothing. When speaking about body image, neither the girls nor their mothers were apt to say very many things about their bodies. Of interest in this research was the difference betwen focus group findings and those found in the questionnaire. Analysis of the questionnaire revealed that plus size girls and their mothers indicated high levels of body disatisfaction as shown in Figure 21. The normal size girls spoke more positively about their bodies, which conformed to their questionnaire responses but the plus size twen girls were reluctant to say anything at al about their bodies. In the focus groups, disatisfaction did not translate verbaly into the dialogue when the subjects were probed with statements like, ?tel me something you like about your body? and ?tel me something you would like to change about your body.? Even the mothers did not say much when probed about what they thought their daughters felt about their bodies. This could be because the mothers were not wiling to talking negatively about their daughters. However, when probed through the questionnaire using Stunkard?s scale (1983) to ases body disatisfaction, the mothers and the daughters both showed significant levels of body disatisfaction (Le, 2006) with the daughter?s body. Though not statisticaly 173 significant, it is interesting to note that the mothers had a smaler ideal body size for their daughters than the daughters had for themselves (Le, 2006). This indicates that the mothers do have opinions about their daughters? bodies but that they are not wiling to communicate those opinions verbaly, particularly if those opinions are negative. This observation could be linked to the notion that these mothers and daughters both are very sensitive about the daughter?s body, particularly if the daughter is plus-sized. Another clue to this phenomenon is the fact that in the plus size focus groups, both mothers and daughters indicated that the twen girls are very sensitive about the size of their garments. The most poignant example of this is that one mother went so far as to cut out the labels of her daughters clothes so that the daughter would not be aware of how big she was in terms of clothing size. One of the plus size twen girls confirmed this notion as wel when she said she did not like to shop with her friends, especialy for pants, because she did not want her friends to know how big she was. Though twen girls and their mothers in al groups showed sensitivity towards the body image of the twen girl, the plus size groups appeared to much more sensitive about body size, clothing size, and weight than the normal size groups. Limitations There were several limitations identified in this study. Human error and researcher bias was reduced by the researcher?s thorough imersion in the data (the researcher transcribed, coded, and analyzed the focus group data) and by two member checks during the data analysis proces. Other limitations were: ? The potential for group think in the focus groups could have skewed the frequency of discussion about a certain topic. 174 ? Errors in segmenting the frequency of certain topics into the correct theme could have been made. ? The large amount of data and labor-intensive task of transcribing, coding, and analyzing the dat could have led to oversights or omisions in the frequency counts. ? By using only twen girls from a smal geographic area, the research relied heavily on a limited number subjects from a homogeneous geographical area. ? BMI does not acount for athleticism when determining whether one is clasified as normal or plus size. Some girls could have been clasified as plus size when in reality their bodies more closely resembled normal size girls. ? The sample size was too smal do differentiate subjects based on ethnicity. ? Only subgroups of age and BMI were used in comparing the emergent themes. Sample size prohibited other potential subgroups, such as race or socioeconomic status, from being considered. Implications This research has many implications for future study of twen consumers. First, it provides a basis for further exploration of apparel preferences, apparel neds, apparel availability, and body image of twen consumers. In addition, identified themes under each of these categories have began building a conceptual knowledge base with which to further explore this demographic. Findings also offer supporting evidence for the existence of subgroups of twen consumers (in this case, age and size subgroups were identified). Additionaly, the method implemented in this study ilustrated a conceptual visualization of theme magnitude and subgroup relationships. Though other consumer 175 groups have been studied in a similar manner, none have ben focused specificaly on these topics within the twen demographic, nor have they utilized combined 3-D body scan and questionnaire data. This research study was part of a three-year study benchmarking American female twen consumers. The findings of this study wil be utilized in guiding further exploration of this consumer group. It wil also asist researchers and industry in understanding the unique neds of twen subgroups, particularly plus size twen girls. Themes identified in this study give the apparel industry a look into the specific needs and desires of subgroups of female twen consumers. It also gives them insight into the twen girls? mothers, who, for the most part, provide the twen girls with a large portion of their spending power. Discrepancies among the groups ilustrate the unique needs of each subgroup as wel as show the diversity represented under the umbrela term, twen. The combination of the emerging theme method with the creation of Venn diagrams of each category?s theme offers researchers a tool for quickly asimilating information about twens and their mothers. This technique is applicable across many fields and is useful for communicating relative magnitudes of themes in a visual manner. It is particularly useful when there is not enough data to present meaningful descriptive statistics, or if one is more interested in uncovering potential thematic areas and not in determining statisticaly significant similarities and differences. Recommendations As shown in the review of literature, there is litle information about twen consumers, and even les about subgroups of twen consumers. Future research should 176 addres this informational gap. Recommendations for future research consist of more in depth inquires into the themes that emerged in these focus groups, and a broader study of twen consumers using a larger, more diverse sample. Specific recommendations include: 1) Studies involving a larger sample of twens and their mothers should be conducted to verify these results as wel as determine if the alocated subgroups are the most appropriate. 2) Each theme should be further explored in a larger sample to determine if differences noted among the groups are significant. 3) Body scan data should be further utilized to understand the sizes and shapes of twen bodies. 4) The apparel industry should explore the profitability and feasibility of bridging identified gaps betwen apparel in the marketplace and the expresed apparel desires and neds of twens. 5) The noted differences betwen the subgroups of twen consumers and their mothers should be further explored to probe the cause of the differences. 6) The apparel industry should explore the profitability and feasibility of meting the needs of subgroups of twen consumers, specificaly plus size twens. 7) Researchers should investigate discrepancies in body image among the subgroups of twen consumers. 177 REFERENCES Abrams, L. 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Young tenagers' perceptions of their own and others' bodies: A qualitative study of obese, overweight and 'normal' weight young people in Scotland. Social Science & Medicine, 62, 396-406. World Health Organization. (2006). Global strategy on diet, physical activity, and health: Obesity and overweight. Retrieved July 12, 2006, from http:/ww.who.int/dietphysicalctivity/publications/facts/obesity/en/ 188 APENDICES 189 APENDIX A FOCUS GROUP SCRIPTS 190 GIRLS? FOCUS GROUP SCRIPT Preparation for Focus Groups Collage?Use time while waiting for body scan and questionnaire Ask each girl to develop a colage of a favorite new outfit for school or meting friends that they would want to purchase Fashion magazines, catlogs, scisors, poster board and double sided tape wil be provided. Introduction to Focus Group Discussion Did you have fun deciding on your fashion outfit? Today we want you to talk about the outfits that you have put together and some of your concerns about clothing for your age. We realy want to know what you think about clothing. Your moms are in a separate focus group and they wil not hear or know what you say. What you say here is confidential. We want you to feel free to tel us what you think about clothing and we are realy interested in what you have to say. Let?s begin to get to know each other by going around the room and teling us your first name, showing us your favorite new outfit, and teling us why you like it. Proced around the room with introductions and beginning fashion discussion. The outfits you chose al came from fashion magazines and catlogs. They are al cute, stylish outfits. Now let?s think about what it is like when you are actualy purchasing the outfits you like. Shopping Atitudes and Influences If you went shopping for an outfit like the one you put together, where would you shop . . . which stores would you go to looking for clothing that you found in the magazines? What do you like about those stores? Are there other stores that you shop for other items? What about Internet shopping? What clothing items have you shopped for? Why would you shop on the Internet? Are you looking for specific items? When you go on a shopping trip for clothing, what makes it fun to shop? Of al the people who shop with you, who do you enjoy shopping with the most? How important is what your parents think about your clothing choices? Do you and your parents ever have different opinions about what looks good on you? What garments to 191 buy? Can you give me some xamples of things you might buy or choose to wear that your parents would not like? Are there stores where your mother likes to shop in for your clothing, but you don?t like to shop at those places? Which stores? Why? Tel me what you and your friends talk about when you talk about clothing. (Explore how the girls describe: how other people look in clothing, things they wish they could buy, and things they can?t afford to purchase.) Are there any celbrities that you would like to dres like? Do they influence the clothes that you purchase? We asked you to estimate what you would pay for an outfit like this? Can someone share with us how much you think your outfit would cost? Top/bottom. How much would be too much to spend for your outfit? Sizing and Fit We have ben talking about outfits that you like. When you go shopping for an outfit, how easy or hard is it for you to find things that fit you and they that you want to buy while shopping? Is se that several of you are wearing jeans. Let?s start with jeans. Are jeans easy to buy? Hard to buy? Why? What store/section would you shop in to buy a pair of jeans? How do you like jeans to fit your body? What makes them not fit? Are there any brands of jeans that you think realy fit your body? Are tops easy to buy? Hard to buy? Why? What store/section would you shop in to buy a top? How do you like tops to fit your body? What makes them not fit? Are there any brands of tops that you think realy fit your body? Are skirts easy to buy? Hard to buy? Why? What store/section would you shop in to buy a skirt? How do you like skirts to fit your body? What makes them not fit? Are there any brands of skirts that you think realy fit your body? Are dreses easy to buy? Hard to buy? Why? What store/section would you shop in to buy a dres? How do you like dreses to fit your body? What makes them not fit? 192 Are there any brands of dreses that you think realy fit your body? We have talked about the way that you like your clothing to fit. Let?s focus on how you se the fit of clothing on other people. When you are at the mal or school and you se other people, do you se them wearing clothes that you think doesn?t fit? What does a garment that doesn?t fit look like to you? Please describe what you se. When you are looking for your size in a garment, how do you find a size that fits your body? Are there stores that you would like to shop in but can?t find a size in that store to fit your body? Is there any clothing item that you would love to have but can?t find it to fit you? Would you buy clothing if you could find clothing that fits? Body Shape and Self-Estem We have talked about clothing some. Now let?s talk about the body scan that you had done earlier. What did you think about it? Body scans help us understand body shape; so let?s talk about our bodies. Who has something about their body that they love? What is the favorite feature that you like about your body? What about those ?other? parts? Is there anybody here who would like to change how a part of their body looks? What kind of changes would you make? Tel us about your Moms. What do you like most about their figures? What do you think they would change if they could? Wrap Up We have talked about a lot of things this morning/afternoon. You had your body scanned. There is one last thing I would like for you to discuss. If you could talk to someone from the clothing industry who makes clothing to fit your size . . . is there anything that you would like to tel the about making clothes for you? What would that be? That finishes us with this part of the day. We hope that you enjoyed the things that we did today. We wil be using your body scans and comments to beter help the clothing industry fit girls your age. 193 MOMS? FOCUS GROUP SCRIPT Preparation for Focus Groups Body scan and questionnaire Introduction to Focus Group Discussion In order for us to remeber what you say we are making both video and audio tapes of this discussion; to be able to refer to it later. In this discussion, you wil be identified by your first name only. My name is __________. Let?s begin to get to know each other by going around the room and teling us your first name and about a realy good experience that you had with your daughter when you were shopping for clothing. When? Where? What? Proced around the room with introductions and beginning shopping discussion. We realy want to know about your experiences in finding clothing for your daughters. You daughters are in a separate focus group and they wil not hear or know what you say. What you say here is confidential. We want you to feel free to tel us what you think about clothing and we are realy interested in what you have to say. Today we want you to talk about the clothing for your twen/ten daughters. Shopping Atitudes and Influences Now let?s think about your daughter and how she would shop for an outfit. Where would she shop. . .which stores would she go to looking for clothing that she found in the magazines? Are there other stores where she would shop for other items? Do you like to shop for your daughter?s clothing in the same stores where your daughter prefers to shop? Wat about Internet/Catalog shopping? Do any of you use those to find clothing for your daughters? How do you use the Internet in shopping for clothing for your daughters? How often do you shop with your daughters? You have already described a fun shopping experience with your daughters. What makes shopping for clothing for your daughters not a fun experience? Describe a shopping experience that was not a fun experience. (Not finding things . . . why/Disagreement) Do you and your daughters ever have different opinions about what looks good on her? What garments to buy? Can you give me some examples of things she might buy of choose to wear that you would not like or not let her wear? 194 We asked your daughters to estimate what you would pay for clothing. How much are you wiling to pay for clothing? Top/bottom/occasion. How much would be too much to spend for an outfit for school? A special occasion? Sizing and Fit We have ben talking about outfits that your daughters would like to buy. When you go shopping for an outfit with them, how easy/difficult is it for you to find things that fit her and that you want to buy while shopping Let?s start with jeans. Are jeans easy to buy? Hard to buy? Why? What store/section would you shop in to buy a pair of jeans for your daughter? How do you like jeans to fit your daughter? What makes them not fit? Are there any brands of jeans that you think realy fit your daughter?s body? Are tops easy to buy? Hard to buy? Why? What store/section would you shop in to buy a top for your daughter? How do you like tops to fit your daughter? What makes them not fit? Are there any brands of tops that you think realy fit your daughter?s body? Are skirts easy to buy? Hard to buy? Why? What store/section would you shop in to buy a skirt for your daughter? How do you like skirts to fit your daughter? What makes them not fit? Are there any brands of skirts that you think realy fit your daughter?s body? Are dreses easy to buy? Hard to buy? Why? What store/section would you shop in to buy a dres for your daughter? How do you like dreses to fit your daughter? What makes them not fit? Are there any brands of dreses that you think realy fit your daughter?s body? When you are looking for your daughter?s size in a garment, how do you find a size that fits her body? Sizing for young girls you daughter?s age can be found in a wide range of sizes. We are interested in knowing what sizes you buy for your daughters. Dr. Ulrich is pasing out a list of sizes that represent sizes where mothers have told us they shop for girl?s clothing. The sizes include Girls, Girl?s Plus Sizes, Junior, and Mises sizes. Please indicate on the handout which sizes you shop for in the categories that we have listed. For instance, you might buy a Girls Size 14 top and a Girls size 16 1/2 or plus size 195 bottom. Or you might buy a Junior Size 7 top and a Mises size 12 bottom. Be as acurate as possible. Is there any clothing items that you would love to buy for your daughter but you can?t find a fit for her? Would you guy more clothing if you could find clothing that fits? Body Shape and Self-Estem We have talked about clothing some. Now let?s talk about the body scan that you had done earlier. What did you think about it? Body scans help us understand body shape; so let?s talk about our bodies. Who has something about their body that they love? What is the favorite feature that you like about your body? What about those ?other? parts? Is there anybody here who would like to change how a part of their body looks? What kind of changes would you make? Tel us about your daughers. What do you like most about their figures? What do you think they would change if they could? Wrap Up We have talked about a lot of things this morning/afternoon. You had your body scanned. There is one last thing I would like for you to discuss. If you could talk to someone from the clothing industry who makes clothing to fit your daughter?s size . . . is there anything that you would like to tel the about making clothes for your daughter? What would that be? That finishes us with this part of the day. We hope that you enjoyed the things that we did today. We wil be using your body scans and comments to beter help the clothing industry fit girls your daughter?s age. 196 APENDIX B QUESTIONAIRES 197 DAUGHTER QUESTIONAIRE PART 1: CHOSING CLOTHES Think about the times that you go shopping for clothes. Imagine standing in front of your closet and deciding what to wear to go to school, be with friends, or do other things. We would like to know about the parts of your life when you decide what to buy and what to ear. Circle the answer that best describes how often each of the folowing people go with you when you shop for clothes. Mother Never Almost Never About half of the time Usually Always Father Never Almost Never About half of the time Usually Always Sister(s) Never Almost Never About half of the time Usually Always Friend(s) Never Almost Never About half of the time Usually Always I shop by myself Never Almost Never About half of the time Usually Always Circle the answer that best describes how often each of the folowing people help you decide what clothes to buy. Mother Never Almost Never About half of the time Usually Always Father Never Almost Never About half of the time Usually Always Sister(s) Never Almost Never About half of the time Usually Always Friend(s) Never Almost Never About half of the time Usually Always I decide by myself Never Almost Never About half of the time Usually Always Circle the answer that best describes how often you decide to buy clothes that are xactly like or similar to the clothes worn by other people. Friends Never Almost Never About half of the time Usually Always Popular girls at school Never Almost Never About half of the time Usually Always Celbrities Never Almost Never About half of the time Usually Always Clothes pictured in magazines Never Almost Never About half of the time Usually Always 198 Circle the answer that best describes how often you ask the following people to help you decide what clothes to wear. Mother Never Almost Never About half of the time Usually Always Father Never Almost Never About half of the time Usually Always Sister(s) or Brother(s) Never Almost Never About half of the time Usually Always Friend(s) Never Almost Never About half of the time Usually Always I decide by myself Never Almost Never About half of the time Usually Always You might think about lots of things when you are geting dresed to go somewhere. Circle the answer that best describes how often you think about the following things when you decide what clothes to wear. Clothes that look best on me Never Almost Never About half of the time Usually Always Clothes like those that my friends wil be wearing Never Almost Never About half of the time Usually Always Clothes that are comfortable Never Almost Never About half of the time Usually Always Clothes that are my favorite color Never Almost Never About half of the time Usually Always Clothes that are the newest fashion Never Almost Never About half of the time Usually Always Clothes with a popular brand name Never Almost Never About half of the time Usually Always Clothes that fit me wel Never Almost Never About half of the time Usually Always 199 Imagine geting dresed to go to school, to se your friends, or to go to some special event. You go to your closet and want to pick out an outfit to wear that you like, that you feel comfortable in, or that you think looks good on you. Circle the answer that best describes how often you fel that you don?t have or can?t get clothes that you would choose to wear. Clothes for school Never Almost Never About half of the time Usually Always Do you wear a school uniform? Yes No Clothes for doing things with your friends (for example, going to the movies or gathering at a friend?s house) Never Almost Never About half of the time Usually Always Dres-up clothes (for example, for school dances or for going to a wedding) Never Almost Never About half of the time Usually Always 200 PART 2: FASHION Here is a list of magazines that some girls read. You might look at these, or you might do other things with your time. Circle whether you read each of these regularly, glance through it sometimes, or never ead it. COSMO girl read it regularly glance through it sometimes never read it Ele girl read it regularly glance through it sometimes never read it Lucky read it regularly glance through it sometimes never read it Seventen read it regularly glance through it sometimes never read it Ten read it regularly glance through it sometimes never read it Ten Vogue read it regularly glance through it sometimes never read it YM read it regularly glance through it sometimes never read it Other (please list) read it regularly glance through it sometimes never read it Other (please list) read it regularly glance through it sometimes never read it 201 Different things make different people think someone is atractive. We would like to know your opinion. Circle a number from 1 to 5 that shows how important you think each of the following is in determining whether a girl your age looks attractive. 1 eans you do not think that it is at all important; 5 eans that you think it is very important. Not Important at al Somewhat Important Very Important 1. Clothes 1 2 3 4 5 2. Make-up 1 2 3 4 5 3. Hair 1 2 3 4 5 4. Being slender 1 2 3 4 5 5. Nails 1 2 3 4 5 6. Curvy body 1 2 3 4 5 7. Looking ?fit? 1 2 3 4 5 8. Nice smile 1 2 3 4 5 9. Not being fat 1 2 3 4 5 10. Jewelry 1 2 3 4 5 11. Good, clear skin 1 2 3 4 5 12. Other (please list): 1 2 3 4 5 13. Other (please list): 1 2 3 4 5 202 PART 3: YOUR GIRL FRIENDS Thing of the girls with whom you spend time and whose friendship or opinions mater at least somewhat to you. If you don?t have a lot of friends, think of the girls and groups with whom you would like to be friends. Let?s cal these girls your friends. There are no right or wrong answers to the following questions. We are interested in your opinions and your sense of how things are. For each question, circle the answer that best describes your opinion. About how many of your girl friends would like to be thinner? None A few About half Most Al How many of your girl friends would like to be heavier? None A few About half Most Al How many of your friends are ?on a diet? to try to lose weight or slow down weight gain? None A few About half Most Al How often do you and your friends talk about weight, weight loss, and dieting? Never Rarely Sometimes Often Very Often 203 PART 4: YOUR FAMILY Some of the following questions may not apply to you. For example, your father may not live with you, and you may hardly ever se him. If a question does not apply to you, check the space for Not Applicable next to the question. Otherwise, for each question, circle the number that you fel is true for you. How often is your mother on a diet to lose weight? Never Rarely Sometimes Often Very Often Al the time How concerned is your mother about whether you weigh too much or are too fat or might become too fat? Not at all concerned 1 2 Concerned 3 4 Very Concerned 5 How concerned is your father about whether you weight too much or are too fat or might become too fat? ___Not Applicable Not at all concerned 1 2 Concerned 3 4 Very Concerned 5 How important is it to your mother that you be thin? Not at al important 1 2 Important 3 4 Very Important 5 How important is it to your father that you be thin? ___Not Applicable Not at al important 1 2 Important 3 4 Very Important 5 How important is it to your mother that she be as thin as possible? Not at al important 1 2 Important 3 4 Very Important 5 How important is your mother?s physical appearance (shape, weight, clothing) to her? Not at al important 1 2 Important 3 4 Very Important 5 204 Here are 9 drawings of female figures. Please answer two questions about your mother. Which drawing looks most like your mother?s figure? DRAWING #__________________ Which drawing is the ideal figure for adult women? DRAWING #__________________ Circle the descriptions that best fit your image of your mother. I think my mother is: Very Underweight Somewhat Underweight Normal Weight Somewhat Overweight Very Overweight From looking at my mother, most other people ould think she is: Very Underweight Somewhat Underweight Normal Weight Somewhat Overweight Very Overweight 205 PART 5: YOURSELF Here are 9 drawings of female figures. Please answer two questions about yourself. Which drawing looks most like your own figure? DRAWING #__________________ Which drawing do you most want to look like now? DRAWING #__________________ You are growing and changing al of the time. Circle the descriptions that best fit what you fel about yourself right now. How happy are you with your height? Not at all happy Somewhat happy Happy Very Happy How happy are you with your weight? Not at all happy Somewhat happy Happy Very Happy How happy are you wit the development of your figure? Not at all happy Somewhat happy Happy Very Happy How good looking do you think you are? Not at all good looking Somewhat good looking Good looking Very good looking 206 Have you ever wanted to be thinner? Circle Yes or No Have you ever wanted to be heavier? Circle Yes or No Have you ever tried to lose weight? Circle Yes or No Have you ever tried to gain weight? Circle Yes or No 207 MOTHER?S QUESTIONAIRE PART 1: YOUR DAUGHTER?S CLOTHES Here is a list of types of stores. Circle the answer for how often you and your daughter buy her clothes at each type. How often do your daughter?s clothes come from specialized clothing stores like the Limited 2, Gap, Abercrombie, Expres, Old Navy, American Eagle, Limited, Abercrombie & Fitch, G & G, or Rave? Never Almost Never Sometimes Often How often do your daughter?s clothes come from department stores like J.C. Penney, Belk?s, Macy?s, Dilard?s, or Sears? Never Almost Never Sometimes Often How often do your daughter?s clothes come from mas merchandise chains like Target, Wal-mart, K-Mart, Kohl?s, Sa?s Club, or Costco? Never Almost Never Sometimes Often How often do your daughter?s clothes come from off-price chains like T.J. Maxx, Marshal?s, Steinmart, or Ross? Never Almost Never Sometimes Often How often are your daughter?s clothes bought from catlogs? Never Almost Never Sometimes Often How often are your daughter?s clothes bought from a website? Never Almost Never Sometimes Often If you buy from a website, please name which ones: Currently, what stores satisfy you the most when shopping for clothes for your daughter? 208 Who pays for your daughter?s clothes? You an/or her father Never Almost Never Sometimes Most of the time Always Your daughter Never Almost Never Sometimes Most of the time Always When you go shopping for your daughter?s clothes, how easy do you think it is to find clothes that she likes and that fit her? Always hard to find Sometimes hard to find Sometimes easy to find Always easy to find Jeans 1 2 3 4 Pants (except jeans) 1 2 3 4 Skirts 1 2 3 4 Tops 1 2 3 4 Dreses 1 2 3 4 209 Your daughter might think about lots of things when he is geting dresed to go somewhere. Circle the answer that best describes how often you believe she thinks about the following things whens he decides what to wear. Clothes that lok best on her Never Sometimes Half of the time Usually Always Clothes like those that her friends wil be wearing Never Sometimes Half of the time Usually Always Clothes that are comfortable Never Sometimes Half of the time Usually Always Clothes that are her favorite colr Never Sometimes Half of the time Usually Always Clothes that are the newest fashion Never Sometimes Half of the time Usually Always Clothes with a popular brand name Never Sometimes Half of the time Usually Always Clothes that fit her wel Never Sometimes Half of the time Usually Always 210 Part 2: YOUR DAUGHTER?S DEVELOPMENT Different things make different people think someone is atractive. We would like to know your opinion of what makes girls your daughter?s age atractive. Circle a number from 1 to 5 that shows how important you think each of the following is in determining whether a girl your daughter?s age looks attractive. 1 means you do not think that it is at all important; 5 means that you think it is very important. Not Important at al Somewhat Important Very Important 1. Clothes 1 2 3 4 5 2. Make-up 1 2 3 4 5 3. Hair 1 2 3 4 5 4. Being slender 1 2 3 4 5 5. Nails 1 2 3 4 5 6. Curvy body 1 2 3 4 5 7. Looking ?fit? 1 2 3 4 5 8. Nice smile 1 2 3 4 5 9. Not being fat 1 2 3 4 5 10. Jewelry 1 2 3 4 5 11. Good, clear skin 1 2 3 4 5 12. Other (please list): 1 2 3 4 5 13. Other (please list): 1 2 3 4 5 211 Here are 9 drawings of female figures. Please answer two questions about your daughter. Which drawing loks most like your daughter?s figure? DRAWING #_______ Which drawing is the best figure for girls your daughter?s age to have? DRAWING #_______ Your daughter is growing and changing al of the time. Circle the descriptions that best fit what you fel about her development right now. How happy are you with your daughter?s height? Not at all happy Somewhat happy Happy Very Happy How happy are you with your daughter?s weight? Not at all happy Somewhat happy Happy Very Happy How happy are you with the development of your daughter?s figure? Not at all happy Somewhat happy Happy Very Happy How good looking do you think your daughter is? Not at all good looking Somewhat good looking Good looking Very good looking 212 Has your daughter ever wanted to be thinner? Yes / No. . . to be heavier? Yes / No Have you ever wanted your daughter to be thinner? Yes / No. . . to be heavier? Yes / No Has your daughter ever tried to lose weight? Yes / No. . . to gain weight? Yes / No Have you ever encouraged your daughter to lose weight?Yes / No . . . to gain weight?Yes / No PART 3: YOURSELF The following statements describe an individual?s potential feelings about clothes. For each statement, circle the number (on the scale of one to five) that represents how wel it describes your felings about your clothes. Does Not escribe Does escribe It is very important to me to appear appropriately and fashionably dresed 1 2 3 4 5 It always gives me pleasure to buy clothes for myself 1 2 3 4 5 Clothes are important to me because they represent me to others 1 2 3 4 5 I think carefully abou the clothes I am buying so that I wil be happy with my purchases 1 2 3 4 5 When I buy clothes, I feel confident that I am making the right choices 1 2 3 4 5 213 Here is a list of magazines that some women read. For each of the magazines listed below, circle whether you read it regularly, glance through it sometimes, or never read it. Harper?s Bazar read it regularly glance through it sometimes never read it Ele read it regularly glance through it sometimes never read it Esence read it regularly glance through it sometimes never read it In Style read it regularly glance through it sometimes never read it Marie Claire read it regularly glance through it sometimes never read it Vogue read it regularly glance through it sometimes never read it W read it regularly glance through it sometimes never read it Other (please list) read it regularly glance through it sometimes never read it Other (please list) read it regularly glance through it sometimes never read it Other (please list) read it regularly glance through it sometimes never read it 214 Here are 9 drawings of female figures. Please answer two questions about yourself. Which drawing looks most like your own figure? DRAWING #__________________ Which drawing do you most want to look like now? DRAWING #__________________ Circle the descriptions that best fit your image of yourself. I think I am: Very Underweight Somewhat Underweight Normal Weight Somewhat Overweight Very Overweight From looking at my mother, most other people would think I am: Very Underweight Somewhat Underweight Normal Weight Somewhat Overweight Very Overweight 215 Use this 1 to 5 scale to indicate how disatisfied or satisfied you are with each of the following areas or aspects of your body: Very Disatisfied Mostly Disatisfied Neither Satisfied Nor Disatisfied Mostly Satisfied Very Satisfied 1. Face (facial features, complexion) 1 2 3 4 5 2. Hair (color, thicknes, texture) 1 2 3 4 5 3. Lower torso (buttocks, hips, thighs, legs) 1 2 3 4 5 4. Upper torso (breasts, shoulders, arms) 1 2 3 4 5 5. Muscle tone 1 2 3 4 5 6. Weight 1 2 3 4 5 7. Height 1 2 3 4 5 8. Overal appearance 1 2 3 4 5 216 PART 4: DEMOGRAPHICS Your age _______ Your daughter?s age ____ Your daughter?s birth month ____ our daughter?s grade in schol ____ Has your daughter had her first period (menstruation)? YES/NO If YES, please check her age at onset. __9 __9.5 __10 __10.5 __1 __1.5 __12 __12.5 __13 __13.5 __14 __14.5 Your marital status: Single ___ Maried ___ Divorced ___ Widowed ___ Your daughter?s iblings: None ___ Number of sisters ___ Number of brothers ___ Your daughter?s ethnicity Your ethnicity Your daughter?s father?s ethnicity ___African-American ___African-American ___African-American ___sian ___sian ___sian ___Caucasian ___Caucasian ___Caucasian ___Hispanic ___Hispanic ___Hispanic ___Native American ___Native American ___Native American Please indicate your level of education: ___Grade schol ___Bachelor?s degre ___Some high schol, no diploma ___Master?s degre (e.g., MBA, MS, MFA) ___High schol diploma/GED ___Profesional degre (e.g., D, DS, LB) ___Some colege, no degre ___Doctorate degre (e.g., Ph, Ed) ___Asociates degre Check the category that best describes your ocupation: ___Uper management/Proprietor/Owner ___Midle anageent ___Profesional (Lawyer, Acountant, Teacher) ___Sales ___Service worker ___Student ___Homeaker ___Retired ___Other (please specify):_____________ 217 Your anual household income (Check if this is a single or dual income. ___single ___dual) ___Under $24,99 ___$25,00 to $49,9 ___$50,0 to $74,99 ___$75,00 to $9,99 ___$10,00 to $149,9 ___Over $150,0