Dieting and body image in aesthetic sports: A comparison of Dutch female gymnasts and non-aesthetic sport participants

ObjectivesTo examine the relationship between dieting behavior and body image in female aesthetic athletes.MethodsSeventeen elite gymnasts, 51 non-elite gymnasts and a control group of 85 schoolgirls, participating in non-elite, merely recreational non-aesthetic sports, completed self-report measures of dieting behaviors and body image.ResultsAfter controlling for BMI, the results showed that elite gymnasts dieted more often than controls, although they were not more negative about their body. Furthermore, non-elite gymnasts dieted as much as controls and had a more positive body image. Despite what general theories predict, the gymnasts’ dieting was not so much related to a negative body image but rather to weight-related causal attributions or perceived weight-related coach pressure.ConclusionsWhereas controls believe that ‘thin is beautiful’, gymnasts seem more convinced or persuaded that ‘thin is going to win’. Future research should take into consideration that dieting and body image are likely to be developed differently in the context of aesthetic sports.     

Testing a model of the predictors and consequences of body dissatisfaction

A cross-sectional study, testing a model of predictors and consequences of body dissatisfaction, was undertaken in Taiwan from December 30, 2006 to January 10, 2007. Two hundred and thirty-two female college students enrolled at a major university completed the self-administered questionnaire. Analytical results revealed that body dissatisfaction among respondents increased with BMI (beta=.32, p<.001), perceptions of how others viewed their bodies (beta=.38, p<.001), and upward social comparisons (beta=.17, p<.01). Body dissatisfaction also markedly influenced respondent weight-loss intentions (beta=.51, p<.001). Results imply that medical, psychological and social factors must be considered by school health educators wishing to understand the causes and consequences of body dissatisfaction among female college students.     

Extraversion and neuroticism in team sport participants, individual sport participants, and nonparticipants

Scores on Extraversion and on Neuroticism as measured by the Eysenck Personality Inventory were compared for 90 undergraduate team sport participants, individual sport participants, and nonparticipants (43 men, 47 women, M age = 20.3 yr.). From past research and Eysenck's biological theory of personality, it was hypothesized that sport participants would score higher on Extraversion and lower on Neuroticism than nonparticipants, and that team participants would score higher on Extraversion and perhaps higher on Neuroticism than individual sport participants. By comparing scores for students in first year and final year, it was also investigated whether pre-existing personality differences drew people to sport (the gravitational hypothesis) or whether personality changed as a function of sport participation (the developmental hypothesis). The main findings were that team participants scored higher on Extraversion than both individual sport participants and nonparticipants, and that test scores did not change over time, supporting the gravitational hypothesis for Extraversion.     

An examination of body tracing among women with high body dissatisfaction

Within eating disorder treatment programs, a body tracing activity is often used to address body dissatisfaction and overestimation of body size; however, the effects of this activity have never been empirically evaluated. This research examined the effects of body tracing on body dissatisfaction and mood among 56 female participants assigned to either a body tracing or control group. Scores were collected on trait body dissatisfaction and a series of Visual Analogue Scales (VAS). Results showed that trait body dissatisfaction moderated the relationship between group and levels of state appearance dissatisfaction and anxiety. These results suggest that individuals experiencing higher levels of trait body dissatisfaction demonstrated greater state body dissatisfaction following participation in the body tracing activity. Individuals with lower trait body dissatisfaction experienced greater anxiety after drawing a human body. These findings have potential implications for the use of this strategy in the treatment of eating disorder patients.     

The role of honour in interpersonal,intrapersonal and intergroup processes

In this article, we review research in psychology and other related social science fields that has adopted an honor framework to examine intrapersonal, interpersonal, and intergroup processes taking a culture-comparative or individual differences approach. In the sections below, we will first review research on the role of honor in interpersonal processes focusing primarily on interpersonal aggression including in close relationships, non-aggressive ways of responding to threats (e.g., forgiveness), and reciprocity. Next, we move onto reviewing research on the role of honor in intrapersonal processes, specifically in the domains of emotional responses to honor-threatening situations, mental, and physical health. Finally, we review research emerging from social and political psychology and political science that have utilized the honor framework to understand and explain group processes and intergroup relations at different level of analyses (e.g., social groups, nations). Given the limited space, our goal was to emphasize major and emerging areas of research on honor and provide food for thought for future research.     

Prospective predictors of body dissatisfaction in adolescent girls and boys: a five-year longitudinal study

This study investigated prospective risk factors for increases in body dissatisfaction in adolescent girls and boys in the Eating Among Teens Project. At the time of first assessment (Time 1), participants were a cohort of early adolescent girls (N=440) and boys (N=366) and a cohort of middle adolescent girls (N=946) and boys (N=764). Participants were followed up 5 years later (Time 2). Potential prospective risk factors examined included body mass index, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, parent dieting environment, peer environment, and psychological factors. Predictors of Time 2 body dissatisfaction were Time 1 body dissatisfaction, body mass index, socioeconomic status, being African American, friend dieting and teasing, self-esteem, and depression. However, the profile of predictors differed across the samples.     

Physical activity and sport involvement in French high school students

The links between morphological, biological, sociological, psychological, and environmental characteristics, the practice of organized sports, and moderate to vigorous physical activities were examined by means of a questionnaire given to 48 high-school students aged between 16 and 19 years and their continuous heart-rate monitoring. Few correlations appear between these characteristics and moderate to vigorous physical activities. Only maximal oxygen uptake is linked to this type of activity in girls. Concerning sport involvement, correlations were more numerous for girls than boys. Physical and sports activities of girls were linked with maximal oxygen uptake, sport involvement of father, support, and encouragements of practice, perception of own activity, and private environment. Among boys, physical and sport activities were only linked with sport involvement of friends and perception of own activity. Unlike boys, physical and sport activities among girls seemed more strongly linked to sociological characteristics than other ones.     

Catastrophizing and pain perception in sport participants

Abstract

Two studies were conducted to examine the relation between catastrophizing and pain in sport participants. Study 1 compared the factor structure of the Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS; Sullivan et al., 1995) in a sample of 97 individuals who reported engaging in regular sporting activity and 140 sedentary individuals. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed that, in both sport and sedentary samples, a three factor solution, comprising rumination, magnification, and helplessness provided the best fit to the data. Study 2 examined differences in pain perception in 54 (28 women, 26 men) varsity athletes and 54 (27 women, 27 men) sedentary controls who participated in an experimental pain procedure. Participants completed the PCS prior to immersing one arm in ice water for one minute. Athletes reported less pain than sedentary individuals, and men reported less pain than women. For both athlete and sedentary groups, catastrophizing was a significant predictor of pain experience. Regression analyses revealed that although catastrophizing accounted for differences in pain perception between men and women     

Early predictors of high school mathematics achievement

Identifying the types of mathematics content knowledge that are most predictive of students' long-term learning is essential for improving both theories of mathematical development and mathematics education. To identify these types of knowledge, we examined long-term predictors of high school students' knowledge of algebra and overall mathematics achievement. Analyses of large, nationally representative, longitudinal data sets from the United States and the United Kingdom revealed that elementary school students' knowledge of fractions and of division uniquely predicts those students' knowledge of algebra and overall mathematics achievement in high school, 5 or 6 years later, even after statistically controlling for other types of mathematical knowledge, general intellectual ability, working memory, and family income and education. Implications of these findings for understanding and improving mathematics learning are discussed.     

Gay and lesbian coaches' teams: differences in liking by male and female former sport participants

Previous literature suggests that men, more than women, both adhere to traditional gender beliefs and evaluate violators more harshly. Thus, within the heteronormative sport environment it was hypothesized that men's liking of a team coached by a gay or lesbian may be influenced more than women's liking. Respondents were college-age men (n=130) and women (n=98), former sport participants. Multivariate analysis of covariance (controlling for the presence of gay and lesbian friends and acquaintances) supported the hypothesis. Findings are discussed in terms of sports' heterosexual environment, adherence to gender-role norms, and motivational sexual prejudice.     

Self-concept clarity,thin-ideal internalization,and appearance-related social comparison as predictors of body dissatisfaction

This study examined the associations among self-concept clarity, thin-ideal internalization, appearance-related social comparison tendencies, and body dissatisfaction. Female university students (N = 278) completed self-report measures of these constructs. Structural equation modeling revealed several key findings: (a) thin-ideal internalization mediated the link between appearance-related social comparison tendencies and body dissatisfaction; (b) self-concept clarity was negatively associated with both thin-ideal internalization and appearance-related social comparison tendencies; and (c) thin-ideal internalization mediated the link between self-concept clarity and body dissatisfaction. These findings suggest that low self-concept clarity might contribute to body image problems because it increases women's vulnerability to thin-ideal internalization and appearance-related social comparison tendencies.     

Guilt and regret: The determining role of interpersonal and intrapersonal harm

The purpose of the present research was to examine which types of harm play a determining role in experiences of guilt and regret. In two studies it is shown that guilt results from interpersonal harm and regret from harm to oneself. Moreover, the second study showed that guilt generally increases as a function of the level of negative interpersonal consequences of one's behaviour. It was also demonstrated that regret increased as a function of the level of negative intrapersonal consequences but not as a function of the level of negative interpersonal consequences. Results are discussed in terms of theoretical dimensions underlying experiences of guilt and regret.     

Athletic-ideal and thin-ideal internalization as prospective predictors of body dissatisfaction,dieting, and compulsive exercise

Although internalization of the thin ideal has been extensively researched and is now regarded as a risk factor for eating disturbance, endorsement of the firm, athletic body ideal has received only minimal attention. This short-term longitudinal study explored whether internalization of two aspects of the current cultural ideal (thinness and athleticism) prospectively predicted three potentially deleterious outcomes: body dissatisfaction, dieting, and compulsive exercise. Undergraduate women (N = 231) completed self-report measures at the beginning of the academic year and again 7 months later (N = 156 at Time 2). Athletic-ideal internalization predicted change in compulsive exercise over the 7-month study period but not body dissatisfaction or dieting; thin-ideal internalization predicted change in all three outcomes. When both internalization measures were tested simultaneously, neither contributed unique variance. Results suggest that athletic-ideal internalization is not as detrimental as thin-ideal internalization.     

Regrets in the East and West: Role of intrapersonal versus interpersonal norms

Regrets are stronger following atypical than following normal behaviour. No studies have tested this effect for both intrapersonal normality (consistency within a person) and interpersonal normality (consistency between people) simultaneously. The present research examined whether the impact of violating the two kinds of normality on regret varies across cultures, using a manipulation of mutability crossed with that of norm violation. Among Korean participants (but not Americans) the impacts of mutability on regret were stronger when the intrapersonal rather than the interpersonal norm was violated, which was interpreted in terms of the greater collectivist emphasis in Korea than in the USA.     

Self-esteem of female athletes and nonathletes relative to sex role type and sport type

The purpose of the present research was to investigate the relationship of the self-esteem of female athletes and nonathletes to sex role type and sport type. The athletic group was comprised of 75 female collegiate athletes from eight sports and the nonathletic group consisted of a random sample of 75 female nonathletes. An assessment of self-esteem and sex role type was completed through administering to all subjects the short form of the (PRF) ANDRO Scale of Masculinity and Femininity, and the Interpersonal Disposition Inventory (IDI). On the basis of the results of the IDI, the subjects were categorized into four sex role types: androgynous, masculine, feminine, and undifferentiated. Based upon previous research, it was predicted that (1) athletes would exhibit higher self-esteem scores than nonathletes, (2) the self-esteem of androgynous individuals would be higher than other sex role types, (3) the self-esteem of feminine or undifferentiated individuals would be lower than other sex role types, (4) the self-esteem of female athletes in higher femininity status sports would be greater than those in lower femininity status sports, and (5) there would be a greater proportion of androgynous athletes and feminine nonathletes. The following significant results were found: nonathletes in the feminine sex role type were lower in self-esteem than all other groups; and there was a greater proportion of androgynous athletes and feminine nonathletes than expected by chance. There were no differences in self-esteem of athletes in higher femininity status vs lower femininity status sports. These findings were discussed relative to past research, and the potential impact of sport on the psychosocial development or selection of certain sex role types.     

Smiling in the face of adversity: the interpersonal and intrapersonal functions of smiling

This study examined hypothesized interpersonal and intrapersonal functions of smiling in positive and negative affective contexts. Smiles were measured during a lab-based monologue task following either happy or sad emotion-evoking films. Psychological adjustment and social integration were measured longitudinally using data obtained in years prior to and after the experimental task. Duchenne (genuine) smiles predicted better long-term adjustment and this effect was mediated independently by both social integration and undoing of negative emotion during the monologue. These effects were observed only in the negative affective context. Non-Duchenne smiles were not related to psychological adjustment. Neither Duchenne nor non-Duchenne smiles during the monologue task were related to personality variables assessed in this study.     

Rational-emotive therapy and the reduction of interpersonal anxiety in junior high school students

This study evaluated the effectiveness of rational-emotive therapy and rational-emotive imagery. Fifty-nine junior high school students who volunteered to participate in treatment for interpersonal anxiety were randomly assigned to rational-emotive therapy without imagery (RET), rational-emotive therapy with imagery (REI), relationship-oriented counseling (ROC), and waiting-list control (WLC) groups. Groups met for seven 50-minute treatment sessions during a three-week period. Assessments were conducted at pretreatment, posttreatment, and three-week follow-up. Both self-report and sociometric measures were used to evaluate treatment outcome. At postassessment, both the RET and REI groups were rated on sociometric measures as significantly less interpersonally anxious than the WLC group. Mean scores favored the RET and REI groups, but no significant differences between these groups and the ROC group were obtained. The self-report measure did not significantly differentiate between groups, but the REI group demonstrated significant pre- to follow-up changes. Both the RET and REI groups yielded greater reductions in irrational thinking than did the ROC and WLC groups. In addition, the pattern of the results supported the use of rational-emotive imagery as a component of rational-emotive therapy. The practical implications of these findings are discussed.     

Getting closer: Synchronous interpersonal multisensory stimulation increases closeness and attraction toward an opposite-sex other in female participants

Experiencing tactile facial stimulation while seeing synchronous stimulations delivered to another’s face induces enfacement, i.e. the subjective experience of ownership over the other's face. The synchronous Interpersonal Multisensory Stimulation (IMS) procedure leading to enfacement induces changes beyond the bodily sense of self, such as increased feeling of closeness between self and other. However, evidence for such an influence of IMS on higher-level self-other representations remains limited. Moreover, research has been restricted to settings involving a same-sex other. The current study tested, in female participants, whether IMS could promote social closeness and attraction toward an opposite-sex other. Across two experiments, enfacement with an opposite-sex face was successfully obtained. Synchronous (vs. asynchronous) IMS yielded greater closeness with the other and induced greater Liking and Attraction scores. These novel findings add further evidence to the existence of a link between body representation and social cognition. Implications for interpersonal attraction are discussed.