Drive for muscularity and disordered eating among French adolescent boys: a sociocultural model

The pursuit of muscularity is an important body image concern among boys which has been described within sociocultural models of risk for eating disorders. This study explored a sociocultural model of disordered eating in which drive for thinness and pursuit of muscularity were both pathways to disordered eating among French adolescent boys. A sample of 146 adolescents completed a questionnaire assessing drive for thinness, drive for muscularity, media-ideal internalization, appearance comparison, and sociocultural pressure. The model was a good fit to the data and both drive for thinness and the pursuit of muscularity were related to disordered eating. Furthermore, internalization and appearance comparison mediated the relationships between pressure to increase muscle and both drive for muscularity and drive for thinness. Longitudinal research could help clarify the role of the pursuit of muscularity in the development of disordered eating and extreme body shape changing behaviors.     

Body dissatisfaction, ethnic identity, and disordered eating among African American women

Initial research suggested that only European American women developed eating disorders (Garner, 1993), yet recent studies have shown that African American women do experience them (e.g., Lester & Petrie, 1998b; Mulholland & Mintz, 2001) and also may be negatively affected by similar sociocultural variables. In this study, we examined a sociocultural model of eating disorders for African American women but included the influences of ethnic identity (e.g., Hall, 1995; Helms, 1990). Participants (N = 322) were drawn from 5 different universities. They completed measures representing ethnic identity, societal pressures regarding thinness, internalization of societal beauty ideals, body image concerns, and disordered eating. Structural equation modeling revealed that ethnic identity was inversely, and societal pressures regarding thinness directly, related to internalization of societal beauty ideals. Societal pressures regarding thinness was also related to greater body image concerns. Both internalization of societal beauty ideals and body image concerns were positively associated with disordered eating (R2 = .79). Overall, the final model fit the data well, supporting its generalizability and the importance of ethnic identity in determining risk.     

Self-discrepancies and vulnerability to body dissatisfaction and disordered eating.

Two studies explored the relevance of self-discrepancies for body dissatisfaction and disordered eating. In Study 1, actual:ideal self-discrepancies of female undergraduates correlated with body shape dissatisfaction independent of Ss' body mass and number of appearance-related self-beliefs; actual:ought discrepancy was discriminantly associated with anorexic-related attitudes and behaviors. In Study 2 (using a mixed-gender sample), bulimic-related behaviors were associated with a form of actual:ideal discrepancy (unfulfilled positive potential) whereas anorexic-related symptoms were associated with actual:ought discrepancy. Both genders showed the predicted relations between self-discrepancies and disordered eating, and the predicted associations remained even when appearance-related attributes were excluded from scoring of self-discrepancies.     

Body image and eating attitudes among adolescent Chinese girls in Hong Kong

The study investigated the relation between body image and eating attitudes among adolescent girls in Hong Kong. A sample of 358 senior secondary school girls completed the measures assessing body-part satisfaction and behaviors associated with eating. Analysis indicated that even though only 4.8% of the girls were overweight, 85.16% desired to weigh less. These Chinese teenage girls were concerned about their weight, and the desire for slimness was widespread. Correlations indicated that higher Body Mass Index was associated with lower satisfaction with weight. Lower scores on weight satisfaction were associated with higher scores on attitudes of dieting and food preoccupation.     

Effects of parental comments on body dissatisfaction and eating disturbance in young adults: A sociocultural model

This study examined a sociocultural model of the influence of parental comments on body shape and eating concerns among males and females. Questionnaires were completed by 338 undergraduates. Participants reported levels of perceived parental comments, internalization of media ideals, appearance comparison, body dissatisfaction, drive for thinness and bulimia. Results revealed that, regardless of gender, internalization and appearance comparison only partially mediated the relationship between parental comments and the outcome variables. The final model for females explained a larger proportion of the variability in body shape and eating concerns than in males, with positive and negative parental comments directly related to body dissatisfaction and through it to eating outcomes. In males, only negative comments were directly related to body dissatisfaction. These findings highlight the role of parental influences in sociocultural models of the development of body dissatisfaction and eating concerns, and the gender-specific patterns of sociocultural influence.     

Body image dissatisfaction: gender differences in eating attitudes,self-esteem,and reasons for exercise

Two hundred and thirty-five adolescents completed a questionnaire on the subject of eating attitudes, self-esteem, reasons for exercise, and their ideal versus current body size and shape. As predicted, boys were as likely to want to be heavier as lighter, whereas very few girls desired to be heavier. Only girls associated body dissatisfaction with the concept of self-esteem. Male self-esteem was not affected by body dissatisfaction. Specific reasons for exercise were found to correlate with low self-esteem and disordered eating, regardless of sex. The results are discussed in relation to burgeoning published research in this area.     

Body dissatisfaction and body change behaviors in Chile: the role of sociocultural factors

With interest in body image and body change behaviors growing around the world, there has been surprisingly little research conducted in Latin America on these issues. In order to gain some understanding of them in this context, this study investigated body image and body change behaviors, and the sociocultural factors that may influence them, among 337 Chilean adolescents aged 12–18 years. Participants completed a questionnaire that assessed BMI, body dissatisfaction, strategies to lose weight and strategies to increase muscle bulk. In addition, perceived pressure from family, peers, and the media to change body shape was evaluated. Results were partially consistent with those reported in Western nations. Girls were found to report greater body dissatisfaction than boys, but no difference was found between males and females in perceived pressure from adults in the family or from older siblings/cousins to lose weight. However, girls experienced higher levels of perceived pressure to lose weight from the media than boys, and boys reported greater perceived pressure from peers to lose weight than girls, and more pressure than girls from all sources to increase muscle bulk. These findings are discussed in relation to research conducted in other contexts, and it is concluded that findings from other locations may not be applied universally.     

Appearance-related teasing,body dissatisfaction,and disordered eating: A meta-analysis

A meta-analysis was conducted to determine the relationship between appearance and weight-based teasing and three outcome measures: body dissatisfaction, restrictive eating, and bulimic behaviors. Four meta-analyses were conducted. Fifty effect sizes (N = 10,618) resulted in a moderate effect size of .39 for the relationship between weight teasing and body dissatisfaction; 24 effect sizes (N = 7190) resulted in an effect size of .32 for the relationship between appearance teasing and body dissatisfaction; 20 effect sizes (N = 4792) resulted in an effect size of .35 for the relationship between weight teasing and dietary restraint; and 22 effect sizes (N = 5091) resulted in an effect size of .36 for the relationship between weight teasing and bulimic behaviors. Significant moderators that emerged were teasing measure type, publication type, study type, age group, and gender. The findings offer further support for the inclusion of strategies in body image and eating disorders’ prevention and intervention programs that focus on handling negative, appearance-related commentary.     

Body dissatisfaction,eating disorders,and depression: A developmental perspective

McCarthy (1990) contends that a cultural ideal of thinness (the thin ideal) causes depression and eating disorders to occur more frequently in women than men. She believes eating disorders are a way of coping with depression and hypothesizes that the thin ideal has its greatest impact during puberty when sexual attractiveness becomes important and changes in physical appearance increase the discrepancy between the adolescent girl's actual and ideal body image. The present study used a cross-sectional design of 5th, 8th, and 12th grade males and females (N = 599) to test several predictions from McCarthy's model. As expected, 8th and 12th grade females preferred a thinner than average body shape. They were more dissatisfied with their bodies than males and scored higher on measures of disordered eating. In contrast, before puberty (5th grade) boys were more depressed than their female peers but this pattern was reversed in 8th grade boys and girls. Paralleling changes in depression, disordered eating scores were highest in 8th and 12th grade girls. Both of these findings underscore the role of maturational factors in the onset of eating disorders. Although the sample was ethnically diverse and mainly from middle and low socioeconomic groups, there was a surprisingly high incidence of body dissatisfaction and symptoms of disordered eating. This illustrates the pervasiveness of thinness as a standard of feminine beauty in our society and the damaging effects it can have.     

Examining an elaborated sociocultural model of disordered eating among college women: The roles of social comparison and body surveillance

Social comparison (i.e., body, eating, exercise) and body surveillance were tested as mediators of the thin-ideal internalization-body dissatisfaction relationship in the context of an elaborated sociocultural model of disordered eating. Participants were 219 college women who completed two questionnaire sessions 3 months apart. The cross-sectional elaborated sociocultural model (i.e., including social comparison and body surveillance as mediators of the thin-ideal internalization-body dissatisfaction relation) provided a good fit to the data, and the total indirect effect from thin-ideal internalization to body dissatisfaction through the mediators was significant. Social comparison emerged as a significant specific mediator while body surveillance did not. The mediation model did not hold prospectively; however, social comparison accounted for unique variance in body dissatisfaction and disordered eating 3 months later. Results suggest that thin-ideal internalization may not be “automatically” associated with body dissatisfaction and that it may be especially important to target comparison in prevention and intervention efforts.     

Body dissatisfaction,disordered eating,fashion magazines,and clothes: A cross‐cultural comparison between Australian and Italian young women

While a great deal of research has investigated the body image concerns of women in Western English‐speaking countries, there has been relatively little research attention paid to non‐English‐speaking countries. The present study aimed to investigate body dissatisfaction and disordered eating across similarly constituted samples from two different cultures, Australia and Italy. Australia and Italy are similar in many ways, including frequent and obvious portrayals of thin media ideals for women, but represent very different cultures with respect to language and the roles of the family, meals, and fashion. Questionnaires were developed to assess the internalization of thin ideals, fashion magazine exposure, and the importance of clothes, in addition to containing measures of body dissatisfaction, dieting, and disordered eating symptomatology. Factor analysis of the clothing measure produced two clear factors: the personal importance of clothes, and the social importance of clothes. The questionnaires were completed by 140 Australian and 95 Italian female university students of psychology or the humanities. It was found that the Italian women had significantly lower BMI scores than the Australian women because they weighed less. Few group differences in body dissatisfaction or dieting were obtained, but the Australian women scored higher than the Italian women on disordered eating. Contrary to prediction, clothes were rated as more important by Australian than by Italian women. Nevertheless, the personal importance of clothes predicted internalization of thin ideals and body dissatisfaction in both samples, while the social importance of clothes was a negative predictor. Fashion magazine consumption, in contrast, predicted body dissatisfaction and disordered eating only for Australian women, but not for Italian women. Thus the study has demonstrated that the same variables may play different roles in the Australian and Italian cultural contexts. More generally, the cross‐cultural comparison of relationships between variables may contribute to a greater understanding of the genesis of body image concerns across cultures.     

An exploration of the tripartite influence model of body dissatisfaction and disordered eating among Australian and French college women

The aim of the study was to compare levels of body dissatisfaction, disordered eating and risk factors, and to examine the tripartite influence model of body image and eating disturbance among French and Australian young adult females. Participants were 188 Australian (mean age=19.6 years, SD=1.0) and 190 French (mean age=20.7 years, SD=2.6) students. Media, peer and family influences, internalisation of media ideals, appearance comparison, body dissatisfaction, drive for thinness, bulimia and self-esteem were assessed. Australian participants reported perceiving more peer and media influence, and higher levels of appearance comparison, internalisation of media ideals and bulimic symptoms than French participants (p<.001). Path analyses revealed that the tripartite model was a good fit in both samples, with similarities and differences. Findings suggest the importance of identifying cultural specificities, and developing a global framework of body image and eating disturbance with a view to prevention.     

Motor coordination dynamics underlying graphic motion in 7- to 11-year-old children

Using concepts and tools of a dynamical system approach in order to understand motor coordination underlying graphomotor skills, the aim of the current study was to establish whether the basic coordination dynamics found in adults is already established in children at elementary school, when handwriting is trained and eventually acquired. In the study, 45 children and 9 adults volunteered to copy two series of 13 ellipsoid shapes. These shapes were generated by manipulating the relative phase between 0° and 180° of two orthogonal oscillators in two orientations. Findings showed that although children from an early age onward and adults reproduced straight lines precisely (i.e., 0° and 180°), the former drew ellipsoid shapes in a less eccentric fashion than the latter (i.e., ～90° in all children rather than ～60° and 120° in adults). This tendency to write in a rounder fashion persists until 11 years of age, suggesting that the coordination dynamics underlying graphomotor skills and tentatively shaping the coordinated activity involved in adult handwriting appears only later, probably due to increasing constraints on speed.     

Body dissatisfaction,engagement in body change behaviors and sociocultural influences on body image among Chinese adolescents

Body dissatisfaction and body image disorders are becoming increasingly prevalent in developing non-Western countries such as China, but there is a lack of research examining the sociocultural factors that in other contexts have been associated with these problems. The current study investigated body dissatisfaction, engagement in body change behaviors, and sociocultural pressures on body image, and the relationships between these variables among 517 adolescent males (N = 219) and females (N = 298) in China. Females reported greater body dissatisfaction than males, and males reported using strategies to increase their muscle bulk more often than females. Males reported pressure from a variety of sociocultural sources to increase their muscles or weight, while females reported pressure from the media to lose weight. For males body dissatisfaction was predicted by pressure from peers to increase their muscle bulk, while for females pressure to lose weight from peers, adult relatives, and the media was likely to increase body dissatisfaction. Pressure from the media and adult relatives was also predictive of body change behaviors in both males and females. The findings are discussed in relation to previous research in both Western and non-Western contexts.     

Examination of a model of multiple sociocultural influences on adolescent girls' body dissatisfaction and dietary restraint

This study examined the perceived role of three types of sociocultural agents (peers, parents, and media) in influencing body dissatisfaction and dietary restraint in adolescent girls. Participants were 577 grade 10 girls from six schools who completed questionnaires in class and had height and weight measured. Two path analyses resulted in a similar pattern. While current body size strongly predicted ideal body size and body dissatisfaction, perceived influence of multiple sociocultural agents regarding thinness also had a direct relationship with body ideal and dissatisfaction. Dietary restraint was predicted directly from body dissatisfaction and sociocultural influences. Peers, parents, and media varied in their perceived influence. The findings support the idea that those girls who show the most body dissatisfaction and dietary restraint live in a subculture supporting a thin ideal and encouraging dieting.     

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.     

Associations between sociocultural pressures to be thin, body distress, and eating disorder symptomatology among Chilean adolescent girls

This study explored the relationships between perceived sociocultural pressure to fulfill the thin beauty ideal, body distress, and the presence of eating disorder symptoms. Participants were 437 Chilean adolescent girls from Arica, northern Chile, aged 13-18. Results showed significant associations between perceived pressure from social agents to be thin and the presence of disrupted eating attitudes and behavior. The perceived influence of advertising, verbal messages and social situations related to eating and dieting emerged as the strongest predictors of eating disorders symptoms. Influence of advertising was also the strongest predictor of body image distress. Age differences emerged in perceived sociocultural pressure to be thin, with older participants reporting higher sociocultural pressure to fulfill the slender beauty ideal. This paper provides information about body distress and associated disturbances, a phenomenon which has seldom been studied in non-Western countries, but which has important health implications.     

Impact of a school-based disordered eating prevention program in adolescent girls: general and specific effects depending on adherence to the interactive activities

This study assessed the impact of a school-based program aimed at preventing disordered eating. The program was based on the media-literacy approach and has interactive format. The program was assessed under strong methodological conditions. Seven schools with 263 Spanish adolescent girls in the area of Barcelona, were randomly assigned to either the complete prevention program condition, the partial program condition or the non-treatment control condition, and assessed at pre, post and 6-month follow-up. The program was effective in generating positive changes at follow-up. The effects sizes (ES(d) = 0.29 to ES(d) = 0.38) were greater, on average, than that obtained up to now in selective-universal programs, and similar or greater than that achieved by targeted prevention programs. The results indicate a greater and relevant effect size of the intervention in those participants who completed the inter-session interactive activities (ES(d) = 0.29 to ES(d) = 0.45) although the differences were not significant. These results suggest the importance of monitoring adherence to the activities in all programs defined as "interactive". The implications and limitations of this study are discussed.     

Predicting eating disorder group membership: an examination and extension of the sociocultural model

The purpose of this research was to examine and extend portions of the sociocultural model of bulimia nervosa (Stice, E. (1994). Review of the evidence for a sociocultural model of bulimia nervosa and an exploration of the mechanisms of action. Clinical Psychology Review, 14, 633-661; Stice, E., & Agras, W. S. (1998). Predicting onset and cessation of bulimic behaviors during adolescence: A longitudinal grouping analysis. Behavior Therapy, 29, 257-276). Participants were women who reported engaging in binge eating at baseline and the 1-year follow-up (n = 26), women who began binge eating between these 2 points (n = 25), and women who did not report binge eating during the course of the study (n = 199). Results of the first discriminant function analysis provided support for the sociocultural model. However, the results of subsequent analyses suggest that additional variables, including stress, escape-avoidance coping, and interoceptive awareness, emerged as important. Implications of these findings for our understanding of the development and maintenance of binge eating are discussed.     

Age differences in the prevalence of physical aggression among 5-11-year-old Canadian boys and girls

It has been proven extremely difficult in the past to estimate the prevalence of physical aggression in children for two main reasons: (a) a heterogeneous sampling of behaviors (i.e., mix between physically aggressive and non-physically aggressive antisocial behaviors), and (b) a lack of a "gold standard" to identify children who exhibit physically aggressive behaviors on a frequent basis. The goal of this study was to test for age differences in the prevalence of physical aggression in the Canadian population of school-aged boys and girls, using cross-sectional data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (NLSCY). The first wave of the NLSCY included a representative sample of 12,292 Canadian children aged 5-11 years. We used latent class analysis to identify children whose propensity to exhibit physically aggressive behaviors was much higher than that of other children of the same age and sex in the population. The prevalence of physical aggression was estimated at 3.7% in 5-11-year-old boys and ranged from .5% to 2.3% in 11 and 5-year-old girls, respectively. Hence, the results show a decreasing trend in the prevalence of physical aggression with age for girls, but not for boys. These findings suggest the importance of considering the developmental pathways of physical aggression for boys and girls separately.