Preferences for female body size in Britain and the South Pacific

To assess current attitudes to body weight and shape in the South Pacific, a region characterised by relatively high levels of obesity and traditionally positive views of large bodies, 38 high socio-economic status (SES) adolescent males and 38 low SES adolescent males in Independent Samoa were asked to rate a set of images of real women for physical attractiveness. Participants in both SES settings preferred women with a slender figure, as did a comparison group in Britain, suggesting that the traditional veneration of large bodies is no longer apparent in Samoa. However, the results also showed that low SES adolescents were more likely to view overweight figures as attractive, which suggests that the veneration of slim figures may be associated with increasing SES. Implications of this finding are discussed in conclusion.     

Neighborhood, family, and subjective socioeconomic status: How do they relate to adolescent health?

This study investigated the role of neighborhood, family, and individual subjective socioeconomic status (SES) in predicting adolescent physical health and psychological characteristics. Three hundred fifteen adolescents completed assessments of blood pressure, cortisol, and body mass index (BMI). Results revealed that lower neighborhood SES was associated with higher BMI and lower basal cortisol levels and that these effects persisted after controlling for family SES. Both family SES and neighborhood SES predicted negative psychological characteristics and experiences such as hostility and discrimination. In contrast, only subjective SES predicted positive psychological characteristics. These findings suggest the importance of understanding influences at the individual, family, and neighborhood levels for optimally targeting interventions to reduce health disparities earlier in life.     

THE RELATIONSHIPS AMONG BODY IMAGE, BODY MASS INDEX, EXERCISE, AND SEXUAL FUNCTIONING IN HETEROSEXUAL WOMEN

Problems related to negative body image are very common among young women. In this study, we examined the relationship between women's body image and their sexual functioning over and above the effects of physical exercise and body mass index (BMI) in a sample of 214 university women. Low situational body image dysphoria and low body dissatisfaction were associated with high sexual assertiveness and sexual esteem, low sexual anxiety, and fewer sexual problems. Positive body image was significantly associated with better sexual functioning, even after controlling for BMI and exercise. Although related to body image, BMI and exercise did not predict sexual functioning. These results were interpreted as indicating that a woman's subjective body image is significantly related to her sexual functioning beyond the effects of actual body size and level of physical exercise.     

Childhood obesity and parental reflective functioning: Is there a relation?

Background/ObjectiveIn recent decades, the prevalence of childhood obesity has increased, with the major implications for public health. However, the factors that contribute to obesity in children are still poorly understood. The present study aimed to investigate the role of parental reflective functioning (PRF) in childhood obesity.MethodIn a cross-sectional design, 120 sets of parents of 60 children (n = 30 with obesity, age range 6–11) were recruited by local paediatricians. Parents completed the Parental Reflective Functioning Questionnaire. Children's and parents’ weight (assessed by BMI), as well as their socio-economic status (SES), were assessed to explore the contribution of PRF in the prediction of children's weight, controlling for parents’ weight and SES.Resultst-test showed significant differences with medium effect sizes in BMI, SES and PRF between parents of children with and without obesity. The best model resulted from hierarchical multiple regression analyses and showed that mothers’ PRF predicted children's BMI above and beyond the prediction by parents’ BMI and SES.ConclusionsLow maternal PRF could be an important target for intervention strategies, highlighting the need to consider parental responses to children's emotions in the treatment of childhood obesity, particularly in parents with low SES and high BMI.     

Investment in body image for self-definition results in greater vulnerability to the thin media than does investment in appearance management

This study investigated the effect of thin images according to two dimensions of body-image (BI) investment. Ninety-five females were classified as high or low investors based on the Appearance Schemas Inventory-Revised Self-Evaluative Salience (SES) and Motivational Salience (MS) subscales. Participants viewed advertisements portraying either the thin ideal or products. Results indicated that both women high in SES and MS reported lowered appearance self-esteem but greater BI importance following thin exposures. However, only the high SES group reported greater BI dissatisfaction and importance of current-ideal discrepancies after seeing thin images. Although highly invested women (regardless of their motivation for investment) are more responsive to thin media images than are women low in investment, those invested for self-definition are affected on more dimensions than are those invested for appearance management.     

Disentangling Discrimination: Victim Characteristics as Determinants of the Perception of Behavior as Racist or Sexist

The present experiment examined the impact of victim characteristics on the judgment of behavior as being sexist or racist. Freshmen from the University of Amsterdam read eight scenarios describing instances of everyday discrimination. The race, gender, and socioeconomic status (SES) of the victims in the scenarios were varied systematically. Each scenario was followed by three consecutive questionnaires designed to assess the degree to which research participants perceived the behavior of the agent as racist, sexist, or otherwise. The asymmetry hypothesis for blacks of high and low SES was confirmed Blacks of low SES were more often considered to be victims of racism than blacks of high SES. However, contrary to the asymmetry hypothesis, we found that women of high rather than low SES were more likely to be considered victims of sexism. This finding is inconsistent with other results, and demonstrates that it is not always the less empowered group that is judged as being the most discriminated against. Further, this study demonstrates the relevancy of victim's SES in discrimination research. Finally, the importance of disentangling sexist and racist elements of discrimination is stressed, especially in research involving black women.     

Cognitive-affective assets and vulnerabilities: Two factors influencing adaptation to Fibromyalgia

The present article describes the associations between hostility and serum lipids in Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) patients. A sample of 212 male coronary patients was used of which 127 recently suffered a Myocardial Infarction (MI), and 85 had undergone either a Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting (CABG) or a Percutaneous Transluminal Coronary Angioplasty (PTCA). Total Cholesterol (TC), High Density Lipoprotein (HDL), Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL) and triglyceride concentrations were measured as well as four hostility factors: ‘Negative Affectivity’ (NA), ‘Anger-In’ (AI), ‘Anger-Out’ (AO) and Coping, i.e. behaviors to control feelings of anger and anxiety. The results indicated that the effects of hostility on lipids were mediated by various factors such as body weight in relation to body length (BMI), Socio-Economic Status (SES), Left Ventricle Ejection Fraction (LVEF) and Age. In subgroups of highly exhausted patients or of patients scoring high on the Type A Behavior Pattern (TABP), however, more direct (unilinear) associations between lipids and hostility were found. The findings of the present study confirm the rather weak association between hostility and blood lipids found elsewhere. Furthermore, a low level of triglycerides was consistently associated with low AO, be it again in interaction with BMI (AO × BMI), both in the group of non-MI patients and in the total sample for those patients who score high on vital exhaustion and/or TABP. This finding provides an extra argument against the popular notion of the healthfulness under all circumstances of anger expression. Until now the exact role of triglycerides as a function of anger/hostility has been under-explored. This issue merits further attention in future research.     

The association between self-consciousness about appearance and psychological adjustment among newly diagnosed breast cancer patients and survivors: the moderating role of appearance investment

This study examined the moderating role of two facets of appearance investment (self-evaluative salience (SES) and motivational salience (MS)) in the relationship between self-consciousness about appearance and psychological adjustment (depression, anxiety and psychological quality of life (QoL)) in a sample of 134 breast cancer patients (68 newly diagnosed patients and 66 survivors). No significant differences were found between groups on body image variables. Among survivors, the associations between self-consciousness about appearance and the outcome variables were only significant at high (depression, psychological QoL) levels and at moderate (psychological QoL) levels of SES. Self-consciousness about appearance contributed to poor adjustment in both groups. This study demonstrates that appearance investment plays a key role in patients' adjustment and highlights the SES-MS distinction. SES seems to be a vulnerability factor for poor adjustment, and MS seems to be a protective factor that helps women cope with changes in appearance.     

Examining the Association Between Body Mass Index and Weight Related Quality of Life in Black and White Women

Obesity not only increases risk for morbidity/mortality, but also impacts the quality of life of obese individuals. In the United States, black women have the highest prevalence of obesity of any other group with approximately 80% of black women over age 20 having a body mass index (BMI)????25?kg/m². We aimed to examine the association between BMI and quality of life in this high risk population compared to this association in white women, using the Impact of Weight on Quality of Life (IWQOL)-Lite questionnaire. Data from 172 black women (mean BMI?=?35.7; age?=?40.5) and 171 white women (mean BMI?=?35.5; age?=?40.4) were collected between 2000 and 2010 analyzed in 2010. The mean IWQOL-Lite total score was 81.6 for black women compared to 66.9 for white women, a statistically significant difference. Hierarchical linear regression models revealed a significant BMI-by-race interaction indicating that the relationship between BMI and IWQOL-Lite score was moderated by race. Our findings suggest notable differences in weight-related quality of life in black and white women. At similar BMIs, black women consistently reported better quality of life than white women on all IWQOL-Lite subscales. The greatest difference in IWQOL-Lite scores between black and white women was seen in the self-esteem subscale. Additional research is needed to understand how to incorporate the weight perspectives of black women into weight management messages and interventions.     

Accuracy in estimating the body weight of self and others: Impact of dietary restraint and BMI

We examined the accuracy of people's estimates of their own body weight and of the body weight of other people. Female undergraduates (n = 132) self-reported their weight, were weighed by the experimenter, and completed a measure of dietary restraint. Participants also viewed 10 photographs of women ranging from underweight to obese and estimated their body weight. Individuals high in dietary restraint underestimated their own weight to a greater extent than those low in dietary restraint, but this effect was accounted for by individual differences in BMI: heavier participants underestimated their weight to a greater extent than leaner participants. Participants also underestimated the weight of heavier targets to a greater extent than they did leaner targets, but the degree of inaccuracy was not related to participants’ dietary restraint or BMI. These findings support the hypothesis that inaccuracies in self-reported weight reflect deliberate misreporting rather than a cognitive or perceptual bias.     

Cognition and incident coronary heart disease in late midlife: The Whitehall II study

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether cognitive function in midlife predicts incident coronary heart disease (CHD), followed up over 6 years. Data on 5292 (28% women, mean age 55) individuals free from CHD at baseline were drawn from the British Whitehall II study. We used Cox regression to model the association between cognition and CHD in analyses adjusted for socio-demographic variables, cardiovascular risk factors and health behaviors. The results show a one standard deviation lower score on the “general” cognitive measure and measures of reasoning and vocabulary to be associated with elevated CHD risk. There was some evidence that these effects differed between high and low socioeconomic status (SES) groups with associations only seen in the low SES group. These results were not explained by threshold effects or by the different SES groups representing different parts of the cognitive test score distribution. Three other possible explanations of these results are discussed: sub clinical vascular disease drives the observed association but no effect is observed in the high SES group due to compensation provided by greater cognitive reserve, cognition is a marker of overall bodily integrity particularly in low-SES groups, and SES is a moderator of the association between cognition and CHD, because it marks a range of other risk factors.     

A comparison of personality characteristics, family relationships, and drug-taking behavior in low and high socioeconomic status adolescents who are drug abusers

Low socioeconomic status (SES) and high SES adolescents who met the DSM-III criteria for drug abuse were compared with respect to personality characteristics, family relationships, and drug-taking behavior. SES was determined by parents' income, education, and occupation. The two groups did not differ significantly with respect to self-esteem, quality of family relationships, impulse control, moral development, and drug-taking behavior. However, high SES adolescents were more depressed (p less than .009) and more anxious (p less than .02) than low SES adolescents, and these findings lent support to the argument that low and high SES drug abusers differ in personality and therefore require different kinds of treatment interventions.     

Selfie-posting on social networking sites,body surveillance,and exercise for weight control among Chinese young women with low body mass index

Under the perspective of self-perception theory and objectification theory, this study aims to examine the association between selfie-posting on social networking sites (SNSs) and exercise for weight control among Chinese young women, as well as the mediating role of body surveillance. A sample of 467 Chinese female students with a BMI lower than 24 were recruited. Participants voluntarily completed questionnaires assessing their selfie-posting behavior on SNSs, body surveillance, and their weight control motivation for exercise. The results show that selfie-posting on SNSs is positively associated with exercise for weight control, and that body surveillance significantly mediates this association. The results suggest that interventions targeting selfie behaviors on SNSs may be an effective way to prevent unhealthy exercise motivations, such as exercise for weight control, among young women with a low BMI.     

Dying to be thin: the effects of mortality salience and body mass index on restricted eating among women

Following terror management theory, the authors suggest women's striving to attain a thin physique is fueled in part by existential concerns. In three studies, women restricted consumption of a nutritious but fattening food in response to reminders of mortality (mortality salience; MS). When conducted in private (Study 1), this effect was found among women but not men; when replicated in a group setting in which social comparison was likely (Studies 2 and 3), only women who were relatively less successful attaining the thin ideal (i.e., high body mass index; BMI) restricted eating after MS. In Study 3, MS caused high BMI women to perceive themselves as more discrepant from their ideal thinness; this perceived failure mediated the effects of MS and BMI on eating behavior. Findings are discussed from a self-regulatory framework, which considered in the context of pressures for women to be thin, can shed light on health risk behavior.     

家庭社会经济地位与父母教养方式对儿童青少年公正世界信念的影响

以全国24013名10~15岁儿童青少年为对象,探讨家庭社会经济地位与父母教养方式对公正世界信念的影响。结果发现：（1）家庭社会经济地位能够正向预测一般公正世界信念与个人公正世界信念;（2）权威型教养方式能够正向预测一般公正世界信念与个人公正世界信念,独裁型与纵容型教养方式能够负向预测一般公正世界信念与个人公正世界信念;（3）家庭社会经济地位与父母教养方式的交互作用对公正世界信念的影响显著,其中,权威型教养方式对高家庭社会经济地位比对低家庭社会经济地位儿童青少年公正世界信念的促进作用更大,独裁型与纵容型教养方式对低家庭社会经济地位比对高家庭社会经济地位儿童青少年公正世界信念的削弱作用更大。     

Nothing gained: An explorative study of the long‐term effects of perceived maternal feeding practices on women's and men's adult BMI,body image dissatisfaction,and disordered eating

The objective of the studies presented here was the prediction of adult body mass index (BMI), body image dissatisfaction, and disordered eating from recalled maternal child feeding practices. Studies 1 and 2 sampled women from the community, and found that recalled childhood feeding practices predicted both current BMI and current disordered eating. Daughters whose mothers pressured them to eat as children had lower BMIs as adults. The more a mother was concerned about her daughter's weight as a child, and the more she restricted fatty food intake, the less the woman was satisfied with her current body image. Disordered eating of adult women was positively related to their mothers' restriction of their fatty food intake as children, and negatively related to the mothers' monitoring of their food intake as children. Combining the samples and subdividing them into four BMI intervals showed that the obese women were higher on all but one of the recalled maternal child feeding practices, as well as on disordered eating and body dissatisfaction. Age was found to be positively related to BMI and drive for thinness, but not to body dissatisfaction or disordered eating, with older women having higher BMI and more drive for thinness. Study 3 sampled adult men from the community and found that recalled maternal child feeding practices predicted adult BMI and disordered eating for men, as well as for women. Considerable sex differences were found for all study variables. Recollection of maternal child feeding practices may have a formative role in the development of body image, disordered eating, and BMI for men and women, even into adulthood.     

Animalizing the disadvantaged,mechanizing the wealthy: The convergence of socio‐economic status and attribution of humanity

Differences between groups in socio‐economic status (SES) are becoming more salient nowadays. In this context, we examined the animalistic and mechanistic dehumanization that both low and high‐SES groups may experience respectively by conducting three studies. In study 1, we manipulated the SES of two fictitious groups (low vs. high‐SES) and measured the humanity ascribed to them. Results showed that the low‐SES group was animalized in comparison with the high‐SES group, which was mechanized. In study 2, we manipulated the humanity of two fictitious groups by describing them as animals or machines and measured the perceived SES of the groups. Participants tended to attribute lower SES to the group described as animals and higher SES to the group described as machines. Finally, in study 3, we used an Implicit Association Test to replicate the results of studies 1 and 2. Taken together, these studies show that low‐SES groups are considered as animal‐like whereas high‐SES groups are seen as robot‐like. We discuss the implications of these findings in relation to the justification of income inequality within our society.     

Lonelier, lazier, and teased: the stigmatizing effect of body size

The authors conducted 2 studies to examine the stigmatization of the female and male body using photographic stimuli of real people. In the first study, 75 female and 55 male undergraduates rated a series of 50 photographs of women ranging in body mass index (BMI) on 3 items: gets teased, lonely, and lazy. Both male and female observers rated bodies on either side of BMI 19-20 kg/m2 higher for the gets teased and lonely items. For the lazy item, there was a clear pattern of greater stigmatization with increasing BMI. In the second study, 40 male and 40 female observers rated a series of photographs of the male body that varied in BMI and waist-to-chest ratio on the same items. Results showed that men and women judged overweight and more tubular men to be lazier, lonelier, and teased. These findings suggest that body size is an important characteristic to consider when examining body stigmatization among men and women. These results also show support for the beautiful-is-good bias.     

Does Religion Increase the Prevalence and Incidence of Obesity in Adulthood?

Previous research reveals that religion in America is related to variations in body weight. This article examines the relationships between religion and both body mass index (BMI) and obesity, which have increased in prevalence in the United States over the past two decades. Using longitudinal data from a national sample of adults, this study prospectively examines whether dimensions of religious life are associated with weight gain and the development of obesity during eight years of follow-up. We examine four dimensions of religiosity (attendance, salience, media practice, and consolation) and religious affiliation. Ordinary least squares regression analyses reveal that high levels of religious media practice are associated with higher BMI in women. Logistic regression analyses reveal that high levels of religious media practice and affiliation with a Baptist denomination increased the risk of obesity for women, but that a high level of religious consolation reduced the risk of obesity incidence for men. Attendance at religious services was associated with a lower risk of the incidence of obesity for women, suggesting the importance of studying links between dimensions of religious life and body weight.