Ideal body shape preferences and eating disorder scores in adolescent women

Abstract

Using the body figure-preference ratings of Fallon and Rozin (1985), this study investigated the relationship between body shape preferences and eating disorder scores in a sample of adolescent women. These young women were found to express a large degree of body dissatisfaction, which was positively related to eating disorder symptomology. For the sample as a whole, there was no difference between ratings of the ideal figure and that perceived as most attractive. However, the Bulimia and Perfectionism scales did offer unique prediction of the ideal figure, over and above the Attractive figure. It was concluded that young women with high bulimic scores wish to be thinner than what they perceive as attractive. The present study suggests that what motivates this wish is the search for perfectionism.     

Self-objectification, habitual body monitoring, and body dissatisfaction in older European American women: exploring age and feminism as moderators

This study examined the influence of feminist attitudes on self-objectification, habitual body monitoring, and body dissatisfaction in middle age and older women. The participants were 138 European American heterosexual women ranging in age from 40 to 87 years old. Consistent with previous research, self-objectification and habitual body monitoring were positively correlated with body dissatisfaction and, self-objectification and habitual body monitoring remained stable across the lifespan. While age did not moderate the relationship between self-objectification and body dissatisfaction, age was found to moderate the relationship between habitual body monitoring and body dissatisfaction such that the relationship was smaller for older women than for middle-aged women. Interestingly, feminist attitudes were not significantly correlated with body dissatisfaction, self-objectification, or habitual body monitoring, and endorsement of feminist attitudes was not found to moderate the relationship between self-objectification or habitual body monitoring and body dissatisfaction. Potential implications for older women are discussed.     

Self-objectification,body image disturbance,and eating disorder symptoms in young Australian children

Self-objectification has been examined extensively in adult populations. Despite theoretical evidence suggesting that children may also be vulnerable to experiencing self-objectification, whether children do self-objectify has not been determined. Accordingly, the present study examined the degree to which children self-objectify. The prevalence of body image and eating disturbances in this population, and the relationship between self-objectification and these disturbances, were also investigated. Results from over 250 boys and girls aged 6–11 years revealed that young girls report levels of self-objectification that are similar to those observed among older girls and women. Self-objectification was also found to be meaningfully related to body image and eating disturbances in children. A significant proportion of children reported body dissatisfaction and a minority engaged in disordered eating behaviours in the four weeks prior to the assessment. These results suggest that children may be at risk of experiencing the negative psychological outcomes associated with self-objectification.     

On the methodology of body image assessment: the use of figural rating scales to evaluate body dissatisfaction and the ideal body standards of women

We examined the use of figural rating scales to measure body dissatisfaction and the ideal body standards of women. We also attended to the potential influence of demand characteristics in body assessment research using these measures, a methodological concern largely ignored in this field. We used both within- and between-subjects designs to assess whether women hold different body standards for themselves compared to their same sex peers and whether their own ideal body size (IBS) is different from what they think men prefer. Regardless of the method of data collection (within or between design), we failed to find any differences on separate items of body image ideals. The findings do provide evidence of robust and large effects for the current–ideal discrepancy as measured by figural rating scales, but argue against including multiple questions about ideal body preferences on these types of scales. Concerns about the influence of demand characteristics were not supported by the data.     

肢体形状和肢体动作表征的早期发展

肢体是社会性信息的重要载体。研究肢体表征的早期发展对于揭示其肢体表征加工的内在机制, 进一步理解婴儿的社会性发展具有重要意义。从肢体形状和肢体动作两个方面来看, 已有研究主要考察了婴儿在处理肢体结构信息和运动信息时的表征方式, 并提出了婴儿肢体表征发展机制的两种理论。未来应进一步明确婴儿肢体表征的具体发展过程及关键期, 并通过脑成像技术探究生物运动偏好对于肢体表征的作用机制。     

Self-objectification and compliment type: Effects on negative mood

The effects of trait self-objectification and compliment type (Neutral/Character/Appearance) on women's negative mood was examined. One hundred and eighty-five undergraduate women participated in mock appearance evaluations and interviews before completing questionnaires. As in previous research, women high on trait self-objectification displayed substantially greater body shame and appearance anxiety than women low on trait self-objectification. Women high on trait self-objectification who received character or appearance compliments expressed less negative mood than those receiving neutral compliments. A supplementary study (N = 53) suggested that the effect of positive compliments may be due, in part, to the fact that the self-esteem of high trait self-objectified participants was largely contingent on others’ approval. Offering highly trait self-objectified women positive statements concerning either their characters or their appearance temporarily assuages negative mood.     

Something in the way she moves: biological motion,body shape,and attractiveness in women

Most previous research into the attractiveness of women’s bodies has relied on static stimuli such as line-drawings or photographs, particularly focusing on the role of body-mass index (BMI) and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR). However, real attractiveness judgments are invariably made on moving bodies, and movement may contain important information about attractiveness. We measured the importance of movement in attractiveness judgments by using motion-capture to isolate dynamic cues from 37 female walkers, and compare ratings of 75 participants made on these, static photographs, and the original videos. Multiple regression analysis revealed that both dynamic and static cues were important in the attractiveness of women’s bodies. Furthermore, BMI and WHR predicted attractiveness, but BMI was more important in dynamic rather than static cues, while WHR was important for both static and dynamic cues. These findings suggest that movement plays a crucial part in the attractiveness of female bodies and cannot be ignored in studies of human mate choice. Furthermore, dynamic and static cues may contain differential information related to female body shape, which further research should attempt to elucidate.     

Relationships amongst body dissatisfaction, internalisation of the media body ideal and perceived pressure from media in adolescent girls and boys

Sociocultural factors that underpin gender differences in body dissatisfaction have not frequently been explored. We examined the relative contribution of internalization of media body ideals and perceived pressure to achieve this ideal in explaining body dissatisfaction in adolescent boys and girls. A sample of 819 boys and 791 girls completed measures of internalization of body ideals, perceived pressure, body mass index (BMI) and body dissatisfaction. As expected, girls showed higher body dissatisfaction, internalization and pressure than boys. Internalization, pressure and BMI contributed to the prediction of body dissatisfaction in boys and in girls although these variables explained less variance in body dissatisfaction in boys. In addition, for girls the strongest predictor of body dissatisfaction was internalization, whilst for boys the strongest predictor was pressure. Differences in extent of internalization and pressure may contribute to higher body dissatisfaction in girls than boys. These sociocultural factors may affect girls and boys differently.     

Development of preferences for the human body shape in infancy

Two studies investigated the development of infants' visual preferences for the human body shape. In Study 1, infants of 12, 15 and 18 months were tested in a standard preferential looking experiment, in which they were shown paired line drawings of typical and scrambled bodies. Results indicated that the 18-month-olds had a reliable preference for the scrambled body shapes over typical body shapes, while the younger infants did not show differential responding. In Study 2, 12- and 18-month-olds were tested with the same procedure, except that the typical and scrambled body stimuli were photographic images. The results of Study 2 again indicated that only the 18-month-olds had a reliable preference for the scrambled body shapes. This finding contrasts sharply with infants' precocious preferences for human faces, suggesting that infants' learning about human faces and human bodies follow different developmental trajectories.     

The impact of college on sex-atypical career choices of men and women

This study sought to identify the college environments and experiences associated with changes in sex-atypical career aspirations among men and women. A sample of 17,637 students attending baccalaureate institutions across the country was surveyed upon college entry and again 4 years later. The findings revealed that aspects of the college environment, including the peer culture, faculty interaction, and curriculum, all contribute to shifts to or from nontraditional career choices.     

A sociocultural framework for understanding partner preferences of women and men: Integration of concepts and evidence

In the current sociocultural framework for understanding mating preferences, we propose that gender roles affect sex differences and similarities in mate preferences. Gender roles, in turn, are shaped by the unequal division of labour between women and men. As a consequence, mating preferences and choices should converge across the sexes as the weakening of this division puts the sexes in more similar social roles in their societies. To evaluate these assumptions, we review relevant findings from three domains that show variability in gender roles: (a) cross-cultural variability related to differences in societies’ division of labour, (b) historical variability related to temporal changes in the division of labour, and (c) individual variability in gender attitudes that reflects the gradual and uneven spread of shifts toward gender equality throughout each society. The bringing together of multiple lines of evidence puts the sociocultural framework on a new and more secure foundation.     

Preference for attractiveness and thinness in a partner: Influence of internalization of the thin ideal and shape/weight dissatisfaction in heterosexual women, heterosexual men, lesbians, and gay men

This study assesses whether characteristics of one's own body image influences preferences of attractiveness in a partner. The role of gender and sexual orientation is also considered. Heterosexual women (n = 67), lesbian women (n = 73), heterosexual men (n = 61) and gay men (n = 82) participated in an internet survey assessing attitudes towards the body and preferences of attractiveness in a partner. Men in particular were found to prefer attractive partners, regardless of sexual orientation. Weight/shape dissatisfaction was found to be a negative predictor for heterosexual men and women. For gay men, preferences were better explained by internalization and weight/shape dissatisfaction. No such associations were found in the lesbian group. Levels of weight/shape dissatisfaction and internalization of socio-cultural slenderness ideals influence expectations of thinness and attractiveness in a partner with this effect being modified by gender and sexual orientation.     

Interpreting infant emotional expressions: Parenthood has differential effects on men and women

Interpreting and responding to an infant's emotional cues is a fundamental parenting skill. Responsivity to infant cues is frequently disrupted in depression, impacting negatively on child outcomes, which underscores its importance. It is widely assumed that women, and in particular mothers, show greater attunement to infants than do men. However, empirical evidence for sex and parental status effects, particularly in relation to perception of infant emotion, has been lacking. In this study, men and women with and without young infants were asked to rate valence in a range of infant facial expressions, on a scale of very positive to very negative. Results suggested complex interaction effects between parental status, sex, and the facial expression being rated. Mothers provided more positive ratings of the happy expressions and more extreme ratings of the intense emotion expressions than fathers, but non-mothers and non-fathers did not. Low-level depressive symptoms were also found to correlate with more negative ratings of negative infant facial expressions across the entire sample. Overall, these results suggest that parental status might have differential effects on men and women's appraisal of infant cues. Differences between fathers’ and mothers’ perceptions of infant emotion might be of interest in understanding variance in interaction styles, such as proportion of time spent in play.     

Word lists for testing cognitive biases toward body shape among men and women

The present study developed word lists describing three categories of body build—fat, thin, and muscular— for use in investigating cognitive risk factors for body dissatisfaction. Fifty-one men and 51 women rated the categorization, valence, and familiarity of 284 body-related adjectives in order to develop the final lists. The normative frequency of each of the 284 words was determined using an index of American English. The final 19- to 26-item word lists were constructed so that the average number of syllables, word length, word frequency, and mean percentage of categorization agreement were comparable. The availability of these word lists will facilitate future cognitive research into a key risk factor for eating disorders.     

Links between religiously-focused exercise and body shape preoccupation among young adults

This quasi-experimental study examined whether engaging in physical exercise integrated with a Christian religious focus would result in decreased body shape preoccupation and improved mental and emotional health. Data were collected at the beginning and end of an eight-week period from female and male college students in three conditions: (1) group exercise sessions integrating an explicit religious focus, (2) standard group exercise, and (3) a control condition without activities. The religious exercise group decreased in body shape preoccupation to a greater extent than the control group, but the groups did not differ in other psychological symptoms or affect. This offers an initial indication that integrating a religious focus with exercise may potentially offer a unique method for addressing body shape preoccupation that is not accounted for by improvements in mental health or affect. If confirmed through additional research, infusing a religious focus into exercise regimens might inspire a practical, inexpensive method of targeting body shape dissatisfaction among young adults.     

NEO-FFI scores in college men and women: A view from McDonald’s unified treatment of test theory

There is a need for more detailed psychometric data in describing and evaluating the NEO-FFI (Costa & McCrae, 1992), especially in samples of men and women enrolled in Introductory Psychology classes. This article meets that need and in so doing introduces to a new and wide audience procedures recently advocated by McDonald (1999) in his unified treatment of test theory. Results reveal a wide range of strengths and weaknesses in the NEO-FFI at both the item and sum-score levels, as well as sources of concordance and discordance between men and women at both levels.     

Setting the bar: divergent sociocultural norms for women's and men's ideal appearance in real-world contexts

Research suggests that exposure to sociocultural norms for idealized appearance can reduce both women's and men's body satisfaction. Despite comparable effects for both genders in the lab, in the “real-world” women's body satisfaction is chronically lower than men's. Real-world gender differences may arise from discrepancies in men's and women's everyday exposure to norms. Across eight studies using a variety of content analysis, survey, and experimental methods, we examine differences in sociocultural norms for ideal appearance pertaining to women and men in “daily life” contexts. We demonstrate that appearance norms encountered by women in daily life are more rigid, homogenous and pervasive than those for men, and that more messages implying the attainability of the ideal appearance are directed at women. Finally, experimental results show that homogeneous, rigid norms (like those typically encountered by women) are more harmful to body image than heterogeneous, flexible norms (like those typically encountered by men).     

The influence of materialism and ideal body internalization on body‐dissatisfaction and body‐shaping behaviors of young men and women: Support for the Consumer Culture Impact Model

Exposure to media images of the ‘body‐perfect’ ideal has been partly blamed for the pursuit of thinness among women and muscularity among men. Research has largely overlooked the materialistic messages frequently associated with these images. We present findings from two studies with Icelandic students aged 18–21, one focusing on young women (n = 303) and one on young men (n = 226), which test associations of materialistic and body‐perfect ideals with body dissatisfaction and excessive body shaping behaviors. In both studies, the internalization of materialistic values is strongly linked to the internalization of body‐perfect ideals: the thin‐ideal for young women, and the muscular‐ideal for young men. A materialist value orientation also predicted body dissatisfaction in both studies, and was linked to body shaping behaviors, albeit differently for young women and men. Thus, the research identifies materialism as a further correlate of both body dissatisfaction and excessive body‐shaping behaviors. The findings support Dittmar's ( 2008 ) Consumer Culture Impact Model, which proposes that the body‐perfect and ‘material good life’ ideals jointly impact well‐being.     

Self-objectification,body self-consciousness during sexual activities,and sexual satisfaction in college women

Few studies examine the mechanisms that link body image to sexual satisfaction in women. Using the tenets of objectification theory, this study investigated the relationships between body surveillance, body shame, body self-consciousness during sexual activities, and sexual satisfaction in an ethnically diverse sample of American female college students (N = 368), while controlling for relationship status and body mass index. Results based on self-report measures of these constructs suggested that body shame and body self-consciousness during sexual activity were negatively correlated with sexual satisfaction. Additionally, path analysis indicated that body surveillance predicted increased body self-consciousness during sexual activity, partially mediated by body shame. Body self-consciousness, in turn, predicted decreased sexual satisfaction. Overall, study findings highlight the negative consequences of body image concerns for women's sexual satisfaction.     

男性理想体型变化及其影响因素

现代男性对自身体型的关注程度日益升高,理想体型也发生变化,从单一的肌肉发达体型发展为低体脂高肌肉的双维度体型。影响男性理想体型的因素主要分为两类:生物因素和社会文化因素。生物因素方面,不同性别、年龄和性取向的群体拥有不同的男性理想体型;社会文化方面,社会文化通过家庭、同伴和媒体三个渠道向理想体型施加影响。未来的研究应该进一步通过实验确立体脂与肌肉双维度的男性理想体型,并结合纵向研究验证生物及社会文化因素的影响,完善男性理想体型的理论系统,为政府制定身体意象相关的干预措施和政策提供详实有力的理论依据。