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.     

Body attitudes and eating behaviors of female clothing sales personnel

Recent research suggests that social standards for ideal female beauty are related to negative body-image and dieting among young women. We hypothesized that women who work in settings that emphasize physical appearance (women's fashion clothing sales) would have more disturbed body attitudes and eating behaviors than college women. Sales personnel (n = 21) and students (n = 25) answered questions about their occupational status, weight, and demographic characteristics, and completed the Body-esteem Scale and the Eating Disorder Inventory. Weight and scores on the two scales were similar in both groups except that sales personnel reported more dissatisfaction with their body parts on the Body dissatisfaction scale of the Eating Disorder Inventory. Among sales personnel, those who perceived their appearance to be of greater importance in their work also reported more concern about dieting and weight, as reflected on the Drive for thinness subscale of the Eating Disorder Inventory. Results are discussed with regard to situational influences on women's body attitudes and their implications for eating behaviors.     

Interpersonal sensitivity,eating disorder symptoms,and eating/ thinness expectancies

This study examined social-emotional and cognitive factors in relation to eating disorder symptoms in 84 female undergraduates. Sensitivity to criticism and rejection-sensitivity related to each other and to appearance-related sensitivity. Although both interpersonal and appearance sensitivity related to a drive for thinness, appearance sensitivity had the stronger relationship. Interpersonal sensitivity was significantly correlated with expectancies that dieting and thinness lead to overgeneralized self-improvement, but not with eating expectancies. After controlling for body mass index, interpersonal sensitivity, and appearance sensitivity, dieting/thinness expectancies were related to drive for thinness, and expectancies that eating helps to manage negative affect were related to symptoms of bulimia. Findings are discussed in terms of the potential role that interpersonal sensitivity and eating-related expectancies may play in the development and maintenance of eating disorders, as well as intervention approaches. Portion of this paper were presented at the 72^nd Annual Meeting of the Midwestern Psychological Association, Chicago, IL, May 2000.     

Interpersonal sensitivity, eating disorder symptoms, and eating/ thinness expectancies

This study examined social-emotional and cognitive factors in relation to eating disorder symptoms in 84 female undergraduates. Sensitivity to criticism and rejection-sensitivity related to each other and to appearance-related sensitivity. Although both interpersonal and appearance sensitivity related to a drive for thinness, appearance sensitivity had the stronger relationship. Interpersonal sensitivity was significantly correlated with expectancies that dieting and thinness lead to overgeneralized self-improvement, but not with eating expectancies. After controlling for body mass index, interpersonal sensitivity, and appearance sensitivity, dieting/thinness expectancies were related to drive for thinness, and expectancies that eating helps to manage negative affect were related to symptoms of bulimia. Findings are discussed in terms of the potential role that interpersonal sensitivity and eating-related expectancies may play in the development and maintenance of eating disorders, as well as intervention approaches. Portion of this paper were presented at the 72^nd Annual Meeting of the Midwestern Psychological Association, Chicago, IL, May 2000.     

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.     

Investigation of Body Comparison Among Adolescent Girls1

Grade differences in appearance and nonappearance social comparisons, and targets for body comparison were examined in adolescent girls. A model describing potential contributors to, and consequences of, body comparison tendency was examined. Girls (n= 545) completed measuring social comparisons, targets for comparisons, dieting in response to comparisons, body attitudes, eating patterns, psychological variables, height, and weight. Appearance and nonappearance social comparisons increased with age. Girls reported comparing their bodies most frequently with peers and fashion models. Body comparison tendency was significantly predicted by: importance of thinness, internalization of socio‐cultural ideal, friend concern with weight, body image instability, competitiveness, grade, public self‐consciousness, perfectionism, and family concern with weight. Predictors of dieting in response to body comparison were also explored.     

The Role of Self-Objectification in the Experience of Women with Eating Disorders

Objectification theory has linked self-objectification to negative emotional experiences and disordered eating behavior in cultures that sexually objectify the female body. This link has not been empirically tested in a clinical sample of women with eating disorders. In the present effort, 209 women in residential treatment for eating disorders completed self-report measures of self-objectification, body shame, media influence, and drive for thinness on admission to treatment. Results demonstrated that the internalization of appearance ideals from the media predicted self-objectification, whereas using the media as an informational source about appearance and feeling pressured to conform to media ideals did not. Self-objectification partially mediated the relationship between internalized appearance ideals and drive for thinness; internalized appearance ideals continued to be an independent predictor of variance. In accordance with objectification theory, body shame partially mediated the relationship between self-objectification and drive for thinness in women with eating disorders; self-objectification continued to be an independent predictor of variance. These results illustrate the importance of understanding and targeting the experience of self-objectification in women with eating disorders or women at risk for eating disorders.     

Are Feminist Women Protected from Body Image Problems? A Meta-analytic Review of Relevant Research

It was hypothesized that feminist women would experience positive body image due to a heightened ability to critique cultural pressures related to thinness. Samples from 26 studies (almost all North American) were compiled for a meta-analysis to examine the association between feminist identity and measures related to body image and eating problems. The largest number of effect sizes found addressed the association between feminist identity and body attitudes (k?=?28), and it was found that there was a positive, significant association that was strongest when older women participants were tested and when a more purposeful sample (e.g., women studies students) was questioned. There were also significant negative associations between feminist identity and other measures related to eating problems.     

Actual differences and stereotypical perceptions in body image and eating disturbance: A comparison of male and female heterosexual and homosexual samples

In the present study, 32 homosexual males (HMM), 32 homosexual females (HMF), 32 heterosexual males (HTM), and 32 heterosexual females (HTF) completed measures of body image disturbance and concerns with weight and dieting from five different perspectives: self, and typical homosexual male, heterosexual male, heterosexual female, and homosexual female. Participants were primarily Caucasian. Results indicated that, in general, HMMs and HTFs showed greater actual concerns with appearance, weight, and dieting, and were perceived to possess greater body image disturbance and dieting concerns compared to HTMs and HMFs. Subjects also held various stereotypic misperceptions about certain target groups such that HTFs and HMMs were predicted to possess greater body image disturbance and be more concerned with weight and dieting than was actually true. In addition, subjects made accurate predictions about HTMs overall, but were inconsistent in their predictions of HMFs on these measures. Results are discussed in terms of possible variation in the degree of importance these attributes may have for members of these four populations and how such differences may lead to an increased risk for developing eating disorders among heterosexual females and homosexual males.     

Empowerment,feminism, and self-efficacy: Relationships to body image and disordered eating

Sociocultural norms pertaining to an ideal of thinness for women likely play a role in the development and maintenance of disturbance in body image, and by extension, disordered eating. However, competing norms associated with feminism may buffer women from pressures associated with achieving the thin ideal. The present study explored the relationship between feminist ideology, empowerment, and self-efficacy relative to body image and eating behavior with a sample of U.S. undergraduate women (N = 318) attending a southeastern U.S. mid-sized university. In planned hierarchical multiple regression analyses, endorsement of feminist ideology predicted perceptions of positive body image, but did not appear to predict disordered eating. Self-efficacy emerged as a robust predictor of positive body image and lower disordered eating even after controlling for perceptions of personal empowerment and feminism. Results, although limited by correlational data, suggest that self-efficacy may protect college-aged women from disordered eating and negative body image.     

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.     

Disordered eating behaviors and body image in a longitudinal pilot study of adolescent girls: What happens 2 years later?

We assessed the prospective association of risk factors for eating and body image disturbances after a 2-year follow-up in a community sample of Spanish adolescent girls. The participants included 128 Spanish girls aged 12–14, who took part in a 28-month prospective study. Aspects assessed were eating attitudes (Eating Attitudes Test), influence of the body shape model (questionnaire on influences of the aesthetic body shape model), extreme weight-control behaviors (Eating Disorder Examination-Questionnaire), body image (Body Image Questionnaire) and Body Mass Index (BMI). BMI, extreme weight-control behaviors and body image problems emerged as potential predictors of an increase in eating disturbances. An increased influence of the thinness model was significantly associated with reduced body satisfaction and body image problems. Preventive programs are needed to contribute reducing the impact of sociocultural influences with regard to thinness, the use of extreme weight-control behaviors and overweight in adolescents.     

An ecological momentary assessment of the effects of weight and shape social comparisons on women with eating pathology, high body dissatisfaction, and low body dissatisfaction

This research examined the effects of naturally occurring appearance comparisons on women's affect, body satisfaction, and compensatory cognitions and behaviors. Using ecological momentary assessment, women with high body dissatisfaction and eating pathology (EPHB), high body dissatisfaction (HB), or low body dissatisfaction (LB) recorded their reactions to appearance-focused social comparisons. EPHB and HB women made more upward appearance comparisons than LB women. All women experienced negative emotions and cognitions after upward comparisons, including increased guilt, body dissatisfaction, and thoughts of dieting. EPHB women were most negatively affected by comparisons; they experienced more intense negative emotions, more thoughts of dieting/exercising, and an increase in eating-disordered behavior after upward comparisons. HB women experienced more negative affective consequences and thoughts of dieting than LB women. Results are consistent with social comparison theory and provide important information that may be used to inform eating disorder treatment and prevention efforts.     

Development and Validation of the Female Muscularity Scale

Socially promoted physical appearance ideals for women place increasing importance on muscularity, resulting in growing muscularity concerns among traditional college-age women. To date, however, instruments for assessing the type of muscularity concerns reported by women are lacking. The aim of the present study was therefore to develop such a scale and examine its psychometric properties among a sample of young women. Findings from an exploratory factor analysis (n = 235) and a confirmatory factor analysis (n = 130) revealed a two-factor structure, including a five-item Attitudes subscale (α = .89) and a five-item Behaviors subscale (α = .90), which were moderately correlated, r = .50. In addition, the scale demonstrated good 2-week test-retest reliability (r = .76), and the subscales revealed moderate-to-large associations with body image concerns, drive for thinness, and exercise engagement, indicating concurrent validity. Thus the new Female Muscularity Scale is a useful and promising tool for assessing muscularity concerns among young women, and it may help toward understanding the role of pressures to achieve a toned body in the development of body image, eating, and exercise disorders.     

Eating patterns and disorders in a college population: Are college women's eating problems a new phenomenon?

This paper examines the relationship between gender differences in eating patterns among college students and the disorders as clinically defined. A considerable number of college women but few men in our sample show behavioral patterns associated with an eating disorder (anorexia or bulimia). Our findings for women are in the moderate to high range for these symptoms, compared with other university populations. Results indicate that the eating difficulties of college women may be an eating problem, which only partially resembles clinical eating disorders. Although our female college sample displays the behavioral symptoms associated with anorexia and bulimia, they exhibit few of the constellation of psychological traits associated with these disorders. Some evidence suggests that the etiology of eating problems may be partly related to women wanting to be thinner than is medically desirable and may represent a response of normal women to the new, more demanding cultural and supercultural standards for thinness. Diagnosis and treatment issues as well as sociocultural implications of these results are discussed.The author wishes to thank Alan Clayton-Matthews, Larry Zaborski, John Downey, Larry Ludlow, the Editor, and an anonymous reviewer for their helpful comments. This research was supported, in part, from a grant from the Office of Research Administration, Boston College.     

Eating Disorders in Men: Current Considerations

Over the past two decades, there has been a change in the way men think about their bodies. The media portrays images of men with muscular bodies and a six pack abdomen. These images can create body dissatisfaction in males. With the change in the way that the media and society in the United States look at men, so has the drive for men to achieve this ideal body image. Eating disorders, body dysmorphia, and strict exercise and diet regimens seem to plague young men as do the images in advertisements. Although eating disorders in men are similar to what women experience, men seem to strive for more body mass whereas women try to obtain thinness. Gay men and heterosexual men seem to experience eating disorders in the same way although there are differences between how they perceive their bodies. This paper outlines how the media contributes to body dissatisfaction in men. In addition to understanding how the media affects men, it is important to review and possibly revise out understanding of eating disorders and body dysmorphia symptoms to gain a solid understanding of how these symptoms appear in men today.     

A Treatment for College Women at Risk for Bulimia: A Controlled Evaluation

Twenty-nine college women evidencing low body esteem, repeated dieting efforts, and other dysfunctional eating behaviors or attitudes were randomly assigned to group treatment or control conditions. At posttest and follow-up, participants who received the intervention reported significantly improved levels of self-esteem and body satisfaction, as well as reductions in their reliance on potentially dangerous methods of weight management compared with controls. They also reported fewer fears of negative evaluation by others and endorsed fewer stereotypes about thinness and attractiveness. Finally, participants in the treatment condition showed significantly reduced levels of perfectionism at posttest, but this change was not maintained at follow-up. Clinical implications and research recommendations are discussed.     

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.     

Do friends share similar body image and eating problems? The role of social networks and peer influences in early adolescence

This study examined the role of friendship networks and peer influences in body image concern, dietary restraint, extreme weight loss behaviours (EWLBs) and binge eating in a large community sample of young adolescent females. Based on girls' self-reported friendship groups, social network analysis was used to identify 173 friendship cliques. Results indicated that clique members shared similar scores on measures of dieting, EWLB and binge eating, but not body image concern. Average clique scores for dieting, EWLB and binge eating, were also correlated significantly with clique averages on measures of perceived peer influence, body mass index and psychological variables. Multiple regression analyses indicated that perceived peer influences in weight-related attitudes and behaviours were predictive of individual girls' level of body image concern, dieting, EWLB use and binge eating. Notably, an individual girl's dieting and EWLB use could be predicted from her friends' respective dieting and EWLB scores. Findings highlight the significance of the peer environment in body image and eating problems during early adolescence.     

Eating Disorders in an Israeli Women’s Prison: Correlates of the Risk

Extensive rates of child abuse and neglect (CAN), substance abuse disorders (SUDs), and mental health problems have been reported among incarcerated women. The link between CAN, SUDs, and eating disorders is well-documented, but little is known about the eating-disorder behaviors of incarcerated women. The purpose of this study was (a) to explore eating-disorder behaviors among incarcerated women in Israel; (b) to examine whether certain types of CAN are associated with eating disorders; and (c) to study the link between CAN, SUDs, mental health problems, and eating disorders. This cross-sectional study investigated eating-disorder behaviors in a sample of 62 incarcerated women in Israel. The findings indicated a high prevalence of eating disorders among incarcerated women; almost 70% exhibited the drive for thinness, which is considered a central feature of eating disorders. In addition, the findings revealed a high prevalence of CAN (84.2%), especially emotional abuse (57.9%) and emotional neglect (73.7%). I also found a high rate of co-occurrence of CAN, SUDs, mental health problems, and eating disorders. Bulimia nervosa, ineffectiveness, and low impulse regulation were found to be associated with SUDs and mental health problems (p?=?0.006, p?=?0.032, and p?<?0.001, respectively). The findings highlight the intersection of trauma with self-destructive behaviors, including co-occurrences of SUDs, eating disorders, and severe mental health problems as a result of negative childhood experiences, suggesting a need for simultaneous treatment interventions.