Body dissatisfaction, maternal appraisal, and depressive symptoms in Hong Kong adolescents

Body dissatisfaction, its risk factors and association with depressed mood have been well investigated in the West. However, more studies are needed to examine further the relation between body dissatisfaction and depressive symptoms and the factors influencing body dissatisfaction in non-Western cultures. The present study examined in a sample of Hong Kong Chinese adolescents the relation between body dissatisfaction and depressive symptoms, and the relation of maternal appraisal of their adolescent's figure to the adolescent's body dissatisfaction and depressive symptoms. We obtained information from 379 boys and 254 girls about their body dissatisfaction and depressive symptoms. Their mothers provided information about their appraisal of their adolescent's body shape and size compared to ideal. Body dissatisfaction was related to depressive symptoms in girls (B = 2.58, p <.01), but not in boys (B = -0.08, p >.10). Negative maternal appraisal did not have direct effects on adolescents' depressive symptoms (B = 0.14, p =.75), but the association between negative maternal appraisal and body dissatisfaction was significantly stronger in adolescents whose ideal was smaller than they perceived themselves to be (B = 0.32, p <.01) than those whose ideal was larger than their own perception (B = 0.14, p < .01). Our findings suggest that maternal appraisal had indirect effects on mood, acting through adolescents' body dissatisfaction, and that body dissatisfaction may be a sex-specific risk factor for depression. This study points to the need for testing and adapting programs to reduce body dissatisfaction particularly in girls at risk for depression, and to raise mothers' awareness of the link between their negative appraisals and their adolescents' body dissatisfaction and depressive symptoms.     

Body dissatisfaction in Latin and Spanish adolescents

The present paper has two aims: firstly to analyse and compare body dissatisfaction of Spanish and Latin adolescents, and secondly to determine the impact of sociocultural factors and Body Mass Index (BMI) on dissatisfaction. The sample is made up of 403 adolescents, 191 Spaniards and 212 Latin-Americans, all of them students in Basque Country high schools. They were assessed by the Body Shape Questionnaire (BSQ), the CIMEC-26 (a questionnaire designed to assess the influence of the aesthetic body model), and the BMI. The results show that the Latin adolescents have a higher level of body dissatisfaction than the Spanish. This is due to the greater influence in the Latin adolescents of sociocultural factors.     

Attachment,the tripartite influence model,and the development of body dissatisfaction

The tripartite model of influence proposes that three primary core sources of influence-parents, peers and media-contribute to the development of body dissatisfaction and disordered eating. In the current study, this model was examined in a sample of 205 undergraduate women. This study added to previous research by investigating mother and father criticism separately and by examining the potential moderating effects of parental attachment in the pathway to body dissatisfaction. Results indicated partial support for the tripartite model of influence. Sociocultural influences (media) were found to be a significant predictor of body dissatisfaction, but not parental or peer criticism. Anxious attachment was found to be a significant moderator on the effects of sociocultural attitudes in body dissatisfaction. Limitations and future research implications are discussed.     

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

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

Influence des médias,insatisfaction envers le poids et l’apparence et troubles alimentaires selon le genre

The aim of the study was to explore gender differences in weight dissatisfaction, body dissatisfaction, media influence, use of dieting and excessive exercise, and disordered eating among a sample of 405 adolescents and young adults (277 girls and 128 boys) aged between 15 and 26. Girls were more likely to want to lose weight, whereas boys were more likely to want to gain weight and use excessive exercise. Gender differences have been found in body dissatisfaction and media influence, and among participants with disordered eating too. The findings brought out the gender-specific patterns of media influence, body image disturbances and disordered eating.     

Predictive models for understanding body dissatisfaction among young males and females in China

The present study was designed to develop predictive models for understanding body dissatisfaction among young males and females (N=1377) in China. Six factors were assessed, including body mass index (BMI), perception of teasing, social pressure to be thin, appearance comparison, thin-ideal internalization and perceived social support. Variables were examined respectively for males and females. One SEM model, which had good fit indices, was developed for each gender. For both genders, BMI exerted its influence on body image directly and indirectly through perception of teasing. Two sources of sociocultural influence, perception of teasing and social pressure to be thin, also directly predicted body dissatisfaction. Gender differences were found in the relation between mediational mechanisms (social comparison and thin-ideal internalization) and body dissatisfaction. For females but not males, social comparison and internalization acted as weak but significant mediators between sociocultural influence and body image concerns. Implications and limitations are discussed.     

Habitual negative body image thinking as psychological risk factor in adolescents

Negative body image thinking can be broken down into cognitive content (body dissatisfaction thoughts) and the way such thoughts occur. The present study focused on negative body image thinking as mental habit, i.e., the degree to which such thinking occurs frequently and automatically [Verplanken, Friborg, Wang, Trafimow, & Woolf, 2007]. In a sample of 250 adolescents (age 12-15) it was found that negative body image thinking habit uniquely accounted for variance in self-esteem and eating disturbance propensity over and above body image dissatisfaction. Considering negative body image thinking as a mental habit contributes to a deeper understanding of body dissatisfaction in adolescents, and may have implications for interventions to deal with such attitudes and their potentially harmful consequences.     

A prospective test of the dual-pathway model of bulimic pathology: mediating effects of dieting and negative affect

Because there have been few longitudinal investigations of integrative etiological theories of bulimia nervosa, this study prospectively tested the dual-pathway model using random regression growth curve models and data from a 3-wave community sample of adolescent girls (N = 231). Initial pressure to be thin and thin-ideal internalization predicted subsequent growth in body dissatisfaction, initial body dissatisfaction predicted growth in dieting and negative affect, and initial dieting and negative affect predicted growth in bulimic symptoms. There was prospective evidence for most of the hypothesized mediational effects. Results are consistent with the assertion that pressure to be thin, thin-ideal internalization, body dissatisfaction, dieting, and negative affect are risk factors for bulimic pathology and provide support for the dual-pathway model.     

Development of Body Modification and Excessive Exercise Scales for adolescents

The present study was designed to develop a Body Modification Scale (BMS) to measure body change among adolescents and to modify an Excessive Exercise Scale (EES) into a shorter form for adolescents. Two hundred and twenty-one girls and 192 boys from Grades 7 to 10 completed the BMS and the EES. Factor analysis revealed three identical factors for the BMS for girls and boys: weight loss, weight gain, and muscle mass. Two identical factors for girls and boys were also revealed for the EES. Both factor structures were further validated on a separate sample of 286 adolescents (140 girls, 146 boys). The BMS and EES demonstrated excellent reliability (alpha > .86) and high test-retest reliability (alpha > .82) over 1 month. Good concurrent validity was also found for the weight loss factor of the BMS. These findings demonstrate the utility of these two scales for use with adolescents.     

Assessing the Prevalence of Body Dysmorphic Disorder in an Ethnically Diverse Group of Adolescents

We investigated the prevalence of Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) in an ethnically diverse sample of adolescents (N = 566) using the Body Image Rating Scale, a brief self-report measure for assessing body dissatisfaction. Results showed that adolescent girls were more dissatisfied with their bodies than adolescent boys, and that African-Americans of both genders were less dissatisfied with their bodies than Caucasians, Asians, and Hispanics. The interaction between gender and ethnicity was not significant. We found an overall prevalence for BDD of 2.2%. Although these are the first data on the prevalence of BDD in an ethnically diverse group of adolescents, they are consistent with the other study on the prevalence of BDD in a predominantly Caucasian group of college students.     

Risk factors for disordered eating during early and middle adolescence: prospective evidence from mainland Chinese boys and girls

Despite evidence that sociocultural and psychological factors contribute to disordered eating, researchers have yet to examine the extent to which putative risk factors influence vulnerability for girls versus boys within and across phases of adolescence, particularly in non-Western cultures. In this study, early and middle adolescent samples from China (N = 2,909) completed measures of eating disorder pathology and putative risk factors at baseline and were reassessed 12 months later. Among both younger and older girls, elevations in appearance-focused interactions with friends, negative affect, and body dissatisfaction predicted increases in symptomatology at follow-up. In contrast, there was more discontinuity in risk factors relevant to samples of boys. Although media and friendship influences contributed to later disturbances among early adolescent boys, psychological factors, including body dissatisfaction and negative affect, had stronger effects in the multivariate model for older boys. Implications of finding are discussed in relation to adolescent development and a Chinese cultural context.     

Changes in body dissatisfaction relative to gender and age: the modulating character of BMI

This study examines the level of body satisfaction in adolescents, and its association with age, sex and body mass index. A non-clinical group was made up of 935 adolescents (484 boys and 451 girls), aged between 10 and 18 years. The body image was assessed by the Body Dissatisfaction scale within the Eating Disorder Inventory (Garner, 1998, 2004) and by the indirect indicator Ideal Body Mass Index. The results showed that the Body Mass Index is an important covariable in the study of body dissatisfaction. Body dissatisfaction mean values increased in the female sample. The males' values did not change throughout adolescence.     

Phenotypic expression of schizotypal traits in an adolescent population

The main goal of the present study was to examine the influence of gender and age in the phenotypic expression of schizotypal traits in a community sample of adolescents. The sample was composed of a total of 1,618 participants, 776 (48%) males, with a mean age of 15.9 years (SD = 1.2). The ESQUIZO-Q: Oviedo Schizotypy Assessment Questionnaire was used for the assessment of schizotypal traits, a measure specifically developed for its use in adolescents. The results showed that gender and age were two sociodemographical variables that influenced the expression of schizotypal features. The males in the study obtained higher mean scores than the females in the Negative dimension (Physical and Social Anhedonia); however, the females obtained higher mean scores in Magical Thinking, Lack of Close Friends, and Social Disorganization. With regard to age, the younger adolescents had lower scores in Odd Thinking and Language, Lack of Close Friends, Excessive Social Anxiety, and Social Disorganization compared to the older adolescents. This differential pattern is similar to the one found in patients with schizophrenia and in nonclinical young adults, and these findings improve our understanding about the phenotypic expression of schizotypy during adolescence.     

Conflicting pressures on romantic relationship commitment for anxiously attached individuals

Anxious attachment predicts strong desires for intimacy and stability in romantic relationships, yet the relation between anxious attachment and romantic commitment is unclear. We propose that extant literature has failed to find a consistent relation because anxiously attached individuals experience conflicting pressures on commitment. Data from Australia (N=137) show that relationship satisfaction and felt security each act as suppressors of a positive relation between anxious attachment and commitment. Data from Japan (N=159) replicate the suppression effect of felt security and also demonstrate that the residual positive relation between anxious attachment and commitment can be partly explained by dependence on the partner. These findings suggest that anxiously attached individuals may be ambivalent about commitment. Dissatisfaction and worries about negative evaluation appear to exert downward pressure on commitment, counteracting the upward pressure that is exerted by factors such as relational dependency.     

Associations among body dissatisfaction,gender, and three latent profiles of religiosity

Body dissatisfaction is a too-common issue for young women in the US. Body dissatisfaction is a rising issue with young men too, although their average body dissatisfaction remains lower than young women’s. Religiosity has been negatively linked to body dissatisfaction for women, but the relation for men is unclear. The current study (N?=?5104) built upon a previous latent profile analysis of a large, diverse sample of US. college students Multi-Site University Study of Identity and Culture (MUSIC). We examined whether body dissatisfaction scores were related to three religious classes, when depressive symptoms were controlled for, and whether gender moderated that potential relation. Body dissatisfaction scores were significantly related to religious class. Gender had a main effect although not a moderating effect: men had better body dissatisfaction than women did, and their religious class similarly affected their body dissatisfaction scores. Religiosity appears important for emerging adult men’s body dissatisfaction, like for emerging adult women.     

The influence of body dissatisfaction on cardiovascular and strength-based physical activity by gender: a self-determination theory approach

Abstract

Physical activity—or lack thereof—is one behaviour that may help explain why individuals who are dissatisfied with their bodies experience poor health outcomes. Objective: The purpose of the present study was to examine the mediating role of behavioural regulations (i.e., autonomous and controlled) in the relation between body dissatisfaction and physical activity and to determine whether this mediated relationship was moderated by gender. Additionally, this relation was examined for both cardiovascular and strength-based physical activity. Design: A two-week daily-diary study was conducted. Measures: The Body Shape Satisfaction Questionnaire, the Behavioural Regulation in Exercise Questionnaire – 3, and the International Physical Activity Questionnaire were used to test the main hypotheses. Results: For men and women, body dissatisfaction was related to less frequent cardiovascular and strength-based activity due to lower levels of intrinsic regulation. In women, the relation between body dissatisfaction and activity (cardiovascular and strength-based) was partially mediated by controlled regulations (i.e., external and introjected). That is, women who were dissatisfied exercised more because they were more likely to feel that they had to appease others or themselves. Conclusion: The present study provides direction for targeting physical activity behaviours in college students who are dissatisfied with their bodies.     

Risk factors for body dissatisfaction in adolescent girls: a longitudinal investigation

Because few prospective studies have examined predictors of body dissatisfaction--an established risk factor for eating disorders--the authors tested whether a set of sociocultural, biological, interpersonal, and affective factors predicted increases in body dissatisfaction using longitudinal data from adolescent girls (N = 496). Elevated adiposity, perceived pressure to be thin, thin-ideal internalization, and social support deficits predicted increases in body dissatisfaction, but early menarche, weight-related teasing, and depression did not. There was evidence of 2 distinct pathways to body dissatisfaction--1 involving pressure to be thin and 1 involving adiposity. Results support the contention that certain sociocultural, biological, and interpersonal factors increase the risk for body dissatisfaction, but suggest that other accepted risk factors are not related to this outcome.     

Explaining the relation between thin ideal internalization and body dissatisfaction among college women: the roles of social comparison and body surveillance

Sociocultural models of disordered eating lack comprehensive explanations as to how thin ideal internalization leads to body dissatisfaction. This study examined two social psychological theories as explanations of this relation, namely social comparison and objectification theories, in a sample of 265 women attending a Southeastern university. Social comparison (both general and appearance-related) and body surveillance (the indicator of objectification) were tested as mediators of the relation between thin ideal internalization and body dissatisfaction using bootstrapping analyses. Results indicated that body surveillance was a significant specific mediator of this relation; however, neither operationalization of social comparison emerged as such. Results serve to elaborate upon the sociocultural model of disordered eating by providing a more comprehensive understanding of the processes by which thin ideal internalization manifests itself in body dissatisfaction. The current findings also highlight the importance of targeting body surveillance in clinical settings.     

Beauty is Good: The Appearance Culture,the Internalization of Appearance Ideals,and Dysfunctional Appearance Beliefs Among Tweens

Dysfunctional appearance beliefs have been identified as important risk factors in the development of body dissatisfaction and disordered eating behaviors among early adolescents. The current two‐wave study among 10–14‐year‐olds (N = 1,597, M_age = 11.25, SD = 1.05) aimed to delineate factors that contribute to the endorsement of such beliefs. Results showed that tweens discussed appearance‐related topics with their friends more often when they frequently watched tween television programs (all time 1). Both media exposure and peer conversations (time 1) were related to attributing benefits to attractiveness (time 1), which, in turn, predicted the internalization of appearance ideals (time 1). The internalization of appearance ideals positively predicted the endorsement of dysfunctional appearance beliefs 6 months later.     

The relation between anxiety disorder and experiential avoidance in inpatient adolescents

The current study aimed to examine the relation between experiential avoidance and anxiety disorders, as well as the usefulness of the Avoidance and Fusion Questionnaire for Youth (AFQ-Y; Greco, Lambert, & Baer, 2008) in detecting anxiety disorder in a sample of adolescent inpatients. First, the relation between experiential avoidance and anxiety among inpatient adolescents was investigated from categorical and dimensional points of view, making use of self-report and parent report, as well as clinical interview, while controlling for depression and externalizing problems. Second, we sought to establish the clinical utility value of the AFQ-Y by determining the sensitivity, specificity, and clinical cutoff score of this measure in predicting anxiety disorder. To this end, a sample of inpatient adolescents (N = 111) with a mean age of 16.14 (SD = 1.39) years completed the AFQ-Y, alongside interview- and questionnaire-based measures of psychopathology. Results showed a significant relation between anxiety disorder and experiential avoidance, independent of depression. Receiver operating characteristics analysis revealed that the AFQ-Y has moderate accuracy (area under the curve = .815, SE = .047, p < .001) in discriminating adolescents with a diagnosis of any anxiety disorder (cutoff score 26.5; sensitivity = .74, specificity = .76). Given the comorbidity of anxiety and depression in this sample, this cutoff is not indicative of pure anxiety disorder but may be helpful in predicting those with emotional disorders in general.