SOCIOCULTURAL, FEMINIST, AND PSYCHOLOGICAL INFLUENCES ON WOMEN'S BODY SATISFACTION: A STRUCTURAL MODELING ANALYSIS

We explored sociocultural, feminist, and psychological influences on women's body dissatisfaction by examining the manner in which awareness and internalization of appearance standards, feminist ideology, and self-esteem affect body dissatisfaction. A main goal of the study was to test a model of potential protective mechanisms against internalization of appearance standards. The LISREL 8.5 program was used to perform structural modeling analyses on the proposed theoretical models. The results supported previous findings regarding the influential role of sociocultural variables on women's body dissatisfaction. In particular, internalization was found to mediate the relationship between awareness and body dissatisfaction. Feminist ideology and self-esteem were not found to serve as protective mechanisms against internalization. However, self-esteem appeared to directly affect body dissatisfaction.     

The development and validation of Spanish versions of the State and Trait Food Cravings Questionnaires

OBJECTIVE: We developed and tested the psychometric properties of Spanish versions of the Trait and State Food Cravings Questionnaires (FCQ-T and FCQ-S respectively). METHOD: The instruments were translated and adapted to Spanish and administered to undergraduate students from a Southern university in Spain (N = 271). The data were analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis to compare the factor structure of the English and Spanish versions of both questionnaires. RESULTS: The factors structure of both questionnaires obtained excellent fit indices across their Spanish versions with the one exception that some factors of the FCQ-S were more highly intercorrelated among the Spanish sample than the American. DISCUSSION: This study supports the conceptualization of food cravings as universal multidimensional motivational states that can be reliably measured and supports the use of the Spanish versions of the FCQ.     

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.     

Biased perception of overeating in bulimia nervosa and compulsive binge eaters

This study investigated the relationship between caloric intake and perceived overeating in subjects with and without a history of problematic binge eating. Eighty subjects (20 in four groups: bulimia nervosa, compulsive binge eaters, obese, and normal controls) self-monitored eating for 2 weeks. The regression slopes for self-reported overeating as a function of caloric intake were contrasted across the four groups. At higher caloric levels, bulimics and binge eaters reported overeating at a significantly higher rate compared to obese and normal control groups. These data were interpreted as a type of cognitive bias whereby subjects with a history of binge eating distorted their perception of overeating at progressively higher caloric levels. It was proposed that excessive concern about eating and dieting may cause such cognitive biases. A parallel was drawn with body image distortion, which appears to be associated with overconcem with body size and shape.     

Positive fantasies or negative contrasts: The effect of media body ideals on restrained eaters’ mood,weight satisfaction,and food intake

Although viewing media body ideals promotes body dissatisfaction and problematic eating among women (e.g., extreme restraint/overeating), some argue that women only report such negative effects because they think that they are meant to (i.e., demand characteristics). Because restrained eaters are trying to lose weight, they might be vulnerable to such media exposure. However, because of demand characteristics, evidence is mixed. Therefore, we minimized demand characteristics and explored whether media body ideals would trigger restrained eaters to report negative (negative mood, weight dissatisfaction) or positive (positive mood, weight satisfaction) effects. We also hypothesized that this change (negative or positive) would encourage food intake. Restrained and unrestrained eaters (n = 107) memorized media or control images. Restrained eaters exposed to media images reported decreased weight satisfaction and increased negative mood, but their food intake was not significantly affected. Perhaps paying advertent attention to the images caused goal-related negative affect, which triggered restraint.     

Continuity and discontinuity models of bulimia nervosa: a taxometric investigation

Past research evaluating the continuity and discontinuity models of bulimia has produced inconclusive results. In the current study, we performed a taxometric analysis of bulimia nervosa using means above minus below a sliding cut and maximum covariance analysis with a sample of women diagnosed with bulimia nervosa (n = 201) or women college students (n = 412). Indicators were derived from the Bulimia Test--Revised and the Eating Attitudes Test--26, and both a mixed sample and the nonclinical sample were analyzed. With both taxometric methods and both mixed and nonclinical samples, results were consistently suggestive of a latent taxon for bulimia. These results challenge a dimensional model of bulimia nervosa.