The acceptance model of intuitive eating: a comparison of women in emerging adulthood, early adulthood, and middle adulthood

The acceptance model of intuitive eating (Avalos & Tylka, 2006) posits that body acceptance by others helps women appreciate their body and resist adopting an observer's perspective of their body, which contribute to their eating intuitively/adaptively. We extended this model by integrating body mass index (BMI) into its structure and investigating it with emerging (ages 18-25 years old, n = 318), early (ages 26-39 years old, n = 238), and middle (ages 40-65 years old, n = 245) adult women. Multiple-group analysis revealed that this model fit the data for all age groups. Body appreciation and resistance to adopt an observer's perspective mediated the body acceptance by others-intuitive eating link. Body acceptance by others mediated the social support-body appreciation and BMI-body appreciation links. Early and middle adult women had stronger negative BMI-body acceptance by others and BMI-intuitive eating relationships and a stronger positive body acceptance by others-body appreciation relationship than emerging adult women. Early adult women had a stronger positive resistance to adopt observer's perspective-body appreciation relationship than emerging and middle adult women.     

Integrating Social Comparison Theory and Self-Esteem within Objectification Theory to Predict Women’s Disordered Eating

This study integrated social comparison theory and self-esteem into the objectification theory framework to broaden our understanding of sexual objectification as it relates to body shame and disordered eating. Women (N?=?274) from a Midwestern U.S. college completed measures of sexual objectification via appearance feedback, body surveillance, body shame, body comparison, self-esteem, and disordered eating. Structural equation modeling indicated that this expanded model fit the data. Appearance feedback predicted body surveillance, body comparison, self-esteem and—unexpectedly—disordered eating. Body surveillance, body comparison, and self-esteem predicted body shame. Furthermore, hierarchical moderated regression revealed that body comparison moderated the body surveillance—disordered eating link; women who frequently monitored their body and compared it to others’ bodies reported the highest disordered eating.     

The Caregiver Eating Messages Scale: Development and psychometric investigation

Certain caregiver eating messages – restriction of food intake and pressures to eat – are associated with body dissatisfaction and eating disturbances among young girls. This study explored whether these messages are also associated with body attitudes and eating behaviors of young adult women and men. The Caregiver Eating Messages Scale was developed to measure this construct. Two studies (Ns = 238, 288) indicated that it contained two factors (restrictive/critical messages and pressure to eat messages) and yielded internally consistent, stable, and valid scores. Both factors were positively related to women's BMI, and restrictive/critical messages were positively related to men's BMI. Restrictive/critical messages predicted lower perceived familial body acceptance and intuitive eating and higher perceived familial pressure to be lean and disordered eating. Restrictive/critical messages predicted participants’ body attitudes indirectly via their perceptions of their family's attitude toward their body, with one exception: restrictive/critical messages uniquely predicted men's body appreciation.     

Development and psychometric evaluation of the Male Body Attitudes Scale (MBAS)

A measure of men's attitudes toward their body (MBAS) was developed and evaluated via three independent samples of college men. In Studies 1 and 2, factor analyses determined and cross-validated the MBAS's underlying structure. Three factors emerged from the items: muscularity, low body fat, and height. Studies 1 and 2 provided construct (i.e., convergent, concurrent, and discriminant) validity evidence for the MBAS total scale and subscales; they were related or not related as expected to drive for muscularity, body esteem, internalization of the muscular ideal, pressures for muscularity, pressures for thinness, self-esteem, body comparison, eating disorder symptomatology, and impression management. Study 3 revealed that the MBAS total score and subscale scores were stable over a 2-week period. The internal consistency reliabilities for the total score and subscale scores were high across all three studies. The MBAS should prove useful for researchers and clinicians interested in men's body image assessment.     

Interpersonal and intrapersonal links to body appreciation in college women: an exploratory model

Based on theory and findings from qualitative and quantitative research, we developed and investigated a model of positive body image. This model placed body appreciation in a mediating role, linking interpersonal (caregiver eating messages, adult attachment) and intrapersonal (perfectionism) variables to intuitive eating and depressive symptoms. Path analysis supported our model for 249 college women. Restrictive/critical caregiver eating messages, attachment anxiety, and discrepancy (maladaptive) perfectionism inversely predicted body appreciation, while order (adaptive) perfectionism positively predicted body appreciation. In turn, body appreciation positively predicted intuitive eating but not depressive symptoms. Body appreciation was upheld as a mediator: discrepancy perfectionism, attachment anxiety, and restrictive/critical caregiver eating messages inversely predicted intuitive eating largely through their negative connection with body appreciation. These findings underscore the importance of women's internalized messages about eating, weight, and relationships to their capacity to appreciate their body and respect it by eating according to its internal hunger/satiety cues.     

Fiction, Fashion, and Function Finale: An Introduction and Conclusion to the Special Issue on Gendered Body Image, Part III

Culture specifies standards for women??s and men??s body appearance and display. In Western cultures, these standards are both concentrated and ubiquitous in the media, represented as gendered body ideals for citizens to aspire toward. Because gendered body ideals are revered, individuals try to construct and portray their body consistently with these ideals. Furthermore, because gendered body ideals are narrowly defined and restrictive, individuals constrict their behavior, relationships, and perceptions of themselves and others to fall within the parameters of these ideals. The third and final issue of this series showcases innovative studies within two streams. The first stream investigates the many ways individuals invest effort into constructing and/or portraying their body to fit the gendered body ideal. The second stream addresses the diverse ways internalization of these ideals constrict individuals?? relationships, freedoms, and perceptions of others?? bodies and lifestyles. We discuss the empirical articles alongside points raised in films by Jhally (2009) and Clark (2009) that emphasize how media portrayals of gendered body ideals foster body-related constructions and constrictions in viewers. We emphasize intersectionality when presenting the articles, recognizing that gender combines with multiple identities (e.g., sexual orientation, race, political affiliation, and age) as well as individual difference variables to mold the degree to which individuals construct and constrict themselves and others to fit gendered body ideals. We end with a discussion of how these articles can be used to generate social change by deconstructing and delegitimizing gendered body ideals.     

“But I Like My Body”: Positive body image characteristics and a holistic model for young-adult women

Extant body image research has provided a rich understanding of negative body image but a rather underdeveloped depiction of positive body image. Thus, this study used Grounded Theory to analyze interviews from 15 college women classified as having positive body image and five body image experts. Many characteristics of positive body image emerged, including appreciating the unique beauty and functionality of their body, filtering information (e.g., appearance commentary, media ideals) in a body-protective manner, defining beauty broadly, and highlighting their body's assets while minimizing perceived imperfections. A holistic model emerged: when women processed mostly positive and rejected negative source information, their body investment decreased and body evaluation became more positive, illustrating the fluidity of body image. Women reciprocally influenced these sources (e.g., mentoring others to love their bodies, surrounding themselves with others who promote body acceptance, taking care of their health), which, in turn, promoted increased positive source information.     

DO FEMINIST IDENTITY STYLES MODERATE THE RELATION BETWEEN PERCEIVED SEXIST EVENTS AND DISORDERED EATING?

Feminist consciousness is theorized to be a powerful resource against the detrimental effects of sexism. The present study examined whether feminist identity styles moderated the relation of perceived lifetime and recent sexist events to disordered eating for 256 college women. Using hierarchical moderated regression, we found two styles of feminist identity (i.e., synthesis and active commitment) buffered the relation between perceived sexist events and disordered eating; the three remaining styles of feminist identity did not moderate this relationship. For women low on synthesis and active commitment, both perceived lifetime and recent sexist events positively predicted disordered eating. In contrast, for women high on synthesis and active commitment, neither perceived lifetime nor recent sexist events predicted disordered eating. Our results substantiate extant theory that sexist events contribute more to the psychological distress of nonfeminist women than of feminist women.     

A TEST OF OBJECTIFICATION THEORY WITH LESBIAN WOMEN

This study extends research on objectification theory as it applies to eating disorder symptomatology by examining whether its tenets generalize to women identifying as lesbian. Lesbian women ( N = 181) and a comparison sample of heterosexual women ( N = 196) completed measures of objectification theory constructs (interpersonal sexual objectification, body surveillance, body shame, interoceptive awareness, disordered eating). The model of objectification theory was tested separately for lesbian and heterosexual participants. Path analyses revealed that this model provided a poor fit to the data for the lesbian sample, whereas it provided an excellent fit to the data for the heterosexual sample. Based on the data from the lesbian participants, an exploratory model was evaluated. Overall, findings suggested that the interrelationships among the objectification theory constructs were different and more complex for the lesbian participants than for the heterosexual participants.