scholarly journals Blossoming for Whom? Social Approval and Body Image

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wenting Mu ◽  
Fan Wu
Keyword(s):  
Body Image ◽  
Rejection Sensitivity ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Negative Body Image ◽  
Avoidance Behaviors ◽  
Body Acceptance ◽  
Internalization Process ◽  
Body Image Disturbances ◽  
Upward Social Comparison ◽  
Standards Of Beauty

Body image is a multidimensional construct that reflects the way we perceive and feel about our physical appearance. This inside view of our body heavily influences our self-esteem, mental health, and overall well-being. Under the influence of mass media, peers and family, individuals, especially women, may feel pressured to conform to the societal standards of beauty, engage in upward social comparison, and consequently experience negative body image. While our sociocultural surroundings plays a role in the internalization process, other intrapersonal factors, such as appearance-based rejection sensitivity and lack of self-concept clarity, may heighten the risk for some individuals. Body image disturbances can be manifested in forms of avoidance behaviors, monitoring, eating restraints, and body modification. In order to promote body acceptance, we ought to gain insights into the formation of our body image and challenge the commonly held belief on who defines beauty.

scholarly journals Pathological Skin Picking: Phenomenology and Associations With Emotions, Self-Esteem, Body Image, and Subjective Physical Well-Being

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christina Gallinat ◽  
Linda Luisa Stürmlinger ◽  
Sandra Schaber ◽  
Stephanie Bauer
Keyword(s):  
Body Image ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Self Esteem ◽  
The Body ◽  
Cutoff Score ◽  
Skin Damage ◽  
Skin Picking ◽  
Negative Body Image ◽  
Peace Of Mind ◽  
Body Image Disturbances

Pathological skin picking (PSP) refers to the repetitive manipulation of the skin causing wounds, scars, emotional distress, and social impairment. Skin picking disorder was first recognized as a distinct disorder in the DSM-5 and is still understudied in terms of phenomenology, etiology, and associated consequences. However, the body-related pathology suggests that the relation to the own body might be a crucial factor in PSP. Previous studies provided first insights that affected individuals show a more negative body image and lower self-esteem than healthy individuals. The present study sought to investigate skin picking phenomenology, related emotions as well as associations with self-esteem, body image, and subjective physical well-being. The study was conducted as an open online study, and recruitment was generally targeted to individuals of full age and in addition specifically to individuals with PSP. A total of 363 individuals (82.9% female; age: M = 32.6, SD = 13.92) participated and answered various self-report measures. Nearly half of the sample exceeded the cutoff score for pathological skin picking (N = 163; 44.9%). The results suggest that boredom, bodily tension and strong negative feelings often precede PSP episodes. During the episode most individuals seem to experience a loss of control, trance and positive feelings. After the PSP episode, shame, guilt, anger and anger toward themselves are most prominent. As expected, skin picking severity was positively associated with body image disturbances and negatively with self-esteem, and subjective physical well-being. When controlling for depressive symptoms, all associations were reduced, but those with body image disturbances (r = 0.44; p < 0.001), self-esteem (r = −0.27; p < 0.001), subjective physical well-being (r = −0.22; p < 0.001), and peace of mind (r = 0.30; p < 0.01) remained significant. Moreover, greater skin damage due to skin picking was moderately associated with higher body image disturbances. The results indicate that PSP severity is associated with a negative body image and low self-esteem, and suggest that it may be warranted to consider these aspects in the development of future interventions for PSP. However, relations with body image and self-esteem should be examined in longitudinal studies investigating causal relationships between body image, self-esteem and skin picking. Moreover, PSP phenomenology and the role of specific emotions should be investigated in more detail.

scholarly journals Validating Appearance-Based Rejection Sensitivity and Fear of Negative Appearance Evaluation Scales in the Russian Sample

2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 118-143
Author(s):  
A.Yu. Razvaliaeva ◽  
N.A. Polskaya
Keyword(s):  
Body Image ◽  
Body Dissatisfaction ◽  
Discriminant Validity ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Rejection Sensitivity ◽  
Drive For Thinness ◽  
Convergent And Discriminant Validity ◽  
Body Image Disturbances ◽  
Good Internal Consistency ◽  
Test Retest Reliability

We present the results of validating Fear of Negative Appearance Evaluation Scale (Lundgren et al., 2004) and Appearance-based Rejection Sensitivity Scale (Park, 2007) on the Russian sample. These scales operationalize factors of interpersonal vulnerability to body dissatisfaction as a result of internalizing the notions of the ideal body transmitted by parents, peers and mass media. The sample included 760 respondents aged 16—48, 687 female (Mage=24, Med=22, SD=6.75) and 73 male (Mage=23.2, Med=22, SD=5.58). Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed that either scale had a single latent factor, both showed good internal consistency (Cronbach’s α for FNAE — α=0.91; ARS — α=0.93) and test-retest reliability (for FNAE — rs=0.89; for ARS —0.93; p<0,001). FNAE showed age differences, reaching the highest scores in the youngest group (aged 16—20). Convergent and discriminant validity of the scales was confirmed; they were positively related to attachment-related anxiety and disturbances in body image and eating behavior, and correlated negatively with self-esteem. Both scales had a positive impact on body image disturbances and drive for thinness. Fear of Negative Appearance Evaluation Scale and Appearance-based Rejection Sensitivity Scale can be used in studies broadly related to body dissatisfaction.

scholarly journals Yoga, Dance, Team Sports, or Individual Sports: Does the Type of Exercise Matter? An Online Study Investigating the Relationships Between Different Types of Exercise, Body Image, and Well-Being in Regular Exercise Practitioners

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Verena Marschin ◽  
Cornelia Herbert
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Body Image ◽  
Team Sports ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Regular Exercise ◽  
Negative Body Image ◽  
Ballroom Dance ◽  
Type Of Exercise ◽  
Individual Sports ◽  
The Relationship

Physical activity, specifically exercising, has been suggested to improve body image, mental health, and well-being. With respect to body image, previous findings highlight a general benefit of exercise. This study investigates whether the relationship between exercising and body image varies with the type of exercise that individuals preferentially and regularly engage in. In addition, physical efficacy was explored as a potential psychological mediator between type of exercise and body image. Using a cross-sectional design, healthy regular exercise practitioners of yoga, ballroom dance, team sports, or individual sports as well as healthy adults reporting no regular exercising were surveyed. Body image and its different facets were assessed by a set of standardized self-report questionnaires, covering perceptual, cognitive, and affective body image dimensions particularly related to negative body image. In addition, participants were questioned with regard to mental health. Participants were 270 healthy adults. Descriptive statistics, measures of variance (ANOVA), and multiple linear regression analysis with orthogonal contrasts were performed to investigate differences between the different exercise and non-exercise groups in the variables of interest. In line with the hypotheses and previous findings, the statistic comparisons revealed that body dissatisfaction (as one important factor of negative body image) was most pronounced in the non-exercise group compared to all exercise groups [contrast: no exercise versus exercise (all groups taken together)]. Physical efficacy, as assessed with a standardized questionnaire, mediated the difference between type of exercise (using contrasts) and body image including perceptual, cognitive, and affective body image dimensions. The findings shed light on so far less systematically investigated questions regarding the relationship between types of exercise, like yoga and ballroom dance, and body image. The results underscore the relevance of considering possible influencing factors in exercise research, such as the perception of one’s physical efficacy as a mediator of this relationship.

Body Image and Functional Loss

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melissa Henry ◽  
Ali Alias
Keyword(s):  
Body Image ◽  
Well Being ◽  
World Health ◽  
International Classification Of Functioning ◽  
Functional Loss ◽  
Psychological Mechanisms ◽  
Body Image Disturbances ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Biopsychosocial Assessment

Abstract: The implications of functional loss following cancer is an area of psychosocial oncology that is rarely ventured. This is especially true in the context of limb and sensory losses, which have important repercussions on the patient’s well-being, namely as the individual is required to reassess and redefine his or her identity in face of these adversities. This chapter explores the implications of these losses via the intersection of the World Health Organization’s International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health with key oncological attributes of body image disturbances that seek to render explicit psychological mechanisms underlying impairments, limitations, and restrictions. Emphasizing the use of a standard framework for the assessment of functioning is essential, especially in understudied areas. Through this perspective, further insight is provided for the methodological and biopsychosocial assessment of functioning and body, and implications for clinical inquiry and practice are proposed for the advancement of cancer survivor care.

Body Image

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey J. Martin
Keyword(s):  
Body Image ◽  
People With Disabilities ◽  
The Body ◽  
Body Appreciation ◽  
Negative Body Image ◽  
Self Perceptions ◽  
Body Acceptance ◽  
Disability Severity ◽  
Poor Body Image

It has often been wrongly assumed that people with disabilities have poor body image. The purpose of this chapter is to review the body image research involving individuals with impairments and investigating if they are dissatisfied with their appearance. People with disabilities such as cerebral palsy, blindness, and amputations are all very different, and their impairments are likely to differ in many other respects that can play a role in body image self-perceptions. The lack of unanimity across the research reviewed here suggests that disability type, disability severity, visibility, duration, congenital versus acquired factors, age, gender, ethnicity, social support, and self-efficacy are all important considerations that can moderate and mediate the link between disability and body image. Researchers are urged to use theory to guide their research and to consider nontraditional approaches to the study of body image. For instance, researchers studying positive body image understand that this does not comprise simply the absence of negative body image cognitions and have examined the role of body appreciation and body acceptance.

Relationships that Cultivate Positive Body Image Through Body Acceptance

2019 ◽  
pp. 214-222
Author(s):  
Marika Tiggemann
Keyword(s):  
Body Image ◽  
Life Span ◽  
Experimental Research ◽  
Significant Others ◽  
Romantic Partners ◽  
Research Strategies ◽  
Negative Body Image ◽  
Positive Body Image ◽  
Body Acceptance ◽  
Interpersonal Factor

This chapter sets out to review the research and theory on body acceptance by significant others as an interpersonal factor promoting positive body image. Overall, the review finds that supportive and accepting relationships with family, friends, and romantic partners are critical to women’s positive body image throughout the life span and across many different contexts. This has significant implications not only for interventions aimed at promoting positive body image but also for those aimed at preventing or treating negative body image. Nevertheless, more sophisticated longitudinal and experimental research strategies are required to detail the processes underlying the link from the perception of body acceptance by others to one’s own positive body image.

The Role of Scar Origin in Shaping Men’s Body Image

2014 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 115-123 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne Dyer ◽  
Lennart Mayer-Eckhard ◽  
Andrew J. White ◽  
Georg W. Alpers
Keyword(s):  
Gender Differences ◽  
Body Image ◽  
Negative Body Image ◽  
Positive Body Image ◽  
Body Image Disturbances ◽  
Multidimensional Body Image

Men generally have a more positive body image than women. However, the extent to which scars negatively influence men’s body image is uncertain. The aim of the current study was to assess body image in men with and without scars while taking scar origin into account (nonsuicidal self-harming injuries [NSSI] vs. accidents or surgery). One hundred and nine men ( n = 19 with NSSI) and 185 women ( n = 96 with NSSI) filled in multidimensional body image questionnaires. Results indicate that on most clinical subscales women had a significantly more negative body image compared with men. However, within a subsample whose scars resulted from NSSI, gender differences vanished. Among men, scar origin was significantly associated with negative body image after partialling out scar characteristics, age, and borderline symptomatology. The visibility of scars was not associated with more severe body image disturbances. The results of our study indicate that self-inflicted scars adversely affect body image. Although women generally reported having a more negative body image, disturbances in body image should not be neglected among men, especially in those who have self-inflicted scars.

Life after childhood bullying: Body image development and disordered eating in adulthood

2019 ◽  
Vol 44 (3) ◽  
pp. 246-255
Author(s):  
Kristina Holmqvist Gattario ◽  
Magnus Lindwall ◽  
Ann Frisén
Keyword(s):  
Body Image ◽  
Disordered Eating ◽  
Longitudinal Research ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Negative Body Image ◽  
Childhood Bullying ◽  
Mediation Analyses ◽  
Effective Interventions ◽  
Being Bullied

Studies have demonstrated that being bullied in childhood may have long-term associations with lower psychological well-being in adulthood. However, although bullying incidents frequently target the victim’s body and appearance, research has overlooked studying victims’ long-term body image development and risk of engaging in disordered eating later in life. This 14-year longitudinal research project examined childhood bullying in relation to body image development and disordered eating in emerging adulthood. Growth curve analyses of participants’ body image at ages 10–21 years ( N = 960) revealed that more victimized children experienced more body dissatisfaction at baseline and maintained their negative body image throughout adolescence and into adulthood. Mediation analyses showed that childhood bullying (age 10 years) predicted more negative body image in adolescence (age 18 years), which in turn predicted more disordered eating in adulthood (age 24 years). The indirect effect was stronger for girls than for boys. The findings suggest that bullied children are likely to face both more body image problems and disordered eating as they evolve through adolescence and into adulthood, indicating the need for early and effective interventions. Incorporating components known to promote a more positive body image could be a valuable feature of future interventions. Thus, as children and adolescents are taught to cope with bullying situations, they could also be helped to deal with the appearance culture that permeates many of these situations.

How is Trait Self-Compassion Used During Appearance-Related Distress by Late Adolescents and Emerging Adults With Positive or Negative Body Image? A Qualitative Study

2021 ◽  
pp. 074355842110114
Author(s):  
Veya Seekis ◽  
Graham L. Bradley ◽  
Amanda L. Duffy
Keyword(s):  
Body Image ◽  
Emerging Adults ◽  
Affect Regulation ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Coding System ◽  
Late Adolescents ◽  
Common Humanity ◽  
Negative Body Image ◽  
Positive Body Image ◽  
Self Compassion

Having a positive body image contributes to adolescents’ and emerging adults’ psychological well-being. One approach to protecting one’s body image from appearance threats involves adopting a self-compassionate perspective. This study explored how six different facets of trait self-compassion are used by late adolescents and emerging adults to cope with appearance-related distress. Following Institutional Review Board approval, in-depth interviews were conducted with 16 female and 14 male undergraduates ( Mage = 18.77 years, SD = 1.77 years) who reported either positive or negative body image and high or low self-compassion. Adopting a descriptive/confirmative approach, data were analyzed via an a priori coding system based on the six facets of self-compassion. Only one self-compassion facet, self-kindness, was reportedly used to counteract body-related distress, and only by those with a positive body image. Most participants with negative body image engaged in self-judgment, with some expressing a fear of self-kindness. Despite being acknowledged by all, the facet of common humanity was not used for appearance-related affect regulation. Participants showed limited practice of the mindfulness facet. Together, the findings show that scope remains for achieving reductions in body image distress, and corresponding gains in resilience, through self-compassion interventions.

Focusing on the Positive

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tracy L. Tylka
Keyword(s):  
Body Image ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The Body ◽  
Theoretical Concepts ◽  
Negative Body Image ◽  
Positive Body Image ◽  
The Core ◽  
Body Positive ◽  
Convergence And Divergence ◽  
Body Section

This volume provides a state-of-the-art, comprehensive, research-based resource that addresses the breadth of innovative theoretical concepts and related practice in positive ways of living in the body, while it also sets agendas for further expansion. This introduction first defines the core domains that represent positive ways of living in the body: positive body image and positive embodiment. Next, it provides evidence that studying these domains offers a unique perspective that extends beyond what is known about negative body image. It then explicates the points of convergence and divergence between positive body image and embodiment. It ends with an overview of the three sections of the volume: the varied constructs that represent positive ways of living in the body (Section I), environmental factors that nurture these constructs as protective factors for well-being (Section II), and interventions to cultivate positive body image and positive embodiment (Section III).

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document