Shorter Women Are More Dissatisfied with Their Height: An Exploration of Height Dissatisfaction in Australian Women

Height dissatisfaction has recently been found to be an important contributor to body dissatisfaction in males, however, there is currently limited research examining this relationship in women. The present cross-sectional study aimed to examine the link between height and height dissatisfaction in Australian women, and the extent to which height and height dissatisfaction relate to body dissatisfaction and quality of life. Additionally, it explored the height preferences of oneself and romantic partners in Australian women. A final sample of 172 Australian women was recruited to complete an online survey relating to height preference, height dissatisfaction, muscularity, drive for thinness, and quality of life. Results showed that there was a significant difference between the reported actual height of participants and their ideal height. We also found that shorter women tended to be more dissatisfied with their height and were more likely to believe that they were treated poorly due to their height. Our study also identified that the vast majority (84%) preferred a romantic partner taller than them. Results were comparable to men aspiring to be taller than they were. Future studies should consider height dissatisfaction as a potential contributing factor to poor quality of life and negative affect.

Appearance-Related Partner Preferences and Body Image in a German Sample of Homosexual and Heterosexual Women and Men

There is evidence that gender as well as sexual orientation can affect body image. In particular, heterosexual women and homosexual men seem to be more vulnerable to a negative body image compared to homosexual women and heterosexual men. One reason for this may be derived from the fact that heterosexual women and homosexual men try to attract male romantic partners: As men place more importance on physical attractiveness than do women, the pressure to fulfill the sociocultural beauty ideal is thus increased. The present online study investigated differences in appearance-related partner preferences and their associations with measures of body image and eating pathology in homosexual and heterosexual women and men. The non-representative sample consisted of 893 participants (n = 201 lesbian women, n = 192 gay men, n = 349 heterosexual women, and n = 151 heterosexual men), who completed silhouette measures assessing their perception and expectations regarding body fat and muscularity of their own body and the body of a potential romantic partner, as well as questionnaires on drive for thinness, drive for muscularity, and eating pathology. Overall, few differences in appearance-related partner preferences emerged between the four groups. However, compared to heterosexual women, homosexual men appeared to prefer higher muscularity in potential romantic partners, which was also associated with increased drive for thinness and muscularity and increased eating pathology. The present findings indicate that, irrespective of sexual orientation, women and men tend to share similar standards regarding their own and a potential partner’s physical appearance, potentially suggesting an increased hegemony of heteronormative beauty ideals in women and men in general.

Direct and indirect effects of alexithymia on eating disorder symptoms in a non-clinical female sample: determining the role of negative affect

Alexithymia, a multifaceted personality construct, characterised by difficulties identifying and describing one’s feelings, and by an externally focused cognitive style. Alexithymia is risk factor for negative affect and disordered eating. Previous work involving patients with anorexia nervosa revealed that high levels of alexithymia were directly linked to eating disorder symptoms and also indirectly linked via negative affect. Our aim was to establish if these findings generalised to subclinical disordered eating symptoms. A non-clinical sample of females (n=206) completed measures of depression, anxiety, alexithymia, and disordered eating. As expected, negative affect (combined depression and anxiety) mediated the effect of alexithymia (difficulty identifying feelings and difficulty describing feelings) on disordered eating symptoms (drive for thinness, bulimia, and body dissatisfaction). However, also as expected, direct effects of these alexithymia facets on disordered eating were still evident after controlling for negative mood. Our findings confirm that the relationships observed in patients with clinically diagnosed eating disorders are also evident in those with subclinical disordered eating. Targeted interventions to reduce deficits in recognising and describing one’s feelings could potentially ameliorate disordered eating in ‘at risk’ participants.

A cross-sectional examination of the simultaneous association of four emotion regulation strategies with abnormal eating behaviours among women in Japan

Background Research has suggested an association between emotion regulation strategies (ERSs) and abnormal eating behaviours/attitudes (AEB), and many studies have examined the association of one particular ERS with AEB. Additionally, different ERSs are reported to be strongly correlated with each other. Therefore, the associations between an individual ERS and AEB, reported previously, may be spurious. The present cross-sectional study aims to examine the simultaneous associations of four ERSs (brooding, reflection, expressive suppression, cognitive reappraisal) with AEB in a sample of women in Japan. Methods The participants comprised 1528 Japanese women (Mage = 40.65 years, SDage = 10.22 years, range 21–59). They self-reported the frequency at which they use these ERSs, their levels of AEB (i.e. drive for thinness, bulimic symptoms), and the confounding variables (e.g. psychological distress and BMI) online. AEB was measured using the Japanese version of the 91-item Eating Disorder Inventory; brooding and reflection were measured using the Japanese version of the Rumination Response Scale; individual differences in the use of reappraisal and expression suppression was measured using the Japanese version of the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (J-ERQ); and participants’ psychological distress was assessed using the Kessler 6 Japanese version (K6-J). Results Correlation analyses revealed that all ERSs were positively correlated with AEB. However, regression analyses revealed inconsistent findings. In the regression model, after controlling for the confounding variables, only brooding indicated a positive association with the drive for thinness. Regarding bulimic symptoms, all ERSs showed a positive association, except reappraisal, which had a weak, negative association. Conclusion These results suggest that brooding is related to the symptom levels of both eating disorders among women, whereas, the other ERSs are related to those of bulimic symptoms only. However, further research is required to clarify the causal relations between AEB and ERSs.

Does Playing with Barbie in Childhood Affect Later Body Image?

Introduction: Although Barbies are heavily criticized for their unattainable bodies, research has not thoroughly examined the long-lasting effects of playing with Barbies in childhood on women’s later body image. In the present study, we examined whether the frequency of play with Barbies, number of Barbies owned, enjoyment when playing with Barbies, and age at first play with Barbies were associated with women’s body dissatisfaction, drive for thinness, and dieting behaviors. Methods: Female young adults (n=68) who had played with Barbies as children responded to surveys. Results: We found that only age at first play with Barbies in childhood was associated with greater drive for thinness in adulthood; no other Barbie variable was associated with body image. Conclusions: These findings suggest that girls who begin playing with Barbies at a young age may be susceptible to developing a greater internalization of the thin ideal. It is important that girls and parents be aware that Barbies do not represent an ideal body to match. Keywords: Barbie; dolls; disordered eating; drive for thinness