Eva Pila

Body-Related Envy: A Social Comparison Perspective in Sport and Exercise

These three studies sought to better understand experiences of body-related envy and to examine the association with motivation and exercise behavior in young adult males and females. In an interview study, participants (N = 11) discussed body-related envy within a framework of social comparison. In Study 2, a thematic content analysis was conducted on self-reported narratives of body-related envy experiences reported by 288 participants. Themes of body-related envy triggers, cognitions, and cognitive and behavioral outcomes were identified. Findings from Studies 1 and 2 highlighted the possible link between body-related envy and exercise motivation and behavior. Study 3 tested these associations with males and females (N = 595) who completed a self-report questionnaire. In the structural equation model, body-related envy was positively associated with external, introjected, and identified regulations, and identified regulation was positively associated with exercise behavior. Taken together, the importance of body-related envy in the experience of cognitive, affective, and behavioral outcomes related to sport and exercise contexts is highlighted.

Do body-related shame and guilt mediate the association between weight status and self-esteem?

Individuals who are overweight or obese report body image concerns and lower self-esteem. However, little is known about the mechanisms underpinning these associations. The objective of this study was to test body-related shame and guilt as mediators in the association between weight status and self-esteem. Young adult participants (n = 790) completed assessments of self-esteem and body-related guilt and shame, and weight status indicators were measured by trained technicians. Findings from multiple mediation analyses suggest that body-related shame mediates the relationship between weight status and self-esteem. If replicated in longitudinal studies, these findings suggest that reducing body-related emotions may have important implications for improving self-esteem in clinical weight management.

Intrapersonal characteristics of body-related guilt, shame, pride, and envy in Canadian adults.

This study examined differences in body-related shame, guilt, pride, and envy based on intrapersonal characteristics of sex, age, and weight status in 527 Canadian adults. Compared to men, women reported significantly higher shame and guilt contextualized to the body. No sex differences were observed for envy or pride. Middle-aged adults reported higher shame and lower pride compared with young adults, whereas no age differences were observed with body-related guilt. Meanwhile, shame and guilt were highest for individuals who had overweight or obese weight status, and pride was highest in individuals with average weight status. Overall, effect sizes were small and there were no significant interaction effects between sex, age, and weight status across body-related emotions. Further research is needed to capture similarities and differences of body-related self-conscious emotions between intrapersonal characteristics, to aid the development of intervention strategies to manage this important dimension of body image.

Body-Related Self-Conscious Emotions Relate to Physical Activity Motivation and Behavior in Men:

The aim of this study was to examine the associations between the body-related self-conscious emotions of shame, guilt, and pride and physical activity motivation and behavior among adult males. Specifically, motivation regulations (external, introjected, indentified, intrinsic) were examined as possible mediators between each of the body-related self-conscious emotions and physical activity behavior. A cross-sectional study was conducted with adult men (N = 152; Mage = 23.72, SD = 10.92 years). Participants completed a questionnaire assessing body-related shame, guilt, authentic pride, hubristic pride, motivational regulations, and leisure-time physical activity. In separate multiple mediation models, body-related shame was positively associated with external and introjected regulations and negatively correlated with intrinsic regulation. Guilt was positively linked to external, introjected, and identified regulations. Authentic pride was negatively related to external regulation and positively correlated with both identified and intrinsic regulations and directly associated with physical activity behavior. Hubristic pride was positively associated with intrinsic regulation. Overall, there were both direct and indirect effects via motivation regulations between body-related self-conscious emotions and physical activity (R2 shame = .15, guilt = .16, authentic pride = .18, hubristic pride = .16). These findings highlight the importance of targeting and understanding self-conscious emotions contextualized to the body and links to motivation and positive health behavior among men.

Social physique anxiety experiences in physical activity: a comprehensive synthesis of research studies focused on measurement, theory, and predictors and outcomes

Physical activity (PA) settings such as sport, exercise, and physical education are inherently social and evaluative in nature, with much attention directed at how the body looks and performs. As such, these settings foster a host of positive and negative emotional experiences. Social physique anxiety (SPA) is a commonly studied emotion that emanates from, or motivates, PA behaviors. In this synthesis of the 126 identified research papers focused on SPA and related experiences in sport, exercise, and physical education, we summarize the theoretical roots and measurement of SPA, present research evidence on predictors and outcomes of SPA experiences, explore links between SPA and PA behaviors, and offer insight on the future directions of SPA research. Specifically, researchers in sport and exercise psychology are encouraged to broaden the study of SPA to conduct longitudinal and experimental studies, develop quality intervention strategies aimed at reducing SPA experiences, and expand on the theoretical and operational understandings of SPA experiences across the lifespan.

Exploring end user adoption and maintenance of a telephone-based physical activity counseling service for individuals with physical disabilities using the Theoretical Domains Framework

Abstract Purpose: In Canada, two counseling services are offered to facilitate physical activity participation among persons with physical disabilities, yet both have encountered concerns related to the recruitment and retainment of clients. The purpose of this paper is to explore factors related to service adoption among nonusers, and the barriers and facilitators to maintaining service participation among adopters. Methods: Individuals who had never enrolled in the services (nonusers, n = 13) as well as current/previous service clients (adopters, n = 26) participated in interviews based on the Theoretical Domains Framework. Transcripts were subjected to deductive thematic analysis according to participant group. Results: Fifteen themes relating to service adoption within 10 of the 12 theoretical domains were identified for nonusers, while 23 themes relating to maintenence of service participation were identified across all 12 theoretical domains for adopters. Conclusions: The findings provide strategies to improve recruitment, adoption, and retention of clients in counseling services and to enhance the experiences of targeted service users. Implications for Rehabiliation Peer support and education for equipment use should be built into physical activity programs to encourage participation among persons with physical disabilities. Programs that encourage physical activity among individuals with disabilities should be designed by practitioners to be responsive to a variety of needs, which are addressed in the program’s advertisements and offerings. The Theoretical Domains Framework is a useful framework for providing valuable insight about clients’ experiences of adoption and maintenance of a behavior change service, suggesting merit in other rehabilitation settings.

“I am a fat baby, who moved to a fat child, who moved to a fat teenager, who moved to a fat adult”: Women’s reflections of a lifetime of body and weight concern

ABSTRACT The present study explored how women aged 50–65 years reflect and make meaning of a lifetime of body and weight struggles. Seven purposefully selected women with longstanding body image challenges participated in interviews and reflected on their perceptions, thoughts, and emotions around their body and weight since childhood. Findings revealed consistent and consuming concerns about the body; prevalent body-related self-conscious emotions; influential social experiences that impact physical self-perceptions; and enduring impacts of weight bias, stigma, and discrimination. Collectively, these findings provide support for the stability of body disturbances and highlight the need to explore the unique body-related narratives of women in midlife.

When illness severity and research dollars do not align: are we overlooking eating disorders?

When determining funding allocated for psychiatric research, several important factors warrant consideration, including scientific opportunity, the status of existing evidence, public health need, disease severity, economic-related burden of illness, and the scope for high impact research. Eating disorders are among the most pernicious and complex psychiatric disorders, for which the precise etiology remains elusive, but relatively little funding has historically been allocated to their research. Approximately 20 million women and 10 million men in the US can be diagnosed with a DSM-5 eating disorder (i.e., anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa or binge eating disorder) at some point during their lifetime, many of whom are not treated by specialist providers. Lifetime prevalence estimates range from 0.9% for anorexia nervosa to 3.5% for binge eating disorder, and while some evidence points towards a gradual increase in the rate of new cases, empirical studies have struggled to discern what represents changing trends of incidence or an increased demand for treatment. Anorexia nervosa yields the highest mortality rate of any psychiatric illness, demonstrating a six-fold increase compared to the general population and a crude mortality rate of 5-7%. Even in non-lethal presentations, eating disorders frequently run a chronic and relapsing course, which impart multi-systemic organ damage, including cardiac abnormalities, structural and functional brain impairment, and bone disease. As such, up to 97% of those with eating disorders report significant functional impairment, which is comparable to autism and schizophrenia. Moreover, elevated psychiatric comorbidity is common, alongside a four-fold increase in substance abuse, and a 57-fold increase in suicidality relative to the general population. Despite the grave health-related implications of eating disorders, treatment outcomes to date are modest. In adult presentations of anorexia nervosa, for instance, no gold standard psychological interventions or pharmacological treatments approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have emerged. In adolescent presentations, the leading empirically supported intervention, family-based treatment, typically yields long-term remission rates of approximately 35-40%. Treatment outcomes for bulimia nervosa are similar, demonstrating remission rates of approximately 40% by end of treatment, in both adolescents and adults. Treatment costs are burdensome, with the cost of adequate treatment totalling approximately US

Body-part compatibility effects are modulated by the tendency for women to experience negative social comparative emotions and the body-type of the model

119,200 per patient, and an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of US

Self-esteem moderates the associations between body-related self-conscious emotions and depressive symptoms

30,180 per year of life saved. This is exponentially higher than per-person treatment costs for schizophrenia and obsessive-compulsive disorder, and comparable to depression. However, funding for eating disorder research remains relatively low. A recent funding report by the US National Institute of Mental Health revealed that, across all psychiatric conditions, funding for eating disorder research was the most discrepant from the burden of illness they represent. In 2015, the volume of federal support for eating disorder research equated to approximately US