J. Kevin Thompson

Exacting beauty: Theory, assessment and treatment of body image disturbance

The Scope of Body Image Disturbance - the Big Picture An Overview of Assessment and Treatment Strategies Sociocultural Theory - the Media and Society Social Comparison Processes Appearance-Related Feedback Interpersonal Factors Peers, Parents and Perfect Strangers Feminist Perspectives Sexual Abuse and Sexual Harassment Behavioural Aspects of Disturbance - Conditioning, Context and Avoidance Cognitive Processing Models Future Directions - Integrative Theories, Multidimensional Assessment and Multicomponent Interventions.

Thin-Ideal Internalization: Mounting Evidence for a New Risk Factor for Body-Image Disturbance and Eating Pathology:

Body-image disturbance and eating disorders are a significant physical and mental health problem in Western countries. We describe emerging work on one newly identified variable that appears to be a potent risk factor for the development of these problems internalization of societal standards of attractiveness. Work conducted independently in our labs over the past decade has included scale development, correlational studies, prospective risk-factor studies, randomized experiments, and randomized prevention trials. Findings collectively suggest that internalization is a causal risk factor for body-image and eating disturbances, and that it appears to operate in conjunction with other established risk factors for these outcomes, including dieting and negative affect. Future research is needed to examine the specific familial, peer, and media influences that promote internalization and to replicate and extend our prospective and experimental studies.

Development and validation of the Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Questionnaire

The Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Questionnaire (SATAQ) was developed to assess womens recognition and acceptance of societally sanctioned standards of appearance. In Study 1, factor analyses revealed two clearcut factors: awareness/acknowledgment of a societal emphasis on appearance and an internalization/acceptance of these standards. These findings were cross-validated in Study 2, resulting in a six-item Awareness subscale (alpha = .71) and an eight-item Internalization subscale (alpha = .88). Study 3 obtained good convergence between both scales and multiple indices of body image and eating disturbance. Regression analyses indicated that both factors accounted for unique variance associated with body image and eating dysfunction, however, internalization of standards was a stronger predictor of disturbance. The SATAQ should prove useful for researchers and clinicians interested in body image and eating disorders.

Body Image and Body Shape Ideals in Magazines: Exposure, Awareness, and Internalization

Three aspects of a sociocultural influence on appearance--media exposure, awareness of societal ideals, and internalization of sociocultural messages--were assessed in college females (75% White, 7% Black, 10% Hispanic, 7% Asian or Pacific Islander, and 1% other) and related to measures of body image disturbance, eating dysfunction, and overall self-esteem. The exposure variable consisted of an empirically derived index of coded body shape images from magazines specifically selected because of their high readership in the tested sample of females. Awareness of societal pressures regarding appearance and internalization of these messages were measured with the two subscales of the Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Questionnaire. Correlational and regression analyses failed to find any relationship between simple exposure and indices of body image, eating dysfunction, and self-esteem. Awareness of societal pressures was a significant predictor in regression analyses; however, internalization of social standards of appearance accounted for significant and substantial levels of variance beyond that explained by awareness. The findings are discussed in light of recent cognitive-behavioral and psychoeducational for body image disturbance.

Development of body image, eating disturbance, and general psychological functioning in female adolescents: Covariance structure modeling and longitudinal investigations.

OBJECTIVE Covariance structure modeling (CSM) and longitudinal analyses were used to identify a possible causal sequence for factors that might lead to the development of body image and eating disturbance in adolescent females. METHOD In Study 1, subjects were measured for level of obesity, perceived weight status, maturational timing, history of being teased about weight/size, body image, eating disturbance, and global psychological functioning. Study 2 was a systematic replication of Study 1 using different indices of body image and a more comprehensive assessment of eating disturbance. In Study 3, subjects from Study 1 were reassessed at a 3-year follow-up. RESULTS The findings from Study 1 indicated that level of obesity and perceived weight, but not maturational timing, had a directional influence on the other variables. In addition, teasing history was significantly related to the development of body image and eating disturbance. CSM and path analyses with Studies 2 and 3 data generally replicated and extended the results from Study 1. DISCUSSION These findings offer important insights into possible causal sequences for the development of body image and eating disturbance.

The Media's Influence on Body Image Disturbance and Eating Disorders: We've Reviled Them, Now Can We Rehabilitate Them?

Survey, correlational, randomized control, and covariance structure modeling investigations indicate that the media are a significant factor in the development and maintenance of eating and shape-related disorders. One specific individual difference variable, internalization of societal pressures regarding prevailing standards of attractiveness, appears to moderate or even mediate the medias effects on womens body satisfaction and eating dysfunction. Problematic media messages inherent in existing media portrayals of eating disorders are apparent, leading researchers to pinpoint intervention strategies that might counteract such viewpoints. Social activism and social marketing approaches are suggested as methods for fighting negative media messages. The media itself is one potential vehicle for communicating productive, accurate, and deglamorized messages about eating and shape-related disorders.

Body image, eating disorders, and obesity in youth : assessment, prevention, and treatment

This book examines the relationship between body image disturbances and eating disorders in our most vulnerable population: children and adolescents. Editors J. Kevin Thompson and Linda Smolak present a dynamic approach that combines current research, assessment techniques, and suggestions for treatment and prevention. Contributing authors offer techniques for treating obesity and eating disorders in children, point to possible sources of these disorders, map out the subtleties of working with youth of diverse ethnicities, and elucidate the connection between sexual abuse and body image.

A Three-Year Longitudinal Study of Body Image, Eating Disturbance, and General Psychological Functioning in Adolescent Females

Using a longitudinal design, adolescent females were initially evaluated then retested after a three-year period for levels of body image disturbance, eating dysfunction, psychological functioning,...

Psychometric qualities of the figure rating scale

The Figure Rating Scale is a widely used measure of body image disturbance that consists of a series of nine schematic figures of varying size. In previous research, investigators have measured many different aspects of figure selection, including ideal body size, current body size, and the figure subjects believe is most attractive to the opposite sex. Important findings have eventuated from research using this index of body image. However, minimal attention has focused on an examination of the psychometric properties of the Figure Rating Scale. In the current study, reliability and validity studies were completed on separate samples of male and female college students. The findings indicate good test—retest reliability and moderate correlations with other measures of body image dissatisfaction, eating disturbance, and overall self-esteem. It is concluded that the Figure Rating Scale is an appropriate tool for the investigation of body image disturbance.

Explanations of body image disturbance : a test of maturational status, negative verbal commentary, social comparison, and sociocultural hypotheses

OBJECTIVE A number of hypotheses have been offered to explain the development and/or maintenance of body image disturbance. In this study, four factors which have been hypothesized to lead to body image problems were tested: maturational status (early physical development), negative verbal commentary (a history of being teased regarding physical appearance), behavioral social comparison, and awareness/internalization of sociocultural pressures. METHODS One hundred sixty-two college females completed measures designed to index these four influences. Predictors were regressed onto multiple measures of body image and two indices of eating disturbance. RESULTS Even with self-esteem and level of obesity removed as influences, social comparison and societal factors were significant predictors of body dissatisfaction and eating disturbance. Negative verbal commentary also explained a small part of the variance, however, maturational status did not contribute uniquely in any analysis. DISCUSSION The findings offer further support for emerging theories of body image and eating disturbance.