Louise Wasylkiw

Exploring the link between self-compassion and body image in university women

The purpose of the present research was to examine the relationships between self-compassion and womens body image. In Study 1, female undergraduates (N=142) completed three measures of body image and measures of self-esteem and self-compassion. Results showed that high self-compassion predicted fewer body concerns independently of self-esteem. Moreover, when both self-compassion and self-esteem were included as predictors, self-compassion accounted for unique variance in body preoccupation and weight concerns whereas self-esteem did not. In Study 2, this finding was partially replicated with one component (self-judgment) of self-compassion uniquely predicting body preoccupation in undergraduate women (N=187). High scores on self-compassion also predicted less eating guilt independent of self-esteem. Additionally, self-compassion was shown to partially mediate the relationship between body preoccupation and depressive symptoms. The findings highlight the possibility that a consideration of self-compassion for body image may contribute to identifying who is most at risk for body/shape concerns.

Media Images of Men: Trends and Consequences of Body Conceptualization

In the current investigation, the authors examined how men are presented in popular media and the effects of such presentations on male adolescents’ self-evaluations. In a content analysis of male models in advertisements of Sports Illustrated, Study 1 showed that media ideals increasingly emphasize aesthetic versus performance attributes of men. In Study 2, male adolescents (N 107) were randomly assigned to view either images of male ideals emphasizing aesthetic attributes, images of male ideals emphasizing performance attributes, or neutral images. Results showed that viewing media ideals that emphasize aesthetic attributes contributes to negative selfevaluations whereas viewing media ideals that emphasize performance attributes contributes to positive self-evaluations. These findings suggest that body conceptualization, and not simply body type (i.e., muscularity), plays a role in how men feel about themselves and their bodies.

Are all models created equal? A content analysis of women in advertisements of fitness versus fashion magazines ☆

The current study is a content analysis of women appearing in advertisements in two types of magazines: fitness/health versus fashion/beauty chosen because of their large and predominantly female readerships. Women appearing in advertisements of the June 2007 issue of five fitness/health magazines were compared to women appearing in advertisements of the June 2007 issue of five beauty/fashion magazines. Female models appearing in advertisements of both types of magazines were primarily young, thin Caucasians; however, images of models were more likely to emphasize appearance over performance when they appeared in fashion magazines. This difference in emphasis has implications for future research.

Nurse practitioners in Canada: Beginnings, benefits, and barriers

Purpose: The goal of this qualitative study was to investigate the experiences of nurse practitioners (NPs) 1 year after they were first introduced to a mostly rural Canadian province. Data sources: Qualitative analyses of individual 45‐min interviews with seven of the nine NPs in the province were carried out. Conclusions: Three main themes of importance were identified. First, a nursing philosophy with a holistic approach was described as being clearly different from medical care. Second, difficulties and barriers encountered in the establishment of the profession in the province were described. Third, despite these barriers, a pioneering outlook characterized by a sense of excitement and pride in the work was expressed. Implications for practice: For NPs to work effectively to reduce healthcare costs and increase access to health care, they need to be accepted by both the public and the other healthcare professionals. Moreover, it may be difficult for NPs to maintain their philosophy of care in the face of the expectations placed upon them.

The inventory of motivations for hospice palliative care volunteerism: a tool for recruitment and retention.

Given the essential role of volunteers in hospice palliative care, it would be beneficial to have a recruitment and retention tool that is reliable and valid. To address this gap, the current investigation sought to adapt and extend the Inventory of Motivations for Palliative Care Volunteerism (IMPCV) of Claxton-Oldfield, Jefferies, Fawcett, Wasylkiw, and Claxton-Oldfield.1 The purpose of study 1 was to address methodological concerns of the IMPCV using 141 undergraduate students. After conceptually relevant items were added to the IMPCV, participants indicated the degree of influence each of the motivations would have on their, and another person’s, decision to become a hospice palliative care volunteer. In both cases, 5 internally consistent subscales were identified through principal components analysis: altruism, civic responsibility, self-promotion, leisure, and personal gain. Convergent and discriminant validity were demonstrated using an established measure of empathy. In study 2, 141 hospice palliative care volunteers completed the revised and renamed Inventory of Motivations for Hospice Palliative Care Volunteerism (IMHPCV). Confirmatory factor analysis provided support for the 5-factor structure of the IMHPCV. The authors encourage other researchers to use the IMHPCV as a measurement tool in studying the motivations of hospice palliative care volunteers.

Body talk among undergraduate women: why conversations about exercise and weight loss differentially predict body appreciation.

Undergraduate women (N = 143) completed self-reports on exercise behavior, body orientation, body appreciation, and body-related talk. Results showed that conversations about weight loss/dieting and conversations about exercise differentially predicted body appreciation. Importantly, multiple regression analyses showed that the relationship between talk type and body appreciation was explained by the object–process dichotomy: Conversations about exercise oriented women to consider what their bodies can do which, in turn, predicted appreciation of one’s body. In contrast, the relationship between conversations about weight loss/dieting and body appreciation was mediated by negative attitudes about one’s body but not by an object orientation.

A Study of the Motivations of British Hospice Volunteers

In all, 162 British hospice volunteers completed the Inventory of Motivations for Hospice Palliative Care Volunteerism (IMHPCV) of Claxton-Oldfield, Wasylkiw, Mark, and Claxton-Oldfield.1 The IMHPCV taps into 5 different categories of motives for becoming a hospice palliative care volunteer: altruism, civic responsibility, leisure, self-promotion, and personal gain. Altruistic motives were the most influential reasons for choosing to join hospice; personal gain motives were the least influential reasons for becoming a hospice volunteer. Altruistic motives were found to be a significant predictor of volunteers’ length of service to the hospice. Compared to previously collected data from a sample of Canadian hospice palliative care volunteers,1 the current study’s sample of British hospice volunteers scored significantly different on 2 of the 5 categories of motives on the IMHPCV.

Neuroticism and the architecture of the self: exploring neuroticism as a moderator of the impact of ideal self-discrepancies on emotion.

Two studies examined the moderating role of neuroticism in discrepancy-emotion relations. In Study 1, neuroticism, self-discrepancies, and depression were measured. Multiple regression analyses revealed a significant interaction between neuroticism and ideal self-discrepancies such that the magnitude of ideal self-discrepancies was a stronger predictor of depression for people high in neuroticism than people low in neuroticism. Study 2 used an experimental paradigm to test the same hypothesis. Participants were randomly assigned to an ideal self-discrepancy salience condition or a control condition in which ideal self-discrepancies were not made salient. A significant interaction between self-discrepancy condition and neuroticism emerged such that the ideal self-discrepancy condition produced higher dejection-related affect relative to the control condition for people high in neuroticism compared to people low in neuroticism.

Help Seeking in Men: When Masculinity and Self-Compassion Collide.

Sports are known to enculturate men in traditional masculinity. Importantly, conformity to such norms is associated with less help seeking, particularly for mental health concerns. The present study furthers the understanding of help seeking in men by addressing the relationships between conformity to masculine norms and self-compassion across intercollegiate athletes (n = 94) and a comparison group (n = 72). Results showed that intercollegiate athletes were more likely to endorse masculine norms (Cohen’s d = 1.01) and scored higher on self-compassion (Cohen’s d = 0.32) than the comparison group. Replicating past research, results also showed that conformity to traditional masculinity norms predicted less favorable attitudes toward help seeking because of self-stigma, p < .001. New to the literature is the finding that, independent of masculinity, self-compassion predicted more positive attitudes toward help-seeking for intercollegiate athletes but not the comparison group. These findings highlight 1 potential avenue for boosting help seeking among men.

Exploring Women's Attitudes and Intentions to Seek Care from Nurse Practitioners across Different Age Groups

Puisque l’acceptation publique est essentielle à une intégration réussie des infirmières praticiennes dans le système de soins de santé canadien, la présente étude examine de quelle manière les femmes de différents groupes d’âge perçoivent les infirmières praticiennes. Les femmes d’âge moyen avaient généralement une opinion plus positive des professionnels de la santé et étaient plus enclines à indiquer qu’elles demanderaient de l’aide des infirmières praticiennes que les femmes plus âgées et plus jeunes qu’elles. Les répondants des trois groupes d’âge étaient davantage portés à consulter des médecins que des infirmières praticiennes, particulièrement en ce qui concerne les problèmes de santé aigus (par opposition aux questions préventives). Because public acceptance is critical for the successful integration of nurse practitioners into the Canadian health care system, the current study explored how women of different ages perceive nurse practitioners. Middle-aged women held more positive views of health care professionals in general and were more likely to indicate that they would seek help from nurse practitioners compared to younger and older women. Across all three age groups, respondents were more likely to seek help from physicians than from nurse practitioners, especially for acute (versus preventive) health concerns.