Madeline Altabe

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.

Ethnicity and body image: Quantitative and qualitative analysis

OBJECTIVE Cultural diversity in body image has been studied elsewhere. In this study, we extend previous research by inclusion of (1) multiple ethnic groups for comparison and (2) measures for the assessment of multiple dimensions of body image. METHOD Participants were college students who self-identified as African, Asian, Caucasian, or Hispanic-American. Quantitative measures of weight-related body image and general appearance body image were included. General body image was also assessed qualitatively. RESULTS Caucasian and Hispanic-Americans showed more weight-related body image disturbance than African-Americans and Asian-Americans. African-Americans had the most positive general appearance body image. Ethnic groups were generally similar in their ideal body image traits but some differences occurred for the valuing of skin color and breast size. DISCUSSION This study highlights the importance of studying multiple ethnic groups with multiple measures, rather than simply comparing non-Caucasians to Caucasians on weight-related body image.

Size estimation versus figural ratings of body image disturbance: Relation to body dissatisfaction and eating dysfunction

The current investigation compared several different measures of body image disturbance in college males and females. Measures of perceptual size overestimation, figure rating preferences, and questionnaire indices of body dissatisfaction and eating disturbance were collected. Subjects also rated body sizes based on ideal, affective, and cognitive/rational rating protocols. The results revealed little connection between indices of perceptual overestimation and body dissatisfaction or eating dysfunction. Alternatively, figural ratings were strongly associated with these measures. Regression analyses revealed that body dissatisfaction and figural discrepancy measures were highly related to eating disturbance for both males and females. In addition, discrepancies based on affective versus cognitive/rational rating protocols explained unique variance associated with eating disturbance. The findings are discussed with regard to the need to conduct a multifaceted assessment of body image disturbance.

Factor analysis of multiple measures of body image disturbance: Are we all measuring the same construct?

Two studies were conducted to determine the overlap among multiple measures of subjective body image disturbance. Study 1 was conducted on 219 adolescent females (ages 14-18 years) who completed seven widely used indices of self-reported body image disturbance. Study 2 involved 162 college females (ages 17-35 years) and six measures of disturbance, five of which were identical with those instruments used in Study 1. Factor analyses indicated the existence of two factors in the adolescent sample, however, one factor was quite strong and accounted for most of the variance. Analyses on the adult subjects revealed the existence of a single body image factor. It was concluded that the measures under investigation largely reflect an underlying single factor of body image, despite their common usage in the literature as indicators of multiple aspects of body image disturbance.

Menstrual Cycle, Body Image, and Eating Disturbance

Sixty females (ages 17–25) were blocked into four groups on the basis of contraceptive use (pill, non-pill) and level of menstrual distress (high, low). All subjects were tested for levels of body image and eating disturbance during three phases of the menstrual cycle: menstrual, intermenstrual, premenstrual. High menstrual distress subjects had greater body image and eating disturbance than low distress subjects. There was marginal evidence that body image disturbance for the high menstrual distress subjects was greater perimenstrually (premenstrual plus menstrual). There was also suggestive evidence that subjects overestimated the size of the waist greater perimenstrually. The findings are discussed with regard to etiological mechanisms, methodological issues, and treatment implications.

Body Image Disturbance: A Silent Epidemic

Originally published in Contemporary Psychology: APA Review of Books, 2001, Vol 46(4), 409–412. The broad range of body image problems experienced by persons without eating disorders is addressed in Exacting Beauty: Theory, Assessment, and Treatment of Body Image Disturbance, by J. Kevin Thompson, L