Thin-ideal (or media) internalization is an important eating disorder risk factor that has become a central target of many prevention programs. However, evidence for its valid assessment in young, mixed-gender, adolescent samples is limited, and the current study is the first to explore the psychometric properties of the 30-item Sociocultural…

Various components of body image were measured to assess body image disturbances in patients with obesity. To overcome limitations of previous studies, a photo distortion technique and a biological motion distortion device were included to assess static and dynamic aspects of body image. Questionnaires assessed cognitive-affective aspects, bodily…

One community sample (N = 607) of youths generated self-reported responses to body dissatisfaction, from which the Adolescent Responses to Body Dissatisfaction (ARBD) inventory was constructed. A 2nd, similar sample (N = 830) completed this measure as well as measures of coping, body dissatisfaction, body mass index, depressive symptoms, and…

Girls with Type 1 diabetes (insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus [IDDM]) have been identified to be at an increased risk for developing bulimia nervosa (BN) and subthreshold eating disorders. The co-occurrence of these conditions can severely compromise the physical health of these individuals and can even accelerate mortality. The use of a unique…

We suggest that recent concerns about young people's excess body weight have generally been treated quite separately to longer standing concerns about young people (particularly, young women) and eating disorders. The few papers that have addressed this connection directly have focused on how practices motivated by the obesity discourse have had…

Objective: Test the hypothesis that reductions in thin-ideal internalization and body dissatisfaction mediate the effects of a dissonance-based eating disorder prevention program on reductions in eating disorder symptoms over 1-year follow-up. Method: Data were drawn from a randomized effectiveness trial in which 306 female high school students…

School counselors play an important role in identifying and intervening with students struggling with disordered eating (e.g., Bardick et al., 2004). Research has shown that American Indian adolescents report higher rates of certain disordered eating behaviors than other racial groups. The literature on the prevalence and etiology of disordered…

Cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) is an effective treatment for bulimia nervosa (BN). However, among patients with BN, symptom improvement is more pronounced for behavioral eating symptoms (i.e., bingeing and purging) than for body image disturbance, and the persistence of body image disturbance is associated with relapse. The need for more…

Objective: This study examines ethnic identity and body image in black and white college females. Participants: Researchers surveyed 118 students at 2 universities, 1 traditionally white and 1 historically black. Methods: Correlations and multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) were used to investigate the relationship between race, ethnic…

The purpose of this study was to examine body image concerns in college-aged male physical education majors. Sixty volunteers completed validated body image instruments including two-dimensional figure drawings. In general, the sample reported that they preferred a larger, more muscular physique reflective of male images that currently abound the…

Although there has been considerable empirical support for Objectification Theory (Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997), findings have been mixed regarding self-objectification's relationship to interoceptive awareness, an awareness of one's internal physical and emotional states. We examined whether interoceptive awareness mediated the relationship…

Prospective studies have identified factors that increase risk for eating pathology onset, including perceived pressure for thinness, thin-ideal internalization, body dissatisfaction, dietary restraint, and negative affect. Research also suggests that body dissatisfaction and dietary restraint may constitute prodromal stages of the development of…

There is much empirical literature on factors for adolescent suicide risk, but body image and disordered eating are rarely included in these models. In the current study, disordered eating and body image were examined as risk factors for suicide ideation since these factors are prevalent in adolescence, particularly for females. It was…

Statistically controlling for physical size is common practice, especially in self-perception studies uncovering the etiology of maladaptive behaviors, such as eating disorders. For example, social physique anxiety (SPA)--apprehension about social evaluations while presenting oneself in front of others (Leary, 1992)--is a prominent correlate of…

In 1996, the author published "A Secret Life in a Culture of Thinness: Reflections on Body, Food, and Bulimia" (Tillmann-Healy, 1996), an account of her struggle with binging and purging from ages 15 to 25. She came to understand bulimia as a communicative act, expressing fear, anxiety, and grief. From 25 to 35, her recovery from bulimia involved…