Applying Objectification Theory to the Relationship Between Sexual Victimization and Disordered Eating

Abstract

There is an established relationship between sexual victimization (SV) and disordered eating (DE); however, few theory-based studies exist that adequately examine this relationship. Previous research on objectification theory has insufficiently tested the theory's application to extreme objectifying experiences such as SV. To address this gap in the literature, we evaluated objectification theory as a means for clarifying the relationship between SV and DE. Specifically, we examined how self-surveillance, a proxy for self-objectification, and two of its psychological correlates, body shame and interoceptive deficits, may clarify the association between SV and DE. Participants were 389 undergraduate women. Path analysis of the model largely supports the application of objectification theory to this relationship but also suggests potential modifications to the theory. Further, the extent to which SV may be uniquely related to DE, above and beyond everyday objectification (e.g., leering, unwanted sexual comments), was explored. Implications are discussed.

Sexual Objectification, Internalization, and College Women’s Depression: The Role of Shame

“…There was also a direct effect of sexual objectification on depression. The findings related to the direct and indirect effects via body surveillance are consistent with objectification theory tenets (Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997) and previous research (Carr & Szymanski, 2011; Holmes & Johnson, 2017; Moradi et al, 2005). Although not explicitly postulated in objectification theory, the finding that sexual objectification was indirectly related to depression via self-blame is consistent with it because Fredrickson and Roberts (1997) emphasized the internalization of sexual objectification as a key process in understanding how sexual objectification may influence poor psychological outcomes among women.…”

“…Self-objectification manifests as body surveillance when women become observers and criticizers of their appearance and body and begin to habitually monitor them (McKinley & Hyde, 1996; Moradi & Huang, 2008). Empirically, researchers have found support for the mediating role of body surveillance in the link between interpersonal experiences of sexual objectification and depression (Carr & Szymanski, 2011; Szymanski & Feltman, 2015), global psychological distress (Szymanski & Feltman, 2014), and disordered eating (Holmes & Johnson, 2017; Moradi, Dirks, & Matteson, 2005). These findings indicate that more experiences of sexual objectification are related to higher levels of body surveillance, which in turn are related to poorer mental health outcomes.…”

Peer sexual harassment predicts African American girls’ psychological distress and sexual experimentation

“…Specifically, by operationalizing interpersonal objectification with PSH in this mediational model, we demonstrate that PSH follows the same pattern of results, suggesting that PSH is one way of conceptualizing and operationalizing interpersonal sexualization and sexual objectification. Our work builds on the research of Holmes and Johnson (2017), who examined sexual victimization (including both childhood and adult sexual assault) and self-surveillance in a test of objectification theory. Because PSH can be a highly sexualizing, pervasive part of the daily environment for many adolescent girls, in this study, we examine PSH in the sexual victimization role and demonstrate that it has similar impact in a sample of African American girls.…”

“…Petersen and Hyde (2013a) argued that sexual harassment as a type of sexual objectification may lead to increased self-surveillance and focus on attaining the ideal physical appearance in an effort to reduce unwanted sexual attention. Further, sexual violence is associated with self-objectification and body shame (Davidson & Gervais, 2015; Holmes & Johnson, 2017), which suggests that the internalization of sexualization may be associated with sexual behavior and sexual dysfunction.…”

Analysis of a Modification to the Sexual Experiences Survey to Assess Intimate Partner Sexual Violence

“…First, both samples exclusively comprised undergraduate women. Although college women were selected for their high rates of sexual victimization (Anderson et al, 2018;Holmes & Johnson, 2017), this method limits the generalizability of our findings. In some ways, our findings of higher reported rates of IPSV were even more remarkable, given that prevalence rates have been shown to be typically smaller for brief periods of time (Johnson et al, 2017).…”