Body-, Eating-, and Exercise-Related Comparisons During Eating Disorder Recovery and Validation of the BEECOM-R

Abstract

Social comparison tendencies are strongly associated with body dissatisfaction and disordered eating. In the current study, we quantitatively examined the structure and predictive value of these constructs during eating disorder recovery. We revised an existing measure of body-, eating-, and exercise-related social comparisons, the Body, Eating, and Exercise Comparison Orientation Measure (BEECOM), to improve psychometric properties. We also assessed the psychometric properties of the shortened Body, Eating, and Exercise Comparison Orientation Measure-Revised (BEECOM-R) in a comparison sample, resulting in an abbreviated measure suitable for recovering, clinical, and non-clinical samples. Finally, we used the revised measure to examine the additive influence of body-, eating-, and exercise-related comparisons on shape and weight dissatisfaction and disordered eating cognitions among 150 women (ages of 18–35 years) in self-identified recovery. Results suggest that body-, eating-, and exercise-related social comparisons all continue to correlate with body dissatisfaction and disordered eating during recovery. A minority of participants reported these comparisons to be helpful during the recovery process. We recommend social comparison as a clinical target for most women seeking support for eating pathology. Additional online materials for this article are available on PWQ’s website at http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/suppl/ 10.1177/0361684319851718

Psychometric Examination of the Body, Eating, and Exercise Comparison Orientation Measure (BEECOM) among Spanish Adolescents and Young Adults

“…Findings from several research studies have been consistent in supporting the psychometric properties of the BEECOM scores in terms of both reliability and convergent/incremental validity [ 14 , 16 , 17 , 18 ]. In contrast, the available evidence on the factorial validity of the instrument is far less conclusive.…”

“…A cognitive process that has been consistently identified as a modifiable risk factor for ED is the tendency towards body/appearance-related social comparison [ 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 ]. However, an emerging line of research has begun to demonstrate that further consideration of comparisons focused on actions aimed at improving body appearance, such as eating or exercise behavior, may provide deeper insight into the cognitive processes underlying ED [ 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 ]. This body of research has been built around the only self-reported quantitative measure proposed to date for the purpose of assessing the three facets of ED-related social comparisons outlined above (i.e., the Body, Eating, and Exercise Comparison Orientation Measure, BEECOM) [ 17 ].…”

“…Firstly, the one conducted in a non-clinical sample of Iranian university male and female students with the aim of providing a Farsi translation of the original long version of the BEECOM (hereinafter BEECOM-L) revealed gender differences in the distribution of several items across the lower-order factors [ 18 ]. Secondly, the one conducted on a sample of U.S. females in their young adulthood revealed that several items did not load clearly on their theoretically relevant lower-order factors in the clinical subsample in terms of ED [ 16 ]. This finding led the authors to propose a short version of the instrument (BEECOM-S) consisting of 9 items (3 for each lower-order factor) instead of 18 items, whose adequate fit was subsequently corroborated in a second non-clinical subsample of otherwise similar socio-demographic characteristics to the first one [ 16 ].…”

Treatment Outcome for Adults in a Residential Program for Binge Eating Spectrum Disorders: Protocol for a Prospective Pragmatic Single-Arm Trial

“…The BETR program is designed to specifically serve the needs of patients struggling with BESD. A case report suggested that having patients with BESD participate in treatment programs designed primarily for restrictive eating disorders may be problematic due to differing foci of weight restoration versus normalizing eating patterns, as well as patients’ comparisons to other patients, which can be detrimental to recovery [ 24 , 25 ]. Although there is little empirical evidence to support this, a study of intensive treatment specifically for patients reporting episodes of overeating (patients with BN, BED, or obesity without binge eating) found improvements in eating disorder psychopathology after 5 weeks, suggesting that targeted specialty care may be more effective and more efficient than general eating disorder treatment programs that address a wide range of symptomatology [ 26 ].…”

O impacto da pandemia de COVID-19 nos transtornos alimentares e seu tratamento: uma revisão integrativa da literatura

“…Por outro lado, pode-se identificar no contexto de pandemia um potencial de mitigação dos gatilhos sociais interpessoais relacionados à comportamentos alimentares tidos como desordenados e insatisfação corporal como consequência, por exemplo, da redução de oportunidades para comparações sociais baseadas no corpo (Cooper et al, 2020;Saunders et al, 2019).…”