Positive and negative body-related comments and their relationship with body dissatisfaction in middle-aged women

Abstract

We examined the relationship between body-related comments recalled across the life span and current body esteem among 898 54-year-old female participants from the MRC National Survey of Health and Development. A significant effect of negative comments while growing up, which was independent of comments from partner, suggests an enduring adverse impact of these early comments on midlife body esteem. There was no evidence that the detrimental effect of negative comments recalled while growing up could be reversed by compliments from one's partner. Partner comments (positive or negative) had a greater impact on the body esteem of thinner women and of women who had received positive comments while growing up. Results suggest that an impact of social feedback on body esteem is not restricted to young samples, and that comments received in adulthood (and not just during childhood or adolescence) should be taken into account.

Sexual Self-Esteem in American and British College Women: Relations with Self-Objectification and Eating Problems

“…Particularly insidious is the exposure to sexualized media environments that objectify women, which has been linked to the development of adolescent girls' and boys' notions of women as sex objects (American Psychological Association, Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls 2007; Grogan and Wainwright 1996;Harper and Tiggemann 2008;Peter and Valkenberg 2007;Ward and Friedman 2006). Moreover, these experiences of objectification endure in the lives of women, with research from a nationally representative cohort of middle-aged women in Britain demonstrating that body-related comments received in childhood continue to be associated with low body esteem across the life span (McLaren et al 2004).…”

Naked and Unashamed: Investigations and Applications of the Effects of Naturist Activities on Body Image, Self-Esteem, and Life Satisfaction

“…Abraczinskas et al (2012) found that negative weight-related and eating-related comments from one's parents can affect one's drive for thinness and encourage bulimic symptomatology in teenagers. However, in a dominant atmosphere of negative feedback about one's body, positive or even neutral feedback may lead to improved body image (Herbozo and Thompson 2006;Mclaren et al 2004). Naturist activities, in which individuals spend time naked in the company of non-intimate others, also involve being seen naked by a large number of people in a relatively non-judgemental context, which might lead to less dissatisfaction with one's body.…”

Objectification Theory Predicts College Women’s Attitudes Toward Cosmetic Surgery

“…Extending prior research on cosmetic surgery attitudes (Brown, Furnham, Glanville, & Swami, 2007;Henderson-King & Henderson-King, 2005;Sarwer et al, 2005;, the present study investigates objectification theory variables (i.e., sexual objectification, self-surveillance, body shame) as a specific set of interpersonal and intrapersonal factors that may be associated with womenÕs endorsement of cosmetic surgery as an acceptable means of changing their physical appearance. Specifically, this cross-sectional investigation examines the relationship between objectification theory variables and cosmetic surgery attitudes among a sample of women living in the U.K., a cultural context within which women consistently report high levels of appearance concerns, sexual and self-objectification, and interest in cosmetic surgery (Calogero, 2009;Calogero, Park, Rahemtulla, & Williams, 2010;Calogero & Thompson, 2009a;Dittmar et al, 2000;Grogan 2008;McLaren, Kuh, Hardy, & Gauvin, 2004;Puwar, 2004;Swami, Chamorro-Premuzic, Bridges, & Furhman, 2009). This research provides a new test and application of objectification theory to the understanding of womenÕs lived experiences in westernized societies.…”