Self-objectification, body shame, and disordered eating: Testing a core mediational model of objectification theory among White, Black, and Hispanic women

Abstract

Objectification theory asserts that self-objectification, which manifests as self-surveillance, leads to increased body shame and subsequent eating pathology. Although evidence supports the core mediational model, the majority of this work utilizes primarily White samples, limiting generalizability to other ethnic groups. The current study examined whether the core tenets of objectification theory generalize to Black and Hispanic women. Participants were 880 college women from the United States (71.7% White, 15.1% Hispanic, 13.2% Black) who completed self-report measures of self-surveillance, body shame, and disordered eating. Multivariate analysis of variance tests indicated lower levels of self-surveillance and disordered eating among Black women. Moreover, body shame mediated the relationship between self-surveillance and disordered eating for White and Hispanic women, but not for Black women. These analyses support growing evidence for the role of body shame as a mediator between body surveillance and eating pathology, but only for women in certain ethnic groups.

Social Media, Thin-Ideal, Body Dissatisfaction and Disordered Eating Attitudes: An Exploratory Analysis

“…Meanwhile, addiction to social networks was evaluated by a validated survey called the Social Networks Addiction Questionnaire (SNSA) [50]. The survey is based on the DSM-IV-TR [27], a diagnostic instrument that does not recognize psychological addictions as disorders but as a prior stage that can lead to addiction. The survey is formed by 24 items applying a five-point rating system (from 0 to 4), taking into account the frequency from “never” to “always” [56].…”

“…In this sense, previous studies have established that the probability of developing a disordered eating attitude or a diagnosis of eating disorders is higher if the mother had a disordered eating or self-esteem problems [25,26]. Moreover, ethnicity has been linked to the perception of beauty ideals, self-esteem and body perception [27,28].…”

Mindfulness as a Moderator of the Association Between Eating Disorder Cognition and Eating Disorder Behavior Among a Non-clinical Sample of Female College Students: A Role of Ethnicity

“…These novel results suggest that the association between eating disordered behavior and mindfulness found previously in other samples ( Masuda et al, 2012 ; Moore et al, 2014 ) may not function in the same way among Black American women. These findings emphasize the importance of examining associations independently in different ethnic groups, rather than assuming generalizability or universality across cultures ( Sue, 1999 ; Hall et al, 2016 ; Schaefer et al, 2018 ).…”

“…It is possible that the slightly lower levels of eating disorder cognition and behavior among Black American women might have been related to the absence of their interaction in this group. It is also possible that the higher BMI among the Black American group suggests that the behavioral eating disturbances in this group might have taken a slightly different form than those in the other two groups, and perhaps were more focused on concerns about overeating or loss-of-control eating rather than dietary restraint ( Wildes et al, 2001 ; Schaefer et al, 2018 ).…”

Desenvolvimento e avaliação dos efeitos de uma intervenção psicoterápica destinada a adolescentes com anorexia nervosa e a seus pais: coletânea de casos

“…No entanto, nem todos as meninas brasileiras que apresentam insatisfação corporal desenvolvem AN. Pesquisas recentes indicam que para meninas com baixa autoestima e/ou altamente sensíveis a reforçadores sociais (possivelmente por estarem privadas desses reforçadores em outras áreas da vida), a insatisfação corporal e a objetificação do próprio corpo, como meio de acesso a esses reforçadores, aumentam a probabilidade de restrição alimentar e surgimento de um TA (Dakanalis et al, 2015;Schaefer et al, 2018). Esse funcionamento pode ser ilustrado pela fala de Bianca (Família III), descrita na sessão de resultados, sobre "ser bonita é a única coisa que tenho".…”