The Role of Trait Self-Objectification in Smoking among College Women

Abstract

Self-objectification, which is the internalization of an observer's perspective of the self, has been related to restrained and disordered eating patterns and depression. Because disordered eating and depression are known cofactors for smoking, we tested the possible involvement of trait self-objectification in the relationship between these mental health dimensions and smoking in a sample of 130 college women smokers and non-smokers. As hypothesized, we found that trait self-objectification mediated the relationship between smoking status and dieting and disordered eating behaviors. There were no significant differences in depression between smokers and nonsmokers, which limited further exploration of the relationship. Implications for trait self-objectification as relevant to women's weight-control smoking and the relevance of selfobjectification to other health behaviors are discussed.There has been a steady decline in the prevalence of smoking since the 1964 Surgeon General's Report concluded that smoking is a major health hazard (Wagner, 1971). In 1965, 51.9% of adult men and 33.9% of adult women smoked. This contrasts sharply with the prevalence of smoking in the US population in 2003 when 24.1% of men and 19.2% of women smoked (Centers for Disease Control, 2004). Although the gender gap between male and female smokers has narrowed to around 5%, these rates demonstrate that over the past 40 years men's smoking rates have declined by one-half, whereas, female smoking rates have declined at a proportionally slower rate (Centers for Disease Control, 2006). Women's smoking has been linked to behavioral and psychological correlates, including disordered eating, weight control, and depression. The aim of the current study was to determine whether selfobjectification, which is the internalization of an outside observer's view of the body, may explain the relationship between smoking and women's mental health. Women and SmokingAmong regular smokers, women smoke longer than men do, are exposed to higher levels of nicotine, and are at greater risk for adverse respiratory outcomes over the course of their smoking history

Self-Objectification and Pregnancy: Are Body Functionality Dimensions Protective?

“…Certain health behaviorsparticularly exercise, smoking, and eating behaviors-are also closely linked with women's body image (e.g., Lopez et al 2008;Stice and Shaw 2003) including facets of selfobjectification (Prichard and Tiggemann 2005;Tylka 2004). For example, both body shame and body surveillance have been linked with eating disorder symptomatology (Burney and Irwin 2000), and smoking behavior among women (Fiissel and Lafreniere 2006;Harrell et al 2006). Greenleaf (2005) found that self-objectification was associated with being less physically active (i.e., less engagement with physical exercise, an important health behavior).…”

The Romance of Self-objectification: Does Priming Romantic Relationships Induce States of Self-objectification Among Women?

“…The theory posits self-objectification as a predictor of a variety of mental health risks that are more common among women than men. Empirical evidence suggests that greater self-objectification predicts unipolar depression (e.g., Tiggemann and Kuring 2004), sexual dysfunction (e.g., Sanchez and Kiefer 2007), disordered eating (e.g., Noll and Fredrickson 1998) and other health behaviors such as smoking (Harrell et al 2006).…”

Objectification Theory and Psychology of Women: A Decade of Advances and Future Directions

“…Also, self‐objectification, body surveillance, and body shame were linked positively with body dissatisfaction and eating disorder symptoms across smoker and nonsmoker groups (Fiissel & Lafreniere, 2006; Harrell et al, 2006). Importantly, body shame accounted for unique variance in weight control motives for smoking (Fiissel & Lafreniere, 2006), and self‐objectification significantly mediated the positive link between smoking and eating disorder symptoms (Harrell et al, 2006). Thus, self‐objectification and body shame may play a role in the co‐occurrence of smoking with body image and eating problems.…”

“…Additional studies have examined the roles of self‐objectification and its proposed consequences in the co‐occurrence of eating problems and smoking. Specifically, levels of body surveillance and body shame were higher for smoking than for nonsmoking groups of predominantly White college women (Fiissel & Lafreniere, 2006; Harrell, Fredrickson, Pomerleau, & Nolen‐Hoeksema, 2006). Also, self‐objectification, body surveillance, and body shame were linked positively with body dissatisfaction and eating disorder symptoms across smoker and nonsmoker groups (Fiissel & Lafreniere, 2006; Harrell et al, 2006).…”