Appearance-Related Commentary and Body Image in Women

125 Pages·2017·1.35 MB·English

by  Christina P. Moldovan

Loma Linda University
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Appearance-Related Commentary and Body
Image in Women
Christina P. Moldovan
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LOMA LINDA UNIVERSITY
School of Behavioral Health
in conjunction with the
Faculty of Graduate Studies

____________________

Appearance-Related Commentary and Body Image in Women

by

Christina P. Moldovan

____________________

A Thesis submitted in partial satisfaction of
the requirements for the degree
Doctor of Philosophy in Clinical Psychology

____________________

September 2016
© 2016

Christina P. Moldovan
All Rights Reserved
Each person whose signature appears below certifies that this thesis in his/her opinion is
adequate, in scope and quality, as a thesis for the degree Doctor of Philosophy.

, Chairperson
Sylvia Herbozo, Associate Professor of Psychology

Hector Betancourt, Professor of Psychology

Holly Morrell, Associate Professor of Psychology

iii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Dr. Herbozo, without whom I
would not have been able to complete this project. Thank you for your guidance and
support. I have been blessed to have your skills and expertise as I worked on this project,
and I feel that I have accumulated a greater knowledge of this topic and have also grown
as a writer through working with you.
I would also like to thank my committee members for their time, advice, and
direction. I appreciate your patience and understanding as I went through this learning
experience.
To my friends and family, I am thankful for your endless support through this
long endeavor. I know it has been difficult for you not to know exactly what I am going
through and I appreciate you being there for me regardless, always providing kind words
of compassion and encouragement.

iv
CONTENT

Approval Page .................................................................................................................... iii

Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................ iv

List of Figures ................................................................................................................... vii

List of Tables ................................................................................................................... viii

Abstract .............................................................................................................................. ix

Chapter

1. Introduction ..............................................................................................................1
2. Background ...................................................................................….……………..3

Body Dissatisfaction ..........................................................................................3
Eating Disorders.................................................................................................5
Sociocultural Theories .......................................................................................7
Ethnic Differences in Body Dissatisfaction and Eating Disorder
Psychopathology ..............................................................................................11
Appearance-Related Commentary ...................................................................15
Ethnic Differences in Appearance-Related Commentary ................................20
Acculturation....................................................................................................22
The Current Study ............................................................................................24
3. Materials and Method ............................................................................................27

Participants .......................................................................................................27
Procedures ........................................................................................................27
Measures ..........................................................................................................28

Demographic Questions ..............................................................................28
Body Mass Index .........................................................................................28
Body Dissatisfaction ....................................................................................29
Eating Disorder Psychopathology ...............................................................29
Sociocultural Influences ..............................................................................30
Appearance-Related Commentary ..............................................................30
Acculturation ...............................................................................................31

Data Analysis ...................................................................................................32

4. Results ....................................................................................................................36
v
5. Discussion ..............................................................................................................57
Conclusion .......................................................................................................78

References ..........................................................................................................................80
Appendices
A. Demographic Questions .....................................................................................94
B. Body Dissatisfaction Subscale of the Eating Disorder Inventory ......................99
C. Eating Disorder Examination-Questionnaire ...................................................100
D. Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Scale-4 ....................................106
E. Verbal Commentary on Physical Appearance Scale-4 ....................................110
F. Vancouver Index of Acculturation ...................................................................113

vi
FIGURES

Figures Page

1. The Dual-Pathway Model .......................................................................................4
2. The Tripartite Model ..............................................................................................10

vii
TABLES

Tables Page

1. Participant Characteristics ....................................................................................37
2. Means and Standard Deviations for Scales and Subscales and Results of
Analysis of Variance ..............................................................................................39
3. Results of Correlational Analyses for European American Women .....................42
4. Results of Correlational Analyses for Hispanic American Women ......................43
5. Results of Correlational Analyses for African American Women ........................44
6. Results of Hierarchical Multiple Regression Analysis Predicting Eating
Disorder Symptomatology from Body Dissatisfaction, Negative Weight-
Related Commentary, and Acculturation for European American Women ..........50
7. Results of Hierarchical Multiple Regression Analysis Predicting Eating
Disorder Symptomatology from Body Dissatisfaction, Negative Weight-
Related Commentary, and Acculturation for Hispanic American Women ...........53
8. Results of Hierarchical Multiple Regression Analysis Predicting Eating
Disorder Symptomatology from Body Dissatisfaction, Negative Weight-
Related Commentary, and Acculturation for African American Women .............55

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ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS

Appearance-Related Commentary and Body Image in Women
by

Christina P. Moldovan

Doctor of Philosophy, Graduate Program in Clinical Psychology
Loma Linda University, September 2016
Dr. Sylvia Herbozo, Chairperson

Research has shown that sociocultural factors such as interpersonal appearance-
related commentary influence body dissatisfaction and disordered eating. Few studies
have investigated the effects of appearance-related commentary among undergraduate
women of different ethnic groups. The aims of the current study were to examine: (1)
ethnic differences in body dissatisfaction, eating disorder psychopathology, sociocultural
attitudes towards appearance, appearance-related commentary, and acculturation to
Western culture in African-, European-, and Hispanic Americans; and (2) negative
appearance-related commentary and acculturation to Western culture as moderators of the
relationship between body dissatisfaction and eating disorder psychopathology.
Participants included 345 undergraduate women (M = 19.17, SD = 1.48; 47.5%
age
European American, 23.8% African American, and 13.6% Hispanic American). Results
indicated that European American women reported higher levels of sociocultural attitudes
towards appearance and greater negative effects as a result of receiving negative weight
and shape-related commentary than African American women. Hispanic American
women reported greater negative effects as a result of receiving positive weight and
shape-related commentary in comparison to European American women. There were
positive associations between the negative effects of receiving positive commentary and
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