Internalization of the thin ideal, weight and body image concerns

Social Behavior and Personality, 2003 by Low, Kathryn Graff, Charanasomboon, Swita, Brown, Claire, Hiltunen, Gwen, Et al

Weight and shape concerns in college women are epidemic. Understanding the role of the thin ideal in the development of such concerns is critical for designing prevention programs. This study examines the association between the Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Questionnaire (SATAQ; Heinberg, Thompson, & Stormer, 1995), a measure of intemalization and awareness of the thin ideal, and eating and body image concerns in college women. Seventy undergraduates completed questionnaires on eating symptomatology, body image and demographics. In general, inernalization, but not awareness, of the thin ideal was associated with eating and weight concerns. In two-way analysis of body mass and dichotomized SATAQ internalization scores, body mass moderated the effects of internalization, with overweight women high in internalization having the most body image concerns. Prospectively, SATAQ-internalization scores predicted increasing drive for thinness over the school year in a subsample of women. Future research should explore the moderating effects of weight on outcomes related to internalization of the thin ideal.

The prevalence of body image concerns and eating disturbances in college women is well documented (Hart & Kenny, 1997; Posavac, Posavac & Posavac, 1998; Snyder, 1997). Recent research has explored the internalization of the thin ideal, transmitted through popular media and strengthened through social reinforcement, as a potential risk factor for eating and body image concerns (Cusumano & Thompson, 1997; Heinberg, Thompson, & Stormer, 1995; Thompson & Stice, 2001). In theory, subscription to these unrealistic ideals may result in increased body dissatisfaction, dieting, or eating pathology.

Several studies support the importance of the thin ideal in both the development and treatment of eating disturbances (Thompson & Slice, 2001). In a community sample of grade school girls, the thin ideal was associated with both body dissatisfaction and the self-described ideal (Dunkley, Wertheim, & Paxton, 2001). In addition, short- and long-term exposure to thin models has been associated with increased body image concerns and negative affect in college students (Slice, Schupak-Neuberg, Shaw & Stein 1994; Slice & Shaw, 1994; Slice, Spangler, & Agras, 2001). In prospective research, internalization of the thin ideal has been associated with the onset of dieting (Slice, Mazotti, Krebs & Martin, 1998) and with increased bulimic symptomatology in adolescent women (Slice & Agras, 1998). Finally, in several intervention studies with college women, decreases in the internalization of the thin ideal have been associated with positive outcomes (Slice & Ragan, 2002; Slice, Spangler & Agras, 2001). Accumulating evidence suggests that the effects of the thin ideal may be important for understanding both the etiology and treatment of eating and body image concerns.

Despite the evidence that internalization of the thin ideal and body image disturbance are correlated, there has been relatively little research on potential moderators of the internalization-body dissatisfaction relationship (Stice, Mazotti, Krebs & Martin, 1998). Weight gain associated with puberty has long been associated with the onset of eating issues (Levine, Smolak, Moodey, Shuman, & Hessen, 1994), as have actual-ideal body image discrepancies (Snyder, 1997), suggesting the need to explore the relationship between body mass, the thin ideal, and body dissatisfaction. Similarly, a variety of psychosocial variables related to social support may have an impact on risk, including dating (Levine et al., 1994), peer relationships, and family interaction (Leon, Fulkerson, Perry, & Early-Zald, 1995). In first year students who have only recently arrived at college, factors related to social support may be particularly important.

The present study explored the relationship between the internalization of the thin ideal as assessed by the Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Questionnaire (SATAQ; Heinberg, Thompson, & Stormer, 1995), and its relation to body mass and subclinical eating and body image disturbances in a sample of undergraduates. In addition, the association between SATAQ scores and changes in self-reported weight and body image over the first six months of the school year were assessed in a subsample of women.

METHOD

PARTICIPANTS

Participants were 72 first- and second-year students at a small, liberal arts college in the northeast of the United States of America recruited for a larger eating disorders prevention study. Women with a history of an eating disorder or who were currently purging were ineligible for the study. At baseline, women gave informed consent, were administered a variety of questionnaires, and were randomized to four conditions: three treatment conditions (n=19, 18, 18) and a control group (n=16). Follow-up data collection on 70 of the original participants occurred six months later. Data from the 16 women assigned to the control condition were used to examine changes in eating and body image over the sixmonth period, and their association with the SATAQ scales.