Body Positivity or Humorous Parody? The Impact of Instagram Imagery on Body Image Concerns

Does body positivity work for men as it does for women? The impact of idealized body and body positive imagery on body satisfaction, drive for thinness, and drive for muscularity

Exposure to body-positive imagery plays a positive role in women's body image. However, literature has not examined if this is the case for men too. In this study (N = 207), we examined the impact of idealized body and body-positive imagery on both men's and women's body satisfaction and body image concerns. Participants were asked to report their positive and negative mood, body satisfaction, drive for thinness, and drive for muscularity before and after being exposed to either control (landscapes and animals), idealized body, or body-positive imagery. Results showed that women were overall more dissatisfied with their bodies and reported a stronger negative mood and a higher drive for thinness than men. Men, instead, reported a higher drive for muscularity. Exposure to idealized body imagery decreased positive mood and body satisfaction in both men and women. In contrast, exposure to body-positive imagery increased body satisfaction and decreased the drive for thinness in both men and women. Drive for muscularity was not affected by the type of imagery. The findings show that idealized body and body-positive imagery have similar effects on men and women and showcase the importance of considering the effects of body-positivity content for both genders.

The role of interoception in reducing trauma-associated distress: a feasibility study

Background: Altered interoception plays an important role in chronic stress and posttraumatic stress disorder. The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of a Trauma Sensitive Yoga (TSY) intervention for improving emotional distress and psychological discomfort in women living under circumstances of social and gender vulnerability. We assessed the effect of the treatment on the interoceptive mechanisms, and whether the psychological improvements were mediated by the changes in these mechanisms.Methods: The study involved a sample of 62 women who attended public community centres dedicated to supporting women victims of gender-based violence or who were socially and economically disadvantaged because of their gender. Participants underwent a six-week TSY programme. We evaluated dropout rate, adherence, and intervention satisfaction. We measured emotional distress, psychological discomfort, interoceptive mechanisms, and two nonequivalent dependent variables to enhance internal validity. We compared pre-post differences using paired samples t-test and a structural equation model (SEM) analysis was performed to compare the changes in the outcomes with the changes in the nonequivalent dependent variables. Mediation models were adjusted to evaluate the role of changes in interoception on outcome changes.Results: Fourteen (23%) women dropped out, mainly after the first intervention session. Intervention adherence (mean attendance 5.3 over 6 sessions) and acceptability were high (mean satisfaction 3.4 over 4). We observed post-intervention improvements in anxiety, depression, psychological discomfort, body responsiveness, and interoceptive awareness. The changes in the outcomes were larger than the changes in the nonequivalent dependent variables. Additionally, we found that the changes in body responsiveness partially mediated the change in anxiety and psychological discomfort but not in depression.Conclusions: TSY could be an interesting therapeutic approach for women experiencing chronic posttraumatic stress symptomatology. Our findings underscore the role of interoceptive mechanisms in traumatic stress and emphasize the importance of addressing these aspects.