Appearance Investment and Everyday Interpersonal Functioning: An Experience Sampling Study

Appearance Orientation and Dating Anxiety in Emerging Adults: Considering the Roles of Appearance-Based Rejection Sensitivity, Social Physique Anxiety, and Self-Compassion

Emerging research has suggested that appearance-related factors, such as greater appearance orientation, are associated with dating anxiety in emerging adults, but much more could be done to understand mechanistic pathways and potential buffers. Here, we tested a moderated mediation model in which appearance-based rejection sensitivity and social physique anxiety were explored as mediators, and self-compassion was explored as a moderator, of the relationship between appearance orientation and dating anxiety. A total of 501 heterosexual emerging adults (248 women, 253 men) from the UK completed instruments measuring the aforementioned constructs. Relationships among all variables were largely similar across women and men, with only the association between social physique anxiety and appearance-based rejection sensitivity being significantly stronger in women. Mediation analysis in the total sample indicated that both social physique anxiety and appearance-based rejection anxiety were significant mediators. Additionally, we confirmed a serial mediation involving appearance orientation → appearance-based rejection sensitivity → social physique anxiety → dating anxiety. Conversely, self-compassion did not moderate the effects of either social physique anxiety or appearance-based rejection sensitivity on dating anxiety, although greater self-compassion was moderately associated lower dating anxiety. We suggest ways in which existing interventions aimed at reducing dating anxiety could be combined with body image interventions to reduce dating anxiety in heterosocial contexts.

The 'switch on-switch off model': Strategies used by nurses to mentally prepare and disengage from work

There is considerable research on the experience of nurses during both their work and non-work time. However, we know relatively little about the strategies nurses use immediately before and immediately after their shift. This crossover period, from one shift to another, has critical impact for patient outcomes. The aim of this qualitative study was to explore strategies nurses employ to mentally prepare for their shift (switch on), and mentally disengage after the end of it (switch off). Eleven Greek hospital nurses were recruited for the study. Interviews were audio-taped and analysed using a content analysis approach. Five themes were identified as strategies nurses use to mentally prepare and disengage from their shift: (i) personal care/grooming; (ii) religious rituals; (iii) nicotine/caffeine; (iv) social interaction; and (v) listening to music. Nurses reported using the same strategies before and after their shift, but for different purposes. The authors propose a 'switch on-switch off' model to describe the process of mental preparation and mental disengagement from work. The switch-on/off approach represents an opportunity to increase nurses' resilience and identify individual and organizational factors that contribute to patient outcomes.

Seeing things differently: An experimental investigation of social cognition and interpersonal behavior in anorexia nervosa

OBJECTIVE

Interpersonal difficulties among individuals with anorexia nervosa (AN) may stem in part due to misperceiving social cues. The current study investigated social functioning by comparing interpersonal self-efficacy, perceptions of dominance/submission (i.e., agency) and coldness/warmth (i.e., communion), and hypothetical behavioral reactions among individuals with and without AN.

METHOD

Seventy-seven women (AN/Other Specified Feeding or Eating Disorder OSFED-AN n = 41, nonclinical comparison group n = 36) completed questionnaires assessing mood symptoms and interpersonal self-efficacy, followed by an experimental video-rating task in which they received critical feedback from job supervisors varying in degrees of agency and communion.

RESULTS

AN respondents perceived more coldness overall, even after adjusting for differences in depression and anxiety symptoms, and tended to respond with coldness even to videos that they perceived as being warm. However, perceptual accuracies for agency were similar across groups. Interpersonal self-efficacy moderated the relationship between diagnostic status and behavioral responses: among those who felt competent being cold-submissive, AN respondents selected cold-submissive responses more frequently than did the nonclinical comparison group.

DISCUSSION

Among those with AN symptoms, there may be a tendency toward social perceptual inaccuracies regarding communion and non-complementary cold behavioral responses. Results suggest that improving social perceptions may be a fruitful intervention target for enhancing interpersonal functioning among individuals with AN. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. (Int J Eat Disord 2016; 49:499-506).

State Body Dissatisfaction and Social Interactions

To date, there has been limited empirical scrutiny of the correlates and consequences of day-to-day state body dissatisfaction fluctuations within naturalistic contexts. We used ecological momentary assessment (a form of naturalistic observation) to evaluate whether state body dissatisfaction was concurrently and/or prospectively associated with occurrence and quality of social interactions. Women ( N = 121), aged 18 to 40, completed a brief trait-based survey and then nominated a 7-day period within which to receive seven text messages daily, at random intervals, prompting them to complete measures of body dissatisfaction at that moment. If they were currently or had recently engaged in social interactions, they were also asked to fill out questions rating the quality of these interactions (operationalized in terms of enjoyment of, and control in, the interaction). Findings suggest that the relationship between state body dissatisfaction and aspects of social interactions is complex and may vary over time. Cross-sectionally, state body dissatisfaction and social interaction quality were negatively associated. Prospectively, however, body dissatisfaction predicted subsequent avoidance of social interactions. Interestingly, when women chose to avoid social interactions, their body dissatisfaction worsened, yet when they did engage in social interactions, they reported improved body satisfaction. Importantly, the links between state body dissatisfaction and social interactions may be moderated by body mass index and trait body satisfaction levels. Potential mechanisms underlying the association between state body dissatisfaction and quality and quantity of social interactions are discussed, and future research avenues are proposed to further understand their inter-relation.

Body satisfaction and couple's daily sexual experience: a dyadic perspective

Although it is widely believed that body satisfaction positively affects sexual experience, research on this topic has been limited by an almost exclusive focus on women and on individuals and by an overreliance on cross-sectional self-report data. To address these shortcomings, the current study used 1,598 daily sex reports completed by 144 couples over an average of 3 weeks to investigate the impact of satisfaction with one's own and one's partner's body on sexual experience. Results indicated that an individual's satisfaction with his or her own body was not as important to the overall quality of sexual experience as one's satisfaction with the partner's body or as the partner's satisfaction with the individual's body. Moreover, although effects were generally similar for men and women, women's sexual outcomes were more strongly shaped by partner satisfaction with her body than the reverse. Results highlight the need to adopt a dyadic perspective in efforts to understand the effects of body satisfaction on sexual experience.

Looking up and Seeing Green

Psychological research documents the extent to which physical appearance comparisons are associated with negative emotional experiences, but researchers typically study physical appearance comparisons isolated from other comparison experiences. As part of a signal-contingent experience sampling design, 87 female undergraduate students recorded whether they had made any comparison about any topic after they received a text message at three randomly chosen times a day for 7 days. In contrast to other comparisons, physical appearance comparisons were more likely to be upward contrasts to dissimilar targets associated with increased envy, less inspiration, less pride, and less anxiety. Women who reported more demographically similar close friends reported more envy following physical appearance comparisons in contrast to women who reported more demographically diverse close friends. Women who associated their body with a better quality of life reported more inspiration and less envy following physical appearance comparisons. More demographically diverse close friends and a more positive body image may protect women from the negative emotional consequences associated with physical appearance comparisons. These data indicate that the positive benefits for interpersonal judgments associated with close cross-group friends extend to intrapersonal reactions to physical appearance comparisons.

An Examination of the Contextual Determinants of Self-Objectification

The authors used a discrete choice conjoint design to examine the relative contributions of previously identified contextual factors (clothing, looks, company, and comments) for eliciting instances of appearance-related self-consciousness in a sample of 250 female undergraduates. The findings revealed that individuals differed in their relative weighting of each of the four contextual factors. Latent class analysis identified two distinct response profiles: one group reported appearance-related commentary as most likely to trigger an instance of appearance self-consciousness, whereas a second group prioritized self-perceived level of attractiveness as most likely to prompt self-consciousness. On average, the looks-prioritizing group that had higher body mass index were more dissatisfied with their appearance, and felt greater social pressure to conform to appearance-related standards. The use of a discrete choice conjoint design also allowed the authors to investigate the interplay between situational- and trait-based variables in the elicitation of appearance self-consciousness. Their findings suggest that the negative effects of appearance comments and/or perceived unattractiveness on appearance self-consciousness may be offset by access to a friendship network. Furthermore, the finding that individuals differed in their responses to various contextual influences on appearance-related consciousness suggests that a one-size-fits-all model of the relationship between environment and appearance self-consciousness may underestimate the complexity of this relationship. The authors discuss the treatment implications of these findings, as well as the need for further research to ensure that other, relevant contextual factors have not been neglected.

Measurement Invariance and the Role of Body Consciousness in Depressive Symptoms

The purposes of this article are threefold: (a) to test measurement invariance of the Objectified Body Consciousness Scale (OBCS), a central tool for testing objectification theory, across men and women, given that measurement invariance is a prerequisite for gender comparisons; (b) to examine the mediating role of body shame in the link between body surveillance and depressive symptoms for both men and women; and (c) to investigate whether body surveillance and subsequent body shame could explain, at least in part, gender differences in depressive symptoms. Two studies were conducted with two college samples ( N = 360 and 278). Results indicate that factor loadings of OBCS differed for the gender groups, revealing that body surveillance and body shame items for women and body control beliefs for men are more closely aligned with their intended latent factors. Our analyses also supported the proposed two mediation models: body shame mediated the relation between body surveillance and depressive symptoms for both gender groups; and body surveillance and related body shame mediated the gender difference in depressive symptoms. Overall our studies highlight that testing measurement invariance can expose differences in scale functioning for men and women, calling into question findings based on the use of those scales.