The association between problematic pornography use and eating disorder symptoms among heterosexual and sexual minority men

In this study, we investigated the link between problematic pornography use and eating disorder symptoms in men, with body comparison and body image as mediators, and perceived realism and anxiety and depression as moderators. We also analyzed the model for both heterosexual and sexual minority men to detect any differences. The current study included 705 Israeli men, 479 of whom identified as heterosexual and 226 as sexual minority. The majority of the sample (90.6%) identified as Jewish with a mean age of 32.5. Results showed that problematic pornography use was linked to more upward body comparison, which in turn was related to negative body image, and ultimately, increased severity of eating disorder symptoms. Anxiety and depression moderated the association between male body image and eating disorder symptoms. However, perceived realism did not moderate the link between problematic pornography use and upward body comparison. Whereas there were significant differences in the mean rank values between heterosexual and sexual minority men in all measures, the processes linking these measures were virtually the same. To reduce the risk of developing or worsening eating disorder symptoms, clinicians working with male clients should assess for problematic pornography use and body image concerns during therapy.

Effect of information encounter on concerns over healthy eating- mediated through body comparison and moderated by body mass index or body satisfaction

BACKGROUND

Understanding factors that influence healthy or unhealthy eating can inform intervention strategies. This study ascertained whether and how unintentional exposure to food and nutrition information influenced healthy eating concerns. The study tested body comparison, body satisfaction, and body mass index as three mechanisms that potentially link food information encounter, commonly known as information scanning, to healthy eating concerns.

METHODS

A sample of 440 online participants (mean age = 29.15 years) was used to investigate: (1) how unintentional exposure to food and nutrition information, i.e., information encounter (IE), affects healthy eating concerns (HEC); (2) how the effect of IE on HEC is mediated by body comparison (BC); (3) how the paths of the mediation model are moderated by body satisfaction (BS) or body mass index (BMI).

RESULTS

The findings show a positive and sizable total effect of IE on HEC - a whole-scale increase in information encounter is associated with a substantial increase in healthy eating concerns by 15 percentage points (b_p = 0.150). BC is found to mediate the effect of IE on HEC in an all-positive complementary mediation. Both the indirect and the direct-and-remainder paths show sizable effects. The mediated path contributes about 20% of the total effect between IE and HEC (c_p = 20%), while the direct-and-remainder path contributes the rest (c_p = 80%). BS was found to moderate the relationship between IE and BC, the first leg of the mediation. The moderation effect is large - the effect of IE on BC is much smaller on the highly and the moderately satisfied than on the lowly satisfied (slope differential b_p = -.60). BMI was found to moderate the direct-and-remainder effect of IE on HEC, controlling BC. That is, the effect of IE on HEC, after filtering out the mediated effect through BC, is much larger for those with high or low BMI than those with healthy BMI (slope differential b_p = .32).

CONCLUSIONS

Exposure, even if unintentional, to food and nutrition information is an important predictor of HEC. BC, BS, and BMI are important factors that help to explain the process through which information affects behaviors.

Social comparison, disordered eating, and body dissatisfaction among postpartum women

The postpartum period is a window of vulnerability for disordered eating. Postpartum women experience pressures to "bounce back" to their pre-pregnancy weight which may lead to social comparisons, however it is unknown what postpartum women compare (e.g., body, eating), and to whom they compare themselves (e.g., celebrities, peers). This study evaluated links between different types (what is compared) and sources (to whom do they compare) of social comparison that postpartum women engage in. Included was self-oriented comparison, a novel construct conceptualized as comparisons of one's current postpartum appearance to one's pre-pregnancy appearance. A total of 306 postpartum women who gave birth in the past year and 153 control women who had never been pregnant completed an online survey. Results demonstrated postpartum women engaged in more frequent self-oriented comparison than controls. Postpartum women compared their bodies more frequently to their pre-pregnant selves, than to other sources. Although all types and sources of comparison were positively correlated with each disordered eating construct, eating comparison and self-oriented body comparison emerged as the dominant types and sources of comparison explaining unique variance in a range of disordered eating. Results suggest social comparison factors may be critical in understanding postpartum disordered eating risk.

Experimental analysis of the impact of body comparison on non-clinical women

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Two experimental studies examined the impact that body comparison has on women's body satisfaction and self-esteem. The two studies differed in the use of a human comparator or an avatar (non-human) comparator. The independent variables were the type of body comparison (upward, downward and neutral) and the perceived personality of the comparator.

METHODS

Each study used a within-participant design. Participants compared themselves to images of women or avatars (previously rated as 'attractive', 'neutral' or 'unattractive'), with an accompanying 'positive' or negative' personality descriptor. Participants rated their body satisfaction and self-esteem after each image.

RESULTS

Upward comparison resulted in negative effects for the participant compared to downward and neutral conditions, but downward comparison's impact was only found for human images. The described personality of the image had a more complex impact when using human images, but was still relevant for avatars.

LIMITATIONS

The sample for this study was lacking in diversity. Compliance within the experimental tasks was not strictly monitored. The use of a within-subject design might have allowed some participants to deduce the nature of the study.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings provide causal evidence for the theorised effects of body comparison on body satisfaction self-esteem. Upward comparison has especially problematic outcomes, even causing negative effects when comparing to a non-human avatar. Downward comparison had positive effects, but only for human images. Furthermore, personality played some moderating role in these outcomes. Social comparison theory needs to be reviewed in light of these findings, and practical implications are discussed.

Does comparison of self with others influence body image among adult women? An experimental study in naturalistic settings

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

It has been suggested that body comparison is a safety behavior in eating disorders. This experimental study investigates the causal impact of upward and downward body comparison on body image, eating pathology, self-esteem, anxiety and mood. It also considers whether trait body comparison and eating pathology are associated with responsiveness to upward and downward comparison.

METHODS

Thirty-nine women participated. Each completed trait comparison and eating pathology measures. Following this, each participant spent an hour (on different days) making an upward, downward or neutral comparison in a naturalistic setting. After each condition, the participant completed measures of body satisfaction, self-esteem, anxiety, depression and eating pathology.

RESULTS

Participants were significantly less satisfied with their bodies following upward comparison. Both upward and downward comparison were associated with particularly negative effects if an individual had greater trait eating concerns. The effects of downward comparison were correlated with increased anxiety.

LIMITATIONS

The sample was lacking in diversity. Compliance with the experimental tasks was not strictly monitored.

CONCLUSIONS

Upward comparison resulted in lower body satisfaction, but downward comparison did not result in positive effects. However, trait eating concerns and comparison influenced the impact of both forms of comparison. Body comparison should be a target for treatment in CBT for eating disorders, particularly where the individual has a strong tendency to make comparisons with other people.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

Level III: Evidence obtained from well-designed cohort or case-control analytic studies.

Associations between adolescents' pornography consumption and self-objectification, body comparison, and body shame

Although prior work indicates an association between idealized media content and adolescents' body-related concerns, such as self-objectification, body comparison, and body shame, few prior studies have examined the role of pornography. Even fewer studies have included adolescent girls, limiting our understanding of potential gender differences. In this brief report, we investigate these associations in a diverse mixed-gender sample of high school students in the Southeastern U.S. (n = 223, ages 15-18, M _age = 16.25, 59 % girls) who completed computerized self-report measures. Controlling for demographic covariates and frequency of social media use, we found an association between frequency of pornography consumption in the past year and higher self-objectification and body comparison, but not body shame. No evidence of differences by gender emerged. Results suggest that both boys and girls may be susceptible to pornography-related body concerns, yet these concerns may not include body shame. Future research should examine both risks and benefits of pornography use among adolescents using longitudinal designs, as well as how body-related concerns can be incorporated into pornography literacy interventions.

Sources of body comparison and their relation to body image concerns among middle-aged women

The aim of the current study is to evaluate different sources of body comparison (e.g., same-sex peers, models, young adult celebrities, middle-aged celebrities, older celebrities, and self-oriented body comparison to one's younger self) and their relation to body image concerns among middle-aged women. Participants were 347 middle-aged women, ages 40-63, who completed questionnaires. After controlling for multiple comparisons, results indicated that participants engaged in body comparison to same-sex peers most frequently, followed by self-oriented body comparison, compared to other sources, and in body comparison to young adult celebrities significantly less frequently than any other source. Additionally, same-sex peers body comparisons and self-oriented body comparisons were significantly associated with body image concerns above and beyond all other sources of comparison. Results highlight limitations of past research into social comparison due to the lack of consideration of the novel construct of self-oriented body comparison, which demonstrates unique linkages to body image concerns above and beyond previously established external sources.

The development of a body comparison measure: the CoSS

PURPOSE

This study reports on the development and validation of a brief and widely applicable measure of body comparison (the Comparison of Self-Scale-CoSS), which is a maintaining feature of eating disorders.

METHODS

A sample of 412 adults completed the CoSS, an existing measure of aspects of body comparison, and eating pathology and associated states. Test-retest reliability was examined over 2 weeks.

RESULTS

Exploratory factor analysis showed that 22 CoSS items loaded onto two factors, resulting in two scales-Appearance Comparison and Social Comparison-with strong internal consistency and test-retest reliability.

CONCLUSIONS

In clinical terms, the CoSS was superior to the existing measure of body comparison in accounting for depression and anxiety. Given that it is a relatively brief measure, the CoSS could be useful in the routine assessment of body comparison, and in formulating and treating individuals with body image concerns. However, the measure awaits full clinical validation.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

Level 3.

Evaluating attitudes about aging and body comparison as moderators of the relationship between menopausal status and disordered eating and body image concerns among middle-aged women

OBJECTIVE

Evidence suggests the menopausal period may be a unique window of vulnerability for the development or exacerbation of eating disorder symptoms among middle-aged women; however, it is unclear who is most at risk during this period. The goal of this study was to evaluate whether appearance-related aging concerns and body comparison, two sociocultural factors, moderated the association between menopausal status and disordered eating behaviors and body image concerns among middle-aged women.

METHOD

Participants (N = 310) completed an online survey about their menopausal status, aging concerns, body comparison, disordered eating, and body image concerns.

RESULTS

Tests of moderator models revealed that at low levels of aging concerns, peri-menopausal women reported greater dietary restraint than pre-menopausal or post-menopausal women. Additionally, among women with high scores for body comparison, post-menopausal women reported significantly more dietary restraint than either pre- or peri-menopausal women.

DISCUSSION

These findings suggest that the effects of menopause on dietary restraint may be stronger for some women than others.

The importance of body image concerns in overweight and normal weight individuals with binge eating disorder

Body image concerns in binge eating disorder (BED) have been examined almost exclusively in overweight individuals with BED. The current study extends past research by including overweight and normal weight BED and non-BED groups to assess the multifactorial construct of body image using subscales of the Eating Disorder Examination 16.0 (EDE-16.0) and a Body Comparison Task. Independent of weight status and when controlling for age and race, women with BED are distinguished from those without BED by significantly greater overvaluation of shape and weight on the EDE-16.0 and significantly reduced weight satisfaction after a Body Comparison Task. Both BED diagnosis and weight status were independently associated with Weight Concern and Shape Concern subscales on the EDE-16.0. Taken together, these data provide further support for the consideration of body image concerns in the diagnostic criteria for BED.