The Impact of Feminist Identity Development on the Internalization of Sociocultural Pressures and Body Dissatisfaction

The Impact of Feminist Identity Development on the Internalization of Sociocultural Pressures and Body Dissatisfaction PDF Author: Jill R. Klotzman
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Body image in women
Languages : en
Pages : 61

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Book Description
The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationship between perceived sociocultural pressures and internalization of the thin ideal and to determine whether or not high levels of feminist identity development moderate this relationship. The study also investigated the relationship between internalization of the thin ideal and body dissatisfaction and whether or not high levels of feminist identity development moderated the relationship. Two multiple hierarchical regression analyses were performed using data collected from a female undergraduate student sample (N=403) from Wright State University. These data were derived from a survey containing the Perceived Sociocultural Pressure Scale (PSPS; Stice & Argas, 1998), the Body Stereotype Scale-Revised (IBSS-R; Stice, Marti, Spoor, Presnell, & Shaw, 2008), the Body Areas Satisfaction Scale-Revised (BASS-R; Petrie, Tripp, & Harvey, 2002), and the Feminist Identity Development Scale (FIDS; Bargad & Hyde, 1991). Findings showed that while pressures and internalization and internalization and body dissatisfaction were significantly and positively correlated, high levels of feminist identity development did not moderate the strength of these relationships. The findings of this study indicate that future research is necessary to pinpoint specific aspects of feminist identity that may serve to protect women from internalization and/or the development of body dissatisfaction. Furthermore, this study highlighted that further research is necessary in order to better understand how and why women with higher levels of feminist identity development tend to perceive more sociocultural pressure to be thin than their less feminist counterparts.

The Impact of Feminist Identity Development on the Internalization of Sociocultural Pressures and Body Dissatisfaction

The Impact of Feminist Identity Development on the Internalization of Sociocultural Pressures and Body Dissatisfaction PDF Author: Jill R. Klotzman
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Body image in women
Languages : en
Pages : 61

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Book Description
The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationship between perceived sociocultural pressures and internalization of the thin ideal and to determine whether or not high levels of feminist identity development moderate this relationship. The study also investigated the relationship between internalization of the thin ideal and body dissatisfaction and whether or not high levels of feminist identity development moderated the relationship. Two multiple hierarchical regression analyses were performed using data collected from a female undergraduate student sample (N=403) from Wright State University. These data were derived from a survey containing the Perceived Sociocultural Pressure Scale (PSPS; Stice & Argas, 1998), the Body Stereotype Scale-Revised (IBSS-R; Stice, Marti, Spoor, Presnell, & Shaw, 2008), the Body Areas Satisfaction Scale-Revised (BASS-R; Petrie, Tripp, & Harvey, 2002), and the Feminist Identity Development Scale (FIDS; Bargad & Hyde, 1991). Findings showed that while pressures and internalization and internalization and body dissatisfaction were significantly and positively correlated, high levels of feminist identity development did not moderate the strength of these relationships. The findings of this study indicate that future research is necessary to pinpoint specific aspects of feminist identity that may serve to protect women from internalization and/or the development of body dissatisfaction. Furthermore, this study highlighted that further research is necessary in order to better understand how and why women with higher levels of feminist identity development tend to perceive more sociocultural pressure to be thin than their less feminist counterparts.

The Impact of Feminist Identity and Weight Bias on Body Image Disturbance and Eating Disorder Pathology in Treatment-seeking Women

The Impact of Feminist Identity and Weight Bias on Body Image Disturbance and Eating Disorder Pathology in Treatment-seeking Women PDF Author: Caitlin A. Martin-Wagar
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Body image
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Eating disorders are associated with serious psychological and physical health problems (American Psychiatric Association [APA], 2013). Body image disturbance plays a vital role in the development and maintenance of eating disorders, especially for women (Culbert, Racine, & Klump, 2015). Self-objectification has been found to be a strong predictor of who is at highest risk of being impacted by societal messages about appearance and weight (Moradi & Huang, 2008). However, more information is needed about both protective and risk factors for internalizing these messages. Though several sociocultural factors have been examined in relation to body image, these studies have been conducted primarily with non-clinical college populations (Yager & O'Dea, 2008). In a sample of 100 women with diagnosed eating disorders, several sociocultural factors were explored as factors potentially impacting the severity of body image disturbance. Experiences of weight bias, internalized weight bias, and self-objectification were found to be related to increased body image disturbance and eating pathology, whereas feminist self-identification was overall not found to be significantly related to body image disturbance. These variables were examined in a conditional mediation model seeking to better understanding body image disturbance in this transdiagnostic sample of women with eating disorders. Results indicate that experiences of weight bias impact body image disturbance through internalized weight bias and self-objectification. However, feminist identity was not found to moderate this relationship. The findings in this study provide initial support for a model relating experiences of weight bias, internalized weight bias, self-objectification, and body image disturbance in women with a diagnosed eating disorder. Results also suggest that the role of weight bias deserves further examination in eating disorder treatment studies. Finally, results from this study suggest that sexism and weight bias may function as entirely self-sustainable systems of oppression. Thus, feminist self-identification does not necessarily protect eating disorder women from internalizing weight bias. More research is needed to more thoroughly understand the role of sociocultural variables in clinical populations of women with eating disorders.

Geometric Harmony in Architecture

Geometric Harmony in Architecture PDF Author: I. Shevelev
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 10

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Book Description


Self-determined Non-conformity, Feminine Gender Roles, and Feminist Ideals as Resistance Factors Against Internalization of the Thin Ideal Body and Body Dissatisfaction

Self-determined Non-conformity, Feminine Gender Roles, and Feminist Ideals as Resistance Factors Against Internalization of the Thin Ideal Body and Body Dissatisfaction PDF Author: Carly S. Bicheler
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Body image disturbance
Languages : en
Pages : 188

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Book Description
"The relationship between body dissatisfaction and the development of disordered eating has been widely studied in psychology (e.g., Steiner-Adair, 1986; Streigel-Moore, Silberstein, & Rodin, 1986). This research has documented the apparent link between sociocultural pressures (from media and interpersonal relationships) and eating pathology. Stice (1994) developed the Sociocultural Model of Bulimia (SMB), positing that this relationship would be mediated by internalization of the thin ideal body presented in U.S. culture, and body dissatisfaction. Stice and other researchers hypothesized that some factors may interrupt this link at different points within the SMB. However, this literature has, to a large extent, neglected to examine potential resistance factors that women can actively learn and use to resist internalization and/or body dissatisfaction (Twamley & Davis, 1999). The studies that did address the role of active resistance factors within the SMB had two major problems: defining and measuring these resistance factors. The present study used the SMB as a foundation to investigate three potential resistance factors that may moderate relationships within the SMB: self-determined non-conformity, rejection of traditional feminine gender roles, and endorsement of feminist ideals. This study was designed to improve upon the work of previous studies by using more appropriate measures of these factors and clarifying their potential moderating roles within the SMB. Two hundred fifty-seven women from a wide range of ages and backgrounds provided questionnaire data and demographic information. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses were used to establish whether or not these three factors moderated the relationship between sociocultural pressures and internalization and/or the relationship between internalization and body dissatisfaction within the SMB, and to test gender roles as a mediator of the relationship between sociocultural pressures and internalization. Results indicated that self-determined non-conformity, rejection of tradition feminine gender roles, and endorsement of feminist ideals do not act as moderators in the relationship between sociocultural pressures and internalization, or in the relationship between internalization and body dissatisfaction. Gender roles were found to partially mediate the relationship between sociocultural pressures and internalization. Implications, limitations, and directions for future research are discussed."--Abstract.

Body Image and Womanist Identity Development in College Women

Body Image and Womanist Identity Development in College Women PDF Author: Kimberly Lynn Parks
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 186

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Book Description
Abstract: Researchers have found that a significant number of women report dissatisfaction with their bodies (Cash & Henry, 1995; Cash, Morrow, et al., 2004; Heatherton et al., 1997). Many researchers consider dissatisfaction with one's body one of the most important aspects of body image disturbance (BID). Body image disturbance results in a number of negative consequences for women, such as disordered eating (Cash & Deagle, 1997; Stice, 2002), depression (Denniston et al., 1992; Mintz & Betz, 1986), social problems (Cash & Szymanski, 1995; Cash et al., 2004; Harris, 1994), and overall life dissatisfaction (Cash & Fleming, 2002). Research on body image has attempted to address the sociocultural pressure placed on women to live up to the thin ideal and the subsequent impact that has on body image disturbance (Fallon, 1990; Striegel-Moore, Silberstein, & Rodin, 1986; Thompson et al., 1999). In fact, it has recently been suggested that the focus on physical attractiveness in gender identity development may play an important role in the prevalence of BID, and contribute to the epidemic of body image disturbance seen in women (Fallon, 1990; Thompson et al., 1999). Both the feminist identity development model (Downing & Roush, 1985) and the womanist identity development model (Helms, 1990, as cited in Ossana et al., 1992) attempt to explain the process a woman goes through in developing a sense of herself as a woman. Research has been mixed regarding the relationship between feminist identity development and body image disturbance (Cash et al., 1997; Dionne et al., 1995; Kelson et al., 1990; Mintz & Betz, 1986; Peterson et al., 2006; Snyder and Hasbrouck, 1996). Relative to the feminist model, the womanist identity development model may be a better model for addressing identity development of women who fall outside of the feminist category since it does not require the adoption of a feminist political stance (Ossana et al., 1992). However, little research has been done exploring the relationship between womanist identity attitudes and body image disturbance in women. The purpose of the current study was to explore the relationship between body image disturbance, psychological investment in appearance, influence of sociocultural attitudes toward appearance, psychological distress, and womanist identity development in college women. A total of 155 women were recruited from introductory psychology courses at a university in the Southeastern United States. Participants completed a demographic questionnaire and questionnaires assessing body image disturbance, psychological investment in appearance, influence of sociocultural attitudes toward appearance, womanist identity attitudes, and psychological distress. Hiearchical regressions were conducted to examine the hypotheses. Pearson product-moment correlations were used to assess the relationships among variables of interest and to assess for multicolinearity. Post-hoc independent samples t-tests were utilized to examine racial differences and differences between sorority and non-sorority members. Results showed psychological investment in appearance and influence of sociocultural attitudes toward appearance accounted for significant variance in body image disturbance. It was also found that body image disturbance, self-evaluative salience, and Immersion-Emersion attitudes predicted higher levels of psychological distress. In addition, race and sorority membership predicted levels of influence of sociocultural attitudes toward appearance and motivational salience. Contrary to predictions, womanist identity attitudes were not related to psychological investment in appearance or influence of sociocultural attitudes toward appearance. Immersion-Emersion attitudes were related to body image disturbance, but not in the expected direction. Several reasons are proposed for the unexpected findings, including issues with the womanist identity development model and sample characteristics. Limitations of the study are also discussed.

The Relationship of Feminist Identity, Acculturation and Internalization of Societal Messages in Predicting Body Image Satisfaction for Mexican American College Women

The Relationship of Feminist Identity, Acculturation and Internalization of Societal Messages in Predicting Body Image Satisfaction for Mexican American College Women PDF Author: Sharna Naomi Horn
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Body image disturbance
Languages : en
Pages : 214

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Book Description
This study focused on the relationship between feminist theory, acculturation, internalization of society's messages regarding the ideal body, and body image disturbance among Mexican American college women. The 235 participants were college students attending four community colleges and universities in the Southwest designated as Hispanic Serving Institutions. Participants completed a Demographic Questionnaire, the Abbreviated Multidimensional Acculturation Scale, the Feminist Identity Composite, Multidimensional Body-Self Relations Questionnaire-Appearance Scales, and the Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Scale. Hierarchical regression analyses were conducted. Internalization of society's messages regarding the ideal body size and feminist identity were found to be statistically significant predictors of body image satisfaction. Acculturation was not found to be a significant predictor of body image satisfaction. Mexican women's overall satisfaction with their bodies was found to have a significant positive relationship to feminist identity but no significant relationship was found with internalization of societies messages regarding the ideal body and acculturation. Mexican American college women's satisfaction with particular areas of their body was found to have a significant negative relationship with Internalization and then also with feminist identity Passive Acceptance when Internalization is added into the regression together. No significant relationship was found for feminist identity Active Commitment and acculturation.

Fat Talk

Fat Talk PDF Author: Mimi Nichter
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 0674041542
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 283

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Book Description
Teen-aged girls hate their bodies and diet obsessively, or so we hear. News stories and reports of survey research often claim that as many as three girls in five are on a diet at any given time, and they grimly suggest that many are “at risk” for eating disorders. But how much can we believe these frightening stories? What do teenagers mean when they say they are dieting? Anthropologist Mimi Nichter spent three years interviewing middle school and high school girls—lower-middle to middle class, white, black, and Latina—about their feelings concerning appearance, their eating habits, and dieting. In Fat Talk, she tells us what the girls told her, and explores the influence of peers, family, and the media on girls’ sense of self. Letting girls speak for themselves, she gives us the human side of survey statistics. Most of the white girls in her study disliked something about their bodies and knew all too well that they did not look like the envied, hated “perfect girl.” But they did not diet so much as talk about dieting. Nichter wryly argues—in fact some of the girls as much as tell her—that “fat talk” is a kind of social ritual among friends, a way of being, or creating solidarity. It allows the girls to show that they are concerned about their weight, but it lessens the urgency to do anything about it, other than diet from breakfast to lunch. Nichter concludes that if anything, girls are watching their weight and what they eat, as well as trying to get some exercise and eat “healthfully” in a way that sounds much less disturbing than stories about the epidemic of eating disorders among American girls. Black girls, Nichter learned, escape the weight obsession and the “fat talk” that is so pervasive among white girls. The African-American girls she talked with were much more satisfied with their bodies than were the white girls. For them, beauty was a matter of projecting attitude (“’tude”) and moving with confidence and style. Fat Talk takes the reader into the lives of girls as daughters, providing insights into how parents talk to their teenagers about their changing bodies. The black girls admired their mothers’ strength; the white girls described their mothers’ own “fat talk,” their fathers’ uncomfortable teasing, and the way they and their mothers sometimes dieted together to escape the family “curse”—flabby thighs, ample hips. Moving beyond negative stereotypes of mother–daughter relationships, Nichter sensitively examines the issues and struggles that mothers face in bringing up their daughters, particularly in relation to body image, and considers how they can help their daughters move beyond rigid and stereotyped images of ideal beauty.

The Oxford Handbook of Feminist Counseling Psychology

The Oxford Handbook of Feminist Counseling Psychology PDF Author: Carolyn Zerbe Enns
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 019974422X
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 529

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Book Description
This handbook summarizes the progress, current status, and future directions relevant to feminist multicultural perspectives in counseling psychology. It emphasizes enduring topics within counseling psychology such as human growth and development, ethics, ecological frameworks, and counseling theory and practice. Intersectionality, social justice, and the diverse social identities of women and girls are featured prominently.

Feminism and Body Image

Feminism and Body Image PDF Author: Kathleen Anne Kelly
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Body image
Languages : en
Pages : 98

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Book Description
Influenced by gender expectation and societal pressures, women are at increased risk of body dissatisfaction and are more likely to suffer from maladaptive eating behaviors and body image disorders. It is understood that feminism can help to lessen the severity of body dissatisfaction but research has not yet shown the influence of feminism on behavioral health, such as disordered eating. One variable that is identified as a core concept when understanding feminism is the role of empowerment. The purpose of this study was to understand the mediational role of empowerment in the relationship between feminism and body dissatisfaction. A total of 509 women completed an online self-report survey consisting of the Feminist Identity Development Scale (FIDS; Bargad & Hyde, 1991), The Empowerment Scale (Rogers et al., 1997), and The Body Image Concerns Among Adult Women (BIC; Feinson & Hornik-Lurie, 2016). The participants' responses were then used to conduct two mediation models. It was first hypothesized that a negative correlation would be found between passive acceptance (low-feminism ideologies) and body dissatisfaction, in such that women would be less satisfied with their body image. However, insignificant results were concluded. The second hypothesis expected a positive correlation between active commitment (high-feminism ideologies) and body dissatisfaction, such that women would be more satisfied with their body image; insignificant results were also concluded. The first model represented the mediational effect of empowerment on the relationship between low feminism scores [passive acceptance] and body dissatisfaction, but did not conclude in significant results. The second mediation model represented empowerment as a mediator on the relationship between high feminism scores [active commitment] and body dissatisfaction. The key findings of the present study include a significant negative correlation between active commitment and empowerment with lower scores representing stronger empowerment, a significant negative correlation between empowerment and body dissatisfaction, and a significant indirect effect in which active commitment influences body dissatisfaction through empowerment. Limitations of the study include the complexity of measuring feminist identity and participant reactivity. Future research should develop a more sufficient instrument for measuring modernized feminist identity.

The Impact of Race and Ethnic Identity on Body Dissatisfaction and Fit Ideal Internalization in College Age Females

The Impact of Race and Ethnic Identity on Body Dissatisfaction and Fit Ideal Internalization in College Age Females PDF Author: Monica R Dunn
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 95

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Book Description
Body dissatisfaction (BD) negatively impacts health risk behaviors (drug, alcohol use, and self-harm), mental health outcomes (self-esteem, depression, and suicidal ideation) and psychosocial quality of life in females. Most of the research conducted on BD has primarily studied White females and their drive for thinness; this research is limited and less generalizable because it lacks representation of diverse racial populations in the US. A majority of research conducted on BD has been correlated and predicted by the individual's drive for thinness (thin ideal internalization). However, an increasingly prevalent body image issue is the drive to attain an ultra-fit body, characterized by a very toned and lean body, known as the fit ideal internalization. PURPOSE: To assess how race and ethnic identity impacts a woman's internalization of the fit body ideal and BD. METHODS: Female college students between the ages of 18-25 years were recruited to take an online survey. Demographic and body image questionnaires were used. An independent t-test was used to analyze the impact of race on the internalized fit ideal and BD. A linear regression model was used to assess the impact of ethnic identity on the internalized fit ideal and BD. RESULTS: Participants (N = 340; 21.5±1.9 years; 36% Non-White) had an average BMI of 25.1±5.5 kg/m2. After separating the sample by race (White females versus Non-White females), fit ideal internalization (FIIT) and BD was assessed. FIIT is scored from 1 to 5 with higher scores indicating higher FIIT. White females (n=217) scored 3.3 ± 0.7 while Non-White females (n=121) scored 3.1 ± 0.7 (p=.588); thus, there was no significant difference between White and Non-White females on FIIT. Ethnic identity (B=-.023, p=.631) was not shown to significantly influence FIIT; thus, the more a college female identifies with her ethnicity there is no impact of this identity on her internalization of the fit body ideal. BD is scored from 1 to 5 with lower scores indicating higher BD. White females (n=217) scored 3.2 ± 0.7 while Non-White females (n=121) scored 3.3 ± 0.7 (p=.588); thus, there was no significant difference between BD in White versus Non-White females. Ethnic identity (B=.071, p=.127) was not shown to significantly influence body dissatisfaction; thus, the more a college female identifies with her ethnicity there is no impact of this identity on her dissatisfaction with her body. CONCLUSION: FIIT and BD are public health issues that impact women of all races. To address body image issues in women, FIIT must be assessed in clinical settings as it plays a key predictive role on BD. Marketing health and fitness through the attainment of an ultra-fit body type, needs to be re-evaluated as internalization of a fit body ideal has damaging effects on body image of women of all races. To empower a generation of physical health and psychosocial well-being, promoting body positivity is essential.