Author : Caitlin A. Martin-Wagar
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (136 download)
Book Synopsis The Impact of Feminist Identity and Weight Bias on Body Image Disturbance and Eating Disorder Pathology in Treatment-seeking Women by : Caitlin A. Martin-Wagar
Download or read book The Impact of Feminist Identity and Weight Bias on Body Image Disturbance and Eating Disorder Pathology in Treatment-seeking Women written by Caitlin A. Martin-Wagar and published by . This book was released on 2020 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.