Academic Scientific JournalsThe impact of appearance comments by parents, peers and romantic partners on eating behaviour in a sample of young women
Keywords:
eating behaviour, appearance comments, self-objectificationAbstract
Background
Disordered eating behaviour (DEB) is prevalent among two-thirds of women, and it is argued that it will increase over time because of the lean body cult in Western culture. However, the mechanism of DEB development is still not known precisely. One of the recently explored factors is appearance comments by significant others; however, their influence on DEB is ambiguous. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between eating behaviour and appearance comments by parents, peers, and romantic partners in a sample of young Lithuanian women.
Participants and procedure
Two hundred and eighty-five young females (Mage = 21.8, SD = 2.14) completed an online survey consisting of the Verbal Commentary on Physical Appearance Scale (VCOPAS) and the Eating Attitudes Test-26 (EAT-26). Demographic information and body mass index (BMI) were also taken into account.
Results
Negative comments about body shape and weight by parents, peers and romantic partners were associated with greater young women’s dieting and bulimia-specific DEB, while this type of appearance comments only by mothers and female peers was related to greater oral control. It was found that positive comments about body shape and weight by female peers were related to lower young women’s dieting, while positive comments about general appearance by mothers were associated with lower oral control. However, positive comments about body shape and weight by mothers and male peers were related to higher young women’s oral control.
Conclusions
Both negative and positive comments about physical appearance by significant others may be a risk factor for DEB developing in young women. Further research should concentrate on a deeper examination of these relations, with a particular focus on positive comments about physical appearance.
Downloads
References
Aleksė, M., & Žardeckaitė-Matulaitienė, K. (2021). Sexual harassment experience, gender harassment and body objectification effect on disordered eating tendencies. Information & Media, 92, 8–27. https://doi.org/10.15388/Im.2021.92.47.
Bryla, K. Y. (2003). Disordered eating among female adolescents: Prevalence, risk factors, and consequences. Health Educator, 35, 25–29.
Calogero, R. M., Herbozo, S., & Thompson, J. K. (2009). Complimentary weightism: The potential costs of appearance‐related commentary for women’s self‐objectification. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 33, 120–132. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471- 6402.2008.01479.x.
Carriere, L. J., & Kluck, A. S. (2014). Appearance commentary from romantic partners: Evaluation of an adapted measure. Body Image, 11, 137–145. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2013.12.003.
Eisenberg, M. E., Berge, J. M., Fulkerson, J. A., & Neumark-Sztainer, D. (2011). Weight comments by family and significant others in young adulthood. Body Image, 8, 12–19. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. bodyim.2010.11.002.
Field, A. E., Javaras, K. M., Aneja, P., Kitos, N., Camargo, C. A., Taylor, C. B., & Laird, N. M. (2008). Family, peer, and media predictors of becoming eating disordered. Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, 162, 574–579. https://doi.org/10.1001/ archpedi.162.6.574.
Fortesa, K., & Ajete, K. (2014). Family influence on disordered eating behaviour. Procedia – Social and Behavioural Sciences, 159, 314–318. https://doi. org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.12.379.
Fredrickson, B. L., & Roberts, T. A. (1997). Objectification theory: Toward understanding women’s lived experiences and mental health risks. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 21, 173–206. https://doi. org/10.1111/j.1471-6402.1997.tb00108.x.
Gardner, R. M., Stark, K., Friedman, B. N., & Jackson, N. A. (2000). Predictors of eating disorder scores in children ages 6 through 14: a longitudinal study. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 49, 199– 205. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-3999(00)00172-0.
Garner, D. M., Olmsted, M. P., Bohr, Y., & Garfinkel, P. E. (1982). The Eating Attitudes Test: Psychometric features and clinical correlates. Psychological Medicine, 12, 871–878. https://doi.org/10.1017/ S0033291700049163.
Griffiths, S., Murray, S. B., Bentley, C., GratwickSarll, K., Harrison, C., & Mond, J. M. (2017). Sex differences in quality of life impairment associated with body dissatisfaction in adolescents. Journal of Adolescent Health, 61, 77–82. https://doi. org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2017.01.016.
Gross, R. M., & Nelson, E. S. (2000). Perceptions of parental messages regarding eating and weight and their impact on disordered eating. Journal of College Student Psychotherapy, 15, 57–78. https:// doi.org/10.1300/J035v15n02_07.
Haines, J., Neumark-Sztainer, D., Eisenberg, M. E., & Hannan, P. J. (2006). Weight teasing and disordered eating behaviors in adolescents: Longitudinal findings from Project EAT (Eating Among Teens). Pediatrics, 117, 209–215. https://doi.org/10.1542/ peds.2005-1242.
Helfert, S., & Warschburger, P. (2013). The face of appearance-related social pressure: Gender, age and body mass variations in peer and parental pressure during adolescence. Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health, 7, 16–27. https://doi. org/10.1186/1753-2000-7-16.
Herbozo, S., & Thompson, J. K. (2006). Development and validation of the Verbal Commentary on Physical Appearance Scale: Considering both positive and negative commentary. Body Image, 3, 335–344. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2006.10.001.
Jankauskienė, R., Pajaujienė, S., & Mickūnienė, R. (2010). The relationships between thin ideal internalization, physical activity and attitudes towards unhealthy eating and physical activity-related behaviour in a female student sample. Visuomenės Sveikata, 3, 100–109.
Jones, D. C., Vigfusdottir, T. H., & Lee, Y. (2004). Body image and the appearance culture among adolescent girls and boys: an examination of friend conversations, peer criticism, appearance magazines, and the internalization of appearance ideals. Journal of Adolescent Research, 19, 323–339. https://doi. org/10.1177/0743558403258847.
Keel, P. K., & Forney, K. J. (2013). Psychosocial risk factors for eating disorders. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 46, 433–439. https://doi. org/10.1002/eat.22094.
Kluck, A. S. (2010). Family influence on disordered eating: The role of body image dissatisfaction. Body Image, 7, 8–14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2009.09.009.
Loth, K., Wall, M., Larson, N., & Neumark‐Sztainer, D. (2015). Disordered eating and psychological wellbeing in overweight and non-overweight adolescents: Secular trends from 1999 to 2010. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 48, 323–327. https://doi.org/10.1002/eat.22382.
Nerini, A., Matera, C., & Stefanile, C. (2016). Siblings’ appearance-related commentary, body dissatisfaction, and risky eating behaviors in young women. European Review of Applied Psychology, 66, 269–276. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erap.2016.06.005.
Neumark-Sztainer, D., Falkner, N., Story, M., Perry, C., Hannan, P. J., & Mulert, S. (2002). Weight-teasing among adolescents: Correlations with weight status and disordered eating behaviors. International Journal of Obesity, 26, 123–131. https://doi. org/10.1038/sj.ijo.0801853.
Neumark-Sztainer, D., Wall, M., Larson, N. I., Eisenberg, M. E., & Loth, K. (2011). Dieting and disordered eating behaviors from adolescence to young adulthood: Findings from a 10-year longitudinal study. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 111, 1004–1011. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. jada.2011.04.012.
Paluckaitė, J. (2021). Relationship between perfectionism, self-objectification and risk of eating disorders in young women in Lithuania. Socialiniai tyrimai, 44, 8–33. https://doi.org/10.15388/ Soctyr.44.2.1.
Pinto-Bastos, A., Ramalho, S. M., Conceição, E., & Mitchell, J. (2016). Disordered eating and obesity. In S. I. Ahmad & S. K. Imam (Eds.), Obesity: a practical guide (pp. 309–319). Springer.
Rodgers, R. F., Paxton, S. J., & Chabrol, H. (2009). Effects of parental comments on body dissatisfaction and eating disturbance in young adults: a sociocultural model. Body Image, 6, 171–177. https:// doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2009.04.004.
Sanchez-Ruiz, M. J., El-Jor, C., Kharma, J. A., Bassil, M., & Zeeni, N. (2019). Personality, emotion-related variables, and media pressure predict eating disorders via disordered eating in Lebanese university students. Eating and Weight Disorders – Studies on Anorexia, Bulimia and Obesity, 24, 313–322. https:// doi.org/10.1007/s40519-017-0387-8.
Shomaker, L. B., & Furman, W. (2009). Interpersonal influences on late adolescent girls’ and boys’ disordered eating. Eating Behaviors, 10, 97–106. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eatbeh.2009.02.003.
Thompson, J. K., Schaefer, L., & Menzel, J. (2012). Internalization of the thin and muscular ideal. In T. F. Cash (Ed.), Encyclopedia of body image and human appearance (pp. 499–504). Academic Press.
Tiggemann, M. (2012). Sociocultural perspectives on body image. In T. F. Cash (Ed.), Encyclopedia of body image and human appearance (pp. 758–765). Academic Press.
Val-Laillet, D., Aarts, E., Weber, B., Ferrari, M., Quaresima, V., Stoeckel, L. E., Alonso-Alonso, M., Audette, M., Malbert, C. H., & Stice, E. (2015). Neuroimaging and neuromodulation approaches to study eating behavior and prevent and treat eating disorders and obesity. NeuroImage: Clinical, 8, 1–31. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nicl.2015.03.016.
Vartanian, L. R., Froreich, F. V., & Smyth, J. M. (2016). A serial mediation model testing early adversity, self-concept clarity, and thin-ideal internalization as predictors of body dissatisfaction. Body Image, 19, 98–103. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2016.08.013.
Wade, T. D., Wilksch, S. M., & Lee, C. (2012). A longitudinal investigation of the impact of disordered eating on young women’s quality of life. Health Psychology, 31, 352–359. https://doi.org/10.1037/ a0025956.
Wertheim, E. H., Koerner, J., & Paxton, S. J. (2001). Longitudinal predictors of restrictive eating and bulimic tendencies in three different age groups of adolescent girls. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 30, 69–81. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005224921891.
Wood, W. (2000). Attitude change: Persuasion and social influence. Annual Review of Psychology, 51, 539– 570. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.51.1.539.
World Health Organization (2000). Obesity: Preventing and managing the global epidemic (no. 894). WHO.
