Application of a Relational Model to Understanding Body Image in College Women and Men

Abstract

Relational cultural theory was examined in relation to body image in two samples of college women (n = 102) and men (n = 78) from a Midwestern university. Participants completed measures of mutuality and body image satisfaction. Results revealed that low mutuality with mothers and fathers predicted body dissatisfaction in both men and women, and low mutuality with romantic partners predicted body dissatisfaction in women.For women, when the shared variance between mothers and fathers was removed, mutuality with fathers was associated with body satisfaction as well as several indexes of body image, including evaluation of overall appearance, level of fitness, and overall health. For men, mutuality with mothers, fathers, and friends was associated with several body image scales. Additional findings and implications for working with college students are discussed. KEYWORDS body dissatisfaction, body image, gender, interpersonal relationships, mutuality, relational cultural theoryOver the past 30 years, much work has been done to understand women's conflicted and often highly negative feelings about their bodies (Thompson,

Does Perceived Social Support Play a Role in Body Image Satisfaction among College Students?

“…Those who felt socially and emotionally supported from their mothers, family members and friends were most likely to report high levels of body image satisfaction. Specifically, students with a high level of body image satisfaction were more likely than their counterparts to talk to family members about things that are important to them and to feel loved by their mother or another family member These results lend support to those of previous studies which indicate that social support and interpersonal relationships plays an important role in body image satisfaction [18,28,30]. For instance, Ackard and colleagues reported that individuals with high body image were more likely than individuals with low body image to have positive relationships and overall satisfying relationships [30].…”

“…Students in the present study who felt emotionally close and loved by their mothers were more likely to report a high level of body image satisfaction than students who did not feel emotionally close or loved by their mothers. Sanftner and colleagues revealed similar findings in showing that male and female university students who did not feel emotionally close to their mothers were at elevated risk for weight concerns [18]. In addition to the critical impact that parents have on their children related to emotional closeness, parents also serve as an important channel for conveying sociocultural ideals and attitudes about body image to both females and males [6].…”

“…Some of the psychosocial concerns of low body image include eating disorders [13], impaired sexual functioning [8], increased engagement in risky sexual behaviors [14], low levels of life satisfaction [15], lower quality of life [16], decreased self-esteem, depression [17], social anxiety [1], and troubles in interpersonal relationships [18].…”

Explaining the pathway from familial and peer social support to disordered eating: Is body dissatisfaction the link for male and female adolescents?

“…In turn, negative attitudes about one's body, or body dissatisfaction, forms a salient risk factor for disordered eating (e.g. Giles, Helme, & Krcmar, 2007;Shroff & Thompson, 2006;Stice, 2002), regularly reported by male and female adolescents (Sanftner, Ryan, & Pierce, 2009). In considering the influence of social and cultural influences on body image and eating pathology, the tripartite influence model implicates three variables in the development of body dissatisfaction and disordered eating: parents, peers, and the media (Thompson, Heinberg, Altabe, & Tantleff-Dunn, 1999).…”

A Relational Cultural Approach to Working With Clients With Eating Disorders

“…Often, a thoughtful review of one's relational images involves an examination of experiences with the individual's family of origin. Sanftner, Ryan, and Pierce (2009) argued that attending to the impact of multiple relationships (e.g., parents, romantic partners) in clients' lives may be an important factor in addressing body image dissatisfaction, potentially preventing the development of more severe eating disorder symptoms (p. 276). Counselor-generated questions that investigate relational patterns can be useful for this initial stage.…”