Attentional biases to body shape images in adolescents with anorexia nervosa: An exploratory eye-tracking study

Pinhas, Leora; Fok, Kai-Ho; Chen, Anna; Lam, Ernest W.N.; Schachter, Reva; Eizenman, Oren; Grupp, Larry A.; Eizenman, Moshe

doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2014.08.006

Cited by 52 publications

(50 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…Empirical data show, an association between attentional biases in the processing of female body images and eating disorder symptoms [6–12]. When viewing body-related information of other females (including both whole bodies and body regions), it generally appears that women with elevated levels of eating disorder symptomatology selectively attend towards body stimuli connoting a thin physique and avoid non-thin body stimuli.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The mediating role of rumination in the relation between attentional bias towards thin female bodies and eating disorder symptomatology

et al. 2017

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The present study sought to investigate the association between selective attentional processing of body images, rumination, and eating disorder symptoms in young women. Seventy-three undergraduate female students (ages 17–24) completed a modified dot-probe task to assess whether young women showed a differential attentional bias pattern towards thin and non-thin female bodies. Participants also completed self-report measures of eating disorder pathology. It was found that increased reports of dietary restraint and body dissatisfaction were associated with both greater attentional bias towards thin bodies and avoidance of non-thin bodies (as compared to neutral images), although the former relationship was stronger than the latter. The results suggest attentional vigilance to thin-ideal images plays a greater role in the potential development and/or maintenance of eating disorder symptoms, at least in a university sample of young women. Results also revealed that eating disorder-specific rumination mediated the relationship between attentional bias to thin ideal images and eating disorder symptoms. These findings build on existing research and theories, for example the impaired disengagement model of rumination, and have potential clinical applications such as specifically targeting ruminative and/or attentional processes in the prevention and/or treatment of eating disorder symptoms.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The mediating role of rumination in the relation between attentional bias towards thin female bodies and eating disorder symptomatology

et al. 2017

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“…In contrast, several studies in the field of eating disorders found differences regarding the exploration pattern of body stimuli in anorexia nervosa (e.g. [30,31,32,33,34]) and bulimia nervosa (e.g. [34,35,36,37]) compared to healthy controls.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 87%

Where Do You Look Visual Attention to Human Bodies across the Weight Spectrum in Individuals with Normal Weight or with Obesity

Leehr¹,

Giel²,

Schäffeler³

et al. 2018

Obes Facts

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Objective: We investigated how individuals with normal weight (NW) versus individuals with obesity (OB) visually explore human bodies varying in BMI. Methods: 16 OB (BMI 37.5 ± 7.7 kg/m²) and 35 NW (BMI 21.5 ± 1.6 kg/m²) visually explored 35 natural photographs and 25 avatars depicting male and female bodies ranging from normal weight to obesity. Gaze behaviour was assessed using eye tracking technology. Additionally, participants rated the attractiveness of all body stimuli. Results: A comparison of the displayed gaze behaviour shown by both participant weight classes indicates that regarding visual stimuli of obese natural bodies, all participants (OB + NW) looked at the waist longer, whereas regarding visual stimuli of normal-weight bodies, all participants viewed the head longer. Overall, OB spent less time looking at the bodies than NW. All participants rated normal-weight bodies as more attractive than obese bodies. However, the NW sample rated the depicted obese bodies as even less attractive than the OB sample did. Conclusions: TheBMI of the explored body, but not the observer's BMI, produces differences in the visual exploration of human bodies. The displayed exploration pattern of obese bodies can cautiously be interpreted as a ‘de-individualised' and ‘obesity-focused' perception. This tendency may prove in close relationship with the negative cultural views on obesity.

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“…All but one study (Watson et al, 2010) reported mean age of participants (range: 14.4-44.68 years), and only four studies did not report the mean BMI or % ideal body weight (IBW) of at least one participant group (Fujiwara et al, 2017;Stefano Pallanti et al, 1998;Pinhas et al, 2014;Watson et al, 2010). All but one study (Watson et al, 2010) reported mean age of participants (range: 14.4-44.68 years), and only four studies did not report the mean BMI or % ideal body weight (IBW) of at least one participant group (Fujiwara et al, 2017;Stefano Pallanti et al, 1998;Pinhas et al, 2014;Watson et al, 2010).…”

Section: Study Characteristicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Eye‐tracking research in eating disorders: A systematic review

Kerr-Gaffney

Harrison

Tchanturia

2018

Intl J Eating Disorders

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Objective: Those with eating disorders (EDs) show attentional biases to disorder-relevant stimuli, such as food and body shape information. However, attentional bias research in EDs largely relies on reaction time based measures, which are limited in their ability to assess different components and the time course of attention. Eye-tracking paradigms have therefore been utilized to provide greater ecological validity, and directly capture the detailed sequence of processes in perception and attention. While numerous studies have examined eye movements in the mood, anxiety, and psychotic disorders, there has been a lack of studies in EDs. The purpose of this qualitative review is to provide a summary of eye-tracking studies in clinical ED populations.Method: The review was conducted using the PRISMA guidelines. Electronic databases were systematically searched to identify studies examining gaze parameters in ED compared to healthy controls (HCs). Thirty-one studies met inclusion criteria.Results: Across ED diagnoses, there was evidence of attentional biases towards food and body stimuli. In addition, differential patterns of attention to social information, and differences in smooth pursuit and saccadic eye movements were found in anorexia nervosa (AN).Discussion: Findings are discussed in relation to research in other psychiatric disorders, and recommendations for future studies using eye-tracking in EDs are given. The findings add to the wider literature on attentional biases in EDs, and provide potential avenues for treatment.Discusión: Los hallazgos se discuten en relación con la investigación en otros trastornos psiquiátricos, y se dan recomendaciones para futuros estudios que utilizan el seguimiento ocular en los TCA. Los hallazgos se suman a la literatura más amplia sobre los sesgos de atención en los TCA y proporcionan posibles vías para el tratamiento. K E Y W O R D Sattentional biases, body image, eating disorders, eye gaze, eye movements, social perception

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Attentional biases to body shape images in adolescents with anorexia nervosa: An exploratory eye-tracking study

Cited by 52 publications

References 45 publications

The mediating role of rumination in the relation between attentional bias towards thin female bodies and eating disorder symptomatology

The mediating role of rumination in the relation between attentional bias towards thin female bodies and eating disorder symptomatology

Where Do You Look Visual Attention to Human Bodies across the Weight Spectrum in Individuals with Normal Weight or with Obesity

Eye‐tracking research in eating disorders: A systematic review

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