Body Image as a Source of Shame: A New Measure for the Assessment of the Multifaceted Nature of Body Image Shame

Abstract

The BISS is a brief and reliable self-report instrument of body image-related shame. The BISS assesses the phenomenology of body image shame considering an externalized dimension and an internalized dimension, which may have important clinical implications. The BISS presents very good internal consistency, construct and discriminant validities, test-retest reliability, concurrent and divergent validities, and accurately distinguishes between women with higher and normative levels of disordered eating behaviours. Body image shame, as assessed by the BISS, contributes to a better understanding of eating psychopathology with findings suggesting that the association between external shame and eating psychopathology fully depends on the extent to which one's body image becomes the source of shame, with the consequent activation of defensive attitudes and behaviours.

The impact of early shame memories in Binge Eating Disorder: The mediator effect of current body image shame and cognitive fusion

“…Theoretical suggestions (Gilbert, 2002;Goss and Gilbert, 2002) and recent studies indicate that shame feelings, especially those related to body image (Duarte et al, 2015c), play an important role in the prospective development of binge eating symptoms (Dakanalis et al, 2014(Dakanalis et al, , 2015a and in the persistence of binge eating symptoms in patients with BED (Dakanalis et al, 2015b;Duarte et al, 2015a;Jambekar et al, 2003). According to the biopsychosocial model of shame (Gilbert, 1998;Gilbert, 2002Gilbert, , 2003Gilbert, 2007), humans are innately motivated to stimulate positive feelings in others and create a positive image of themselves, to fit within the social group.…”

Being bullied and feeling ashamed: Implications for eating psychopathology and depression in adolescent girls

“…Gilbert & Thompson, 2002). There is evidence that, in adult women, evaluations that one"s body image make the individual unattractive in the eyes of others and thus vulnerable to social harm, exclusion or ridicule, are significantly associated with disordered eating symptomology Duarte, Pinto-Gouveia, Ferreira, & Batista, 2014;Gilbert, 2002) and that selfcriticism is an important mediator in this association .…”

Body image as a target of victimization by peers/parents: Development and validation of the Body Image Victimization Experiences Scale

“…Each item is rated according to the frequency with which respondents experience body image shame (0 = Never to 4 = Almost always; score range 0-4 calculated as the mean of item scores), with higher scores indicating higher levels of body image shame. The scale has high internal consistency (with an estimate of 0.96; Duarte, Pinto-Gouveia, Ferreira, and Batista 2015), with a Cronbach's alpha of 0.94 in this study.…”

“…Nonetheless, such self-perceptions may be greatly influenced by one's perceptions of evaluations by others (Ferreira, PintoGouveia, and Duarte 2013;Pinto-Gouveia, Ferreira, and Duarte 2014;Gilbert 2002), and research suggests the negative effects of others' criticism, rejection or even attacks because of one's physical appearance Duarte, Pinto-Gouveia, Ferreira, and Batista 2015;Duarte, Pinto-Gouveia and Rodrigues, 2015). Especially among women, bullying or teasing (a more verbal form of victimization characterized by insults, name-calling or negative comments) by peers about physical appearance have been associated with poorer psychological adjustment, feelings of inferiority and shame, body dissatisfaction and disordered eating, namely binge eating (Lunde, Frisén, and Hwang 2006;Matos et al 2015;Sweetingham and Waller 2008;Menzel et al 2010;Haines et al 2006).…”