Body image dimensions and cancer: a heuristic cognitive behavioural model

Abstract

The term body image has been associated with a multitude of definitions within psychosocial oncology. It is well known that cancer and cancer treatments often have a negative impact on appearance‐related variables. A growing literature has emerged in recent years on the psychological aspects of changed appearance. This work has mainly addressed weight‐related appearance and the psychology of eating disorders. A number of themes have emerged from this work. These themes have been strongly influenced by a cognitive behavioural perspective. There seems, however, to have been few attempts to integrate findings from such work with attempts to understand cancer‐related appearance changes. This paper outlines some of the key developments within body image psychology and suggests a heuristic cognitive behavioural model that could be applied to the assessment, conceptualisation and treatment of body image disturbance among cancer patients. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Body image and sexual problems in young women with breast cancer

“…Body image is defined as the mental picture of one's body, an attitude about the physical self, appearance, and state of health, wholeness, normal functioning, and sexuality. Body image is a component of a larger concept of self that for women includes feeling feminine and attractive (Mock, 1993;Carver et al, 1998;Hopwood, 1993;Cohen et al, 1998;White, 2000), enjoying one's body as a symbol of social expression, and as a way of being in the world (Cohen et al, 1998). The way in which one experiences her body is highly subjective, and is a product of her perceptions, thoughts, and feelings about body size, competence and function (Cohen et al, 1998;White, 2000).…”

“…Body image is a component of a larger concept of self that for women includes feeling feminine and attractive (Mock, 1993;Carver et al, 1998;Hopwood, 1993;Cohen et al, 1998;White, 2000), enjoying one's body as a symbol of social expression, and as a way of being in the world (Cohen et al, 1998). The way in which one experiences her body is highly subjective, and is a product of her perceptions, thoughts, and feelings about body size, competence and function (Cohen et al, 1998;White, 2000). The significance of body image as a concept in the life of women was underscored in a study by Pikler and Winterowd (2003) who found that the better one's body image, the better women coped with cancer.…”

“…Women with better body image perceptions had higher levels of self-confidence in coping with breast cancer (Pikler and Winterowd, 2003). Negative perceptions of body image among breast cancer survivors include dissatisfaction with appearance, perceived loss of femininity and body integrity, reluctance to look at one's self naked, feeling less sexually attractive, self consciousness about appearance, and dissatisfaction with surgical scars (Hopwood, 1993;Cohen et al, 1998;White, 2000;Beckmann et al, 1983;Bartelink et al, 1985;de Haes et al, 1986;Steinberg et al, 1985;Sanger and Reznikoff, 1981;Lasry et al, 1987;Kemeny et al, 1988;Wellisch et al, 1989;Ganz et al, 1992;Pozo et al, 1992;Ganz et al, 2003). The relationship of good body image with the resumption of sexual relations and sexual dysfunction is inconsistent.…”

The Portuguese version of the Body Image Scale (BIS) – psychometric properties in a sample of breast cancer patients

“…Although there is not yet a clear definition of body image in psycho-oncology (White, 2000), the most recent perspectives that have emerged in the mainstream body image literature consider this to be a multidimensional construct that encompasses cognitive, affective and behavioural components Pruzinsky, 1990, 2002;Jakatdar et al, 2006).…”

Gender Differences in the Effects of Weight, Weight Perception, and Weight Satisfaction on Depression in Adolescents

“…According to Demuth et al [12], a negative body image including distorted weight perception and body dissatisfaction was associated with psychosocial distress. Similarly, White [13] presented a model that suggests that perceived changes in appearance might lead to body image emotions such as depression. Additionally, distorted weight perception and body dissatisfaction were considered risk factors for depression during early adolescence [14].…”