Body-image distortion revisited: Temporal instability of body image distortion in anorexia nervosa

Abstract

Results of a study of stability of body‐image distortion in seven inpatient anorexic women over 4 weeks show that although analysis of grouped data reveals no mean change in body‐image distortion over time, significant change did occur for six of the seven subjects. This lack of stability over time has implications for the validity of the state/trait model of body‐image distortion.

Examining the Dissociative Basis for Body Image Disturbances

“…Unlike previous investigations in which stability of body image was evaluated over relatively long time frames (e.g., across two weeks or more, Brinded, Bushnell, McKenzie, & Wells, 1990), body image stability in the present study was evaluated across a single testing session. Although the use of a short time frame does not preclude the involvement of cognitive or affective processes, it does make it less likely that body image instability reflects fluctuations in these processes (i.e., it is unlikely that participants' mood or attitudes to appearance fluctuated substantially across blocks of trials within a single testing session).…”

Examining the Dissociative Basis for Body Image Disturbances

“…Unlike previous investigations in which stability of body image was evaluated over relatively long time frames (e.g., across two weeks or more, Brinded, Bushnell, McKenzie, & Wells, 1990), body image stability in the present study was evaluated across a single testing session. Although the use of a short time frame does not preclude the involvement of cognitive or affective processes, it does make it less likely that body image instability reflects fluctuations in these processes (i.e., it is unlikely that participants' mood or attitudes to appearance fluctuated substantially across blocks of trials within a single testing session).…”

A ‘Rubber-hand’ Illusion Reveals a Relationship between Perceptual Body Image and Unhealthy Body Change

“…Our results extend this notion of body-image instability to the perceptual dimension. In previous research unstable self-evaluations made over different testing sessions (Brinded et al, 1990;Gardner & Bokenkamp, 1996), or following exposure to idealized bodies depicted in fashion magazines (e.g. Waller & Barnes, 2002), have been attributed to underlying emotional and/or cognitive instability.…”

“…And recent findings suggest that this body-image instability may be of clinical significance. There is, for example, evidence that eating-disordered individuals deviate from nonclinical controls in terms of their body-image stability across different contexts and situations (in the case of affective body image; Tiggemann, 2000) and over time (in the case of body-shape judgements; Brinded, Bushnell, McKenzie, & Wells, 1990;Gardner & Bokenkamp, 1996). For example, variability in making body-size judgements is four times greater for eatingdisordered individuals (Gardner & Bokenkamp, 1996).…”

Examining the Dissociative Basis for Body Image Disturbances

“…Unlike previous investigations in which stability of body image was evaluated over relatively long time frames (e.g., across two weeks or more, Brinded, Bushnell, McKenzie, & Wells, 1990), body image stability in the present study was evaluated across a single testing session. Although the use of a short time frame does not preclude the involvement of cognitive or affective processes, it does make it less likely that body image instability reflects fluctuations in these processes (i.e., it is unlikely that participants' mood or attitudes to appearance fluctuated substantially across blocks of trials within a single testing session).…”

A ‘Rubber-hand’ Illusion Reveals a Relationship between Perceptual Body Image and Unhealthy Body Change

“…Our results extend this notion of body-image instability to the perceptual dimension. In previous research unstable self-evaluations made over different testing sessions (Brinded et al, 1990;Gardner & Bokenkamp, 1996), or following exposure to idealized bodies depicted in fashion magazines (e.g. Waller & Barnes, 2002), have been attributed to underlying emotional and/or cognitive instability.…”

“…And recent findings suggest that this body-image instability may be of clinical significance. There is, for example, evidence that eating-disordered individuals deviate from nonclinical controls in terms of their body-image stability across different contexts and situations (in the case of affective body image; Tiggemann, 2000) and over time (in the case of body-shape judgements; Brinded, Bushnell, McKenzie, & Wells, 1990;Gardner & Bokenkamp, 1996). For example, variability in making body-size judgements is four times greater for eatingdisordered individuals (Gardner & Bokenkamp, 1996).…”

Examining the Dissociative Basis for Body Image Disturbances

“…Unlike previous investigations in which stability of body image was evaluated over relatively long time frames (e.g., across two weeks or more, Brinded, Bushnell, McKenzie, & Wells, 1990), body image stability in the present study was evaluated across a single testing session. Although the use of a short time frame does not preclude the involvement of cognitive or affective processes, it does make it less likely that body image instability reflects fluctuations in these processes (i.e., it is unlikely that participants' mood or attitudes to appearance fluctuated substantially across blocks of trials within a single testing session).…”

A ‘Rubber-hand’ Illusion Reveals a Relationship between Perceptual Body Image and Unhealthy Body Change

“…Our results extend this notion of body-image instability to the perceptual dimension. In previous research unstable self-evaluations made over different testing sessions (Brinded et al, 1990;Gardner & Bokenkamp, 1996), or following exposure to idealized bodies depicted in fashion magazines (e.g. Waller & Barnes, 2002), have been attributed to underlying emotional and/or cognitive instability.…”

“…And recent findings suggest that this body-image instability may be of clinical significance. There is, for example, evidence that eating-disordered individuals deviate from nonclinical controls in terms of their body-image stability across different contexts and situations (in the case of affective body image; Tiggemann, 2000) and over time (in the case of body-shape judgements; Brinded, Bushnell, McKenzie, & Wells, 1990;Gardner & Bokenkamp, 1996). For example, variability in making body-size judgements is four times greater for eatingdisordered individuals (Gardner & Bokenkamp, 1996).…”