Existential Factors’ Impact on Body Dissatisfaction: An Empirical Study of Greek Adolescents and Adults

Abstract

The role of body dissatisfaction as a key factor in the development of eating disorders has been continuously attracting the attention of researchers in the field of Psychology. Preliminary research has shown that some existential factors have significant impact on body dissatisfaction. This study investigated whether and in which way Body Dissatisfaction is associated with Existential Anxiety, Meaning in Life, and Satisfaction with Life. Hypotheses developed concern the significance of relation between Body Dissatisfaction and Existential factors, differences between sexes regarding body image, predictive models for Body Dissatisfaction including the interactive effect of Age and Sex. Empirical results have been derived from a sample of 799 adolescent and adult participants from the general population in Greece, reporting on five well-known questionnaires - Body Shape Questionnaire - 8C, Multidimensional Body-Self Relations Questionnaire-Appearance Scales, Existential Anxiety Questionnaire, Meaning in Life Questionnaire and Satisfaction with Life Scale. Results indicated significant relations of Body Dissatisfaction variables with Existential Anxiety and Search for Meaning in Life. Explanatory models predicting Body Dissatisfaction were identified, which also showed that changes in Body Shape Dissatisfaction over Age were not differentiated by Sex, while changes in Overweight Preoccupation over Age were affected by Sex. The current study provides evidence that existential issues have an impact on Body Dissatisfaction; revealing a new perspective that could be integrated in counselling practice for better understanding of eating disorders, and consequently enrich and deepen the counselling process.