Internalization of the Thin Ideal, Weight and Body Image Concerns

Abstract

Weight and shape concerns in college women are epidemic. Understanding the role of the thin ideal in the development of such concerns is critical for designing prevention programs. This study examines the association between the Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Questionnaire (SATAQ; Heinberg, Thompson, & Stormer, 1995), a measure of internalization and awareness of the thin ideal, and eating and body image concerns in college women. 70 undergraduates completed questionnaires on eating symptomatology, body image, and demographics. In general, internalization, but not awareness, of the thin ideal was associated with eating and weight concerns. In a two-way analysis of body mass and dichotomized SATAQ internalization scores, body mass moderated the effects of internalization, with overweight women high in internalization having the most body image concerns. Prospectively, SATAQ-internalization scores predicted increasing drive for thinness over the school year in a subsample of women. Future research should explore the moderating effects of weight on outcomes related to internalization of the thin ideal.

Who is Beholding my Beauty? Thinness Ideals, Weight, and Women’s Responses to Appearance Evaluation

“…Both being overweight and acceptance of attractiveness ideals are related to how women feel about themselves, but interestingly, the two variables are not highly related (Engeln-Maddox 2005). Some overweight women do not endorse cultural standards of thinness and do not feel bad about their appearance (Low et al 2003). Overweight women who internalize thinness ideals may be at particularly high risk of negative outcomes because of the discrepancy between their current appearance and the appearance they think is ideal, as suggested by a recent study of Canadian college women (Sabiston et al 2005).…”

“…Numerous studies of American adolescents and college students suggest an association of thin ideal internalization with body dissatisfaction (Engeln-Maddox 2005;Groesz et al 2002;Klaczynski et al 2004), and this relationship is partially explained by comparison processes (Blowers et al 2003). Thin ideal internalization is also related to concerns about eating and weight, particularly among young overweight women in the U.S. (Low et al 2003). Thin ideal internalization is a predictor of disordered eating in young American women (Stice et al 1996;Thompson and Stice 2001), and is believed to be such a critical predictor that some eating disorder prevention programs for college women in the U.S. focus specifically on reducing it (e.g., Stice et al 2001).…”

Ethnicity as a protective factor against internalization of a thin ideal and body dissatisfaction

“…Only longitudinal research can actually demonstrate whether a factor, such as ethnicity, is protective. In addition, although eating disorder symptomatology concerns in college-aged women are epidemic (Low et al, 2003), the generalization of these findings to other ages and to clinical samples is questionable. Furthermore, we did not use a measure of ethnic identity, which is the degree to which an individual identifies with his or her own ethnic group.…”

“…Fingeret, Lee, and Gleaves (2002) found that high levels of self-deceptive enhancement and low levels of past family emphasis on weight control weakened the relationship between awareness and internalization. Low et al (2003) found high body mass index (BMI ¼ kg/m 2 ) strengthened the relationship between internalization and body dissatisfaction. Other factors initially hypothesized as potentially providing protective influences, such as a strong feminist ideology, have produced insignificant or mixed results (e.g., Fingeret & Gleaves, 2004;Twamley & Davis, 1999).…”

Development of the Conformity to Feminine Norms Inventory

“…Western culture's stereotype of femininity seems to involve the belief that women should be focused upon both taking care of their own appearance and being thin (Worell & Todd, 1996). Women who fail to meet these cultural prescriptions for attractiveness may experience sanctions for being "insufficiently feminine" (Fiske & Stevens, 1993), and internalization of this "thin ideal" has been associated with eating and weight concerns (Low et al, 2003).…”