The Role of Romantic Attachment in Women’s Experiences of Body Surveillance and Body Shame

DeVille, Danielle C.; Ellmo, Frances; Horton, Wesley A.; Erchull, Mindy J.

doi:10.1007/s12147-015-9136-3

Cited by 15 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…Our study’s results are in line with studies that found that attachment-related anxiety, in particular, is a strong predictor for body dissatisfaction [ 41 ], body surveillance, or body shame [ 42 ]. Women with attachment-related anxiety, who are afraid they would not receive approval or affection from an important intimate person [ 11 ], may also doubt that they are romantically and sexually desirable in another’s eyes.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Attachment-related anxiety is associated with poor genital satisfaction and sexual problems in women

Komlenac

Hochleitner

2020

BMC Women's Health

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Background Genital satisfaction has been found to influence women’s sexual experience. We tested the Relational Bodily Experiences Theory (RBET) that predicts associations between women’s genital satisfaction, attachment models, and sexual desire. We extended the model by additionally considering sexual arousal, orgasmic sensation, or the experience of pain during sexual activity as outcome variables. According to the RBET, women’s attachment models are associated with their genital satisfaction and linked to women’s sexual experience. Methods A cross-sectional online questionnaire study was conducted at an Austrian medical university. In total 294 women (Mage = 23.7, SD = 3.4) provided full responses. Women were asked about genital satisfaction and experiences of distressing sexual problems. Attachment-related anxiety and avoidance were assessed with the Experiences in Close Relationships-Relationship Structures Questionnaire. Results Results partially support the RBET. Attachment-related anxiety was associated with genital satisfaction which, in turn, was linked to experiences of frequent and/or distressing diminished sexual arousal, diminished sexual desire, or pain during sexual activity. Conclusions These results suggest that clinicians should assess genital satisfaction when treating female sexual problems. Women with attachment-related anxiety may especially be prone to having poor genital satisfaction and may profit from body image interventions in order to improve their sexual experience.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Attachment-related anxiety is associated with poor genital satisfaction and sexual problems in women

Komlenac

Hochleitner

2020

BMC Women's Health

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“…Considering the role of personality in adolescents' sexual development and vulnerabilitytowardself-objectification(e.g.,Miner-Rubino,Twenge, & Fredrickson, 2002;Swami, Taylor, & Carvalho, 2011), it might be interesting to extend the impact of personality characteristics to our supportive and inhibitory pathways. Contextual factors, such as being in a romantic relationship, are worthy of exploring as well,as recent studies emphasized the impact ofrelationship satisfaction and partner objectification on individuals' sexual functioning and self-objectification (e.g., DeVille, Ellmo, Horton, & Erchull, 2015;Ramsey & Hoyt, 2015).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Dual Role of Media Internalization in Adolescent Sexual Behavior

et al. 2016

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Sexualizing media content is prevalent in various media types. Sexualizing media messages and portrayals emphasize unattainable body and appearance ideals as the primary components of sexual desirability. The internalization of these ideals is positively related to self-objectification and sexual body consciousness. In turn, self-objectification and sexual body consciousness affect adolescents' sexual behavior, albeit in opposing directions. While objectifying self-perceptions are linked to higher levels of sexual behavior, body consciousness during physical intimacy is linked to lower levels of sexual behavior. Based on this knowledge, the present three-wave panel study of 824 Belgian, predominant heterosexual adolescents (M = 15.33; SD = 1.45) proposes a dual-pathway model that investigates two different pathways through which the internalization of media ideals may impact adolescents' sexual behavior. An inhibitory pathway links media internalization to lower levels of sexual behavior through sexual body consciousness, and a supportive pathway links media internalization to higher levels of sexual behavior through self-objectification. Structural equation analyses supported the proposed dual-pathway, showing that the impact of media internalization on adolescents' sexual behavior proceeds through an inhibitory pathway and a supportive pathway. Regarding the supportive pathway, media internalization (W1) positively predicted sexual behavior (W3), through valuing appearance over competence (W2). Regarding the inhibitory pathway, media internalization (W1) positively predicted body surveillance, which, in turn, positively predicted sexual body consciousness (all W2). Sexual body consciousness (W2) is negatively related to sexual behavior (W3). From a sexual developmental perspective, these findings emphasize the importance of guiding adolescents in interpreting and processing sexualizing media messages.

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“…With regard to the relation between attachment and sexual objectification, research has consistently shown that self-objectification is correlated with both attachment anxiety and avoidance, but the relation between self-objectification and attachment anxiety is stronger than the relation between self-objectification and attachment avoidance (Brassard et al, 2018; DeVille et al, 2015; McKinley & Randa, 2005). To our knowledge, no research studies have examined how interpersonal sexual objectification relates to individuals’ romantic attachment.…”

Section: Sexual Objectification and Insecure Attachmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Buffering an Objectifying Culture: Interpersonal Sexual Objectification, Self-Objectification, and Attachment Anxiety

Jiao

Terán

Aubrey

2022

Psychology of Women Quarterly

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In this article, we report two studies that examined the dynamics between interpersonal sexual objectification, self-objectification, and individuals’ attachment in romantic relationships. Study 1 was based on data from 392 college students ( Mage = 21.42 years, 66.8% women). Results showed positive associations between interpersonal sexual objectification, self-objectification, attachment anxiety, and attachment avoidance among women. For men, significant and positive associations were only observed between interpersonal sexual objectification and self-objectification and between self-objectification and attachment anxiety. Study 2 was a 6-month longitudinal study where we recruited participants through CloudResearch ( n = 638, Mage = 24.26 years, 55.8% women at Time 1; n = 283, Mage = 24.43 years, 56.9% women at Time 2; return rate = 44.36%). Results from longitudinal analyses showed that women reported stronger stability in self-objectification than men, and for both women and men, their attachment anxiety predicted increased self-objectification. Additionally, in both studies, women reported higher levels of interpersonal sexual objectification, self-objectification, and attachment anxiety than men. Overall, the findings suggest that high-quality relationships may help buffer the negative effects engendered by an objectifying culture. Based on our results, we recommend that clinicians and parents work to foster secure and healthy relationships as a means of reducing the extensive negative repercussions of objectification.

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The Role of Romantic Attachment in Women’s Experiences of Body Surveillance and Body Shame

Cited by 15 publications

References 40 publications

Attachment-related anxiety is associated with poor genital satisfaction and sexual problems in women

Attachment-related anxiety is associated with poor genital satisfaction and sexual problems in women

The Dual Role of Media Internalization in Adolescent Sexual Behavior

Buffering an Objectifying Culture: Interpersonal Sexual Objectification, Self-Objectification, and Attachment Anxiety

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