Psychology Commons^™

Equality In Times Of Uncertainty: Economic Downturn And Body Image Messaging Toward Women, Ritsa Giannakas

Honors Theses

A vast body of literature indicates that the economy and the status of women are interlinked, with higher levels of economic well-being tending to correspond with advancements in women’s rights. However, little of this research has investigated the changes in the wellbeing of women as it pertains to their physical and mental health, especially as it pertains to exploring the impacts of economics on eating disorder rates and societal messaging toward women. This thesis investigates a novel theory linking economic uncertainty and downturn to the spread of pro-eating disorder content online, positing that economic uncertainty may coincide with a “conservative …

Gender Role Identification, Sexual Orientation, And Disordered Eating In Young Adults, Natalie Perkins

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Young adults are at a significantly high risk for eating disorders. Existing research is lacking in what factors can contribute to this disorder; however, there is some that suggests that self-identification with masculine and feminine gender roles can contribute to an individual’s risk for disordered eating. Research investigating disordered eating in sexual minorities is particularly slim. The current study sought to examine the relationship between gender role identification, sexual orientation, and disordered eating, as well as the roles that anxiety and depression have in disordered eating development. In our sample (n = 437, 73.6% female, 76.7% white, 87.6% heterosexual), participants …

Objective Measures And Insight Assessments Of Muscle Dysmorphia, Austin Blake Lowe

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Muscle dysmorphia is a relatively new psychological disorder primarily affecting males who engage in weightlifting or bodybuilding. Individuals with this disorder are obsessed with the idea that their body is not sufficiently lean or muscular when compared to others and engage in several, risky behaviors (i.e., frequent exercise sessions, anabolic steroid use, structured diets) to increase muscularity. As obtaining and maintaining a muscular physique is so important to his or her self-worth, an individual may have little insight to how their behaviors are affecting their social and occupational lives and are reluctant to seek out psychological treatment. The purpose of …

The Effectiveness Of Educational Interventions In Reducing Negative Attitudes And Stigmatisation Toward Patients With Anorexia Nervosa., Peta Stapleton, Amy Bannatyne

Peta B. Stapleton

It is frequently reported that clinicians across a range of professional disciplines experience strong negative reactions toward patients with eating disorders, particularly anorexia nervosa (AN). As research consistently demonstrates fear of stigma is the most frequently cited reason explaining why individuals with mental illness do not seek treatment, the current study aimed to develop, evaluate and compare the effectiveness of two differing educational interventions, based on an etiological framing model, against a wait-list control. Participants were fourth-year medicine students randomly assigned to one of three conditions. A three-hour educational workshop was delivered to participants at the beginning of an eight-week …

Dysfunctional Eating In An Australian Community Sample: The Role Of Emotional Regulation. Impulsivity And Reward And Punishment Sensitivity, Peta Stapleton, Melissa Whitehead

Peta B. Stapleton

This study aimed to examine the role of emotion regulation and reinforcement sensitivity in dysfunctional eating behaviours. Two hundred twenty-eight adults from the Australian community completed self-report inventories assessing the variables. Dysfunctional restrained eaters differed from those who did not engage in restrained eating in terms of their emotion regulation, impulsivity, and sensitivity to reward. Difficulties in emotion regulation, low impulsivity, and sensitivity to reward predicted engagement in restrained eating. Emotional eaters significantly differed from those who did not engage in dysfunctional levels of emotional eating in terms of their emotion regulation, impulsivity, and sensitivity towards reward, and difficulties in …

Psychological Determinants Of Emotional Eating: The Role Of Attachment, Psychopathological Symptom Distress, Love Attitudes, And Perceived Hunger., Peta Stapleton, Eleanor Mackay

Peta B. Stapleton

The present study aimed to investigate the psychological determinants of emotional eating in a national and international sample of healthy weight, overweight and obese adults (N = 226). Specifically, attachment styles, psychopathological symptom distress and love attitudes were explored for their ability to predict emotional eating. Findings supported the suggestion symptom distress may particularly predispose individuals to engaging in emotionally motivated overeating, with a large effect size observed. Preoccupied attachment was also a significant predictor of emotion eating, even after controlling for state-based inferences. However, there were no significant contributions of secure, fearful-avoidant, or dismissive-avoidant attachment style in the prediction …

The Effectiveness Of Educational Interventions In Reducing Negative Attitudes And Stigmatisation Toward Patients With Anorexia Nervosa, Amy Bannatyne, Peta Stapleton

Peta B. Stapleton

It is frequently reported that clinicians across a range of professional disciplines experience strong negative reactions toward patients with eating disorders, particularly anorexia nervosa (AN). As research consistently demonstrates fear of stigma is the most frequently cited reason explaining why individuals with mental illness do not seek treatment, the current study aimed to develop, evaluate and compare the effectiveness of two differing educational interventions, based on an etiological framing model, against a wait-list control. Participants were fourth-year medicine students randomly assigned to one of three conditions. A three-hour educational workshop was delivered to participants at the beginning of an eight-week …

Mood And Food Cravings In Overweight And Obese Australian Adults: Clues To Treatment In Food Diaries, Peta Stapleton, Wava Doyle

Peta B. Stapleton

The objective of this study was to examine food diaries from 89 female overweight and obese adults participating in a treatment trial for food cravings. For two weeks prior to beginning treatment and for the duration of the four-week treatment, all participants were required to complete a daily food monitoring sheet or diary in real-time, indicating all quantities of food/drink eaten throughout a day and whether the item was a craving item for them. The diaries were examined for narrative statements and categorized with regard to common content, resulting in seven themes (Physiological; Enjoyment/Celebration; Missing Out; Reward; Wastage; Emotive and …

Health Locus Of Control, Self-Awareness, And Integrative Eating Styles In University Students, Peta Stapleton, Hayley Smith

Peta B. Stapleton

The psychological and physical well-being of students is a cause for concern. For the majority of the student population this means substantial changes in healthy behaviours including eating habits. The current research was aimed at investigating integrative eating in 170 Australian university students. Self-awareness and health locus of control were measured in order to assess their relative impact on positive integrative eating practices. The self-report measures included Your Personal Eating Style Profile, Forms A and B of the Multidimensional Health Locus of Control Scale, and the Situational Self-Awareness Scale. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses provided tentative support for the hypothesis that …

The Effects Of Somatisation, Depression, And Anxiety On Eating Habits Among University Students, Peta Stapleton, Morreen Brunetti

Peta B. Stapleton

While it is known that depression and anxiety are associated with poor eating habits, little is known about the relationship between these common psychological disorders, somatisation and poor eating habits. The aim of the current study was to investigate the effects of depression, anxiety and somatisation on eating habits across gender. University students (N = 167) participated in the study by completing an internet based survey. No specific gender differences were found for depression, anxiety or eating habits scores. However, females had significantly higher somatisation scores. Higher somatisation scores were significantly positively associated with reported depression, reported anxiety and poorer …

Explainer: Anorexia And Bulimia, Peta Stapleton

Peta B. Stapleton

Eating disorders are an increasing problem in children and adolescents. Recent Australian studies have indicated eating disorder behaviour has increased twofold in Australia in the last five years and 9% (men and women) will suffer from one at some point in their lives.

An analysis by the American Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality shows that hospitalisations for eating disorders increased most sharply (119%) for children aged 12 and younger between 1999 to 2006.

Jumping To Conclusions Bias And Attitudes Towards Body Image And Food, Heather Anne Sperry

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

Poor body image and eating disorders are highly prevalent in Western cultures. In the United States alone, 10 million women and 1 million men struggle with an eating disorder (National Eating Disorders Association, 2008). In addition to these individuals with DSM classified disorders, evidence has been found that over 80% of American women are unhappy with their appearance (National Eating Disorders Association, 2008). There is evidence to suggest that negative body image is one of the key factors in determining whether or not an individual has or will develop dysfunctional eating habits (Cash & Deagle, 1996). The other key factor …