Explanations of body image disturbance: a test of maturational status, negative verbal commentary, social comparison, and sociocultural hypotheses.
OBJECTIVE
A number of hypotheses have been offered to explain the development and/or maintenance of body image disturbance. In this study, four factors which have been hypothesized to lead to body image problems were tested: maturational status (early physical development), negative verbal commentary (a history of being teased regarding physical appearance), behavioral social comparison, and awareness/internalization of sociocultural pressures.


METHODS
One hundred sixty-two college females completed measures designed to index these four influences. Predictors were regressed onto multiple measures of body image and two indices of eating disturbance.


RESULTS
Even with self-esteem and level of obesity removed as influences, social comparison and societal factors were significant predictors of body dissatisfaction and eating disturbance. Negative verbal commentary also explained a small part of the variance, however, maturational status did not contribute uniquely in any analysis.


CONCLUSIONS
The findings offer further support for emerging theories of body image and eating disturbance.
Stormer
S M
SM
Thompson
J K
JK
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001364:Awareness; D001828:Body Image; D001835:Body Weight; D005260:Female; D005783:Gender Identity; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D009765:Obesity / Q000523:psychology; D011606:Psychosexual Development; D012057:Reinforcement, Verbal; D012649:Self Concept; D012945:Social Values