Body dissatisfaction, bulimic symptoms, and clothing practices among college women.
Clothing use may be a behavioral avoidance strategy for individuals with body dissatisfaction and eating pathology. The authors administered the Body Image Avoidance Questionnaire (J. C. Rosen, D. Srebnik, E. Saltzberg, & S. Wendt, 1991), the Bulimia Test-Revised (M. Thelen, J. Farmer, S. Wonderlich, & M. Smith, 1991), and the Body dissatisfaction subscale of the Eating Disorder Inventory (D. M. Garner, M. P. Olmstead, & J. Polivy, 1983) to undergraduate college women from two universities (N = 540). Results indicated that women who were more dissatisfied with their bodies (beta = .396) and had greater disordered eating behaviors (beta = .378) were more likely to engage in clothing-related appearance-management behaviors (p < .001), including wearing apparel to camouflage their bodies; avoiding revealing, brightly colored, or tightly fitting clothing; and avoiding shopping for clothing. These findings suggest that the presence of certain clothing-related appearance-management behaviors may be a warning sign that an individual is at risk for developing an eating disorder or may currently have an eating disorder.
Trautmann
Julianne
J
Department of Family and Consumer Sciences, Illinois State University, Campus Box 5060, Normal, IL 61790-5060, USA. jtrautm@ilstu.edu
Worthy
Sheri Lokken
SL
Lokken
Kristine L
KL
D000328:Adult; D001828:Body Image; D002032:Bulimia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D003020:Clothing; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D012649:Self Concept; D012928:Social Desirability; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014495:Universities