Body image in patients with body dysmorphic disorder: evaluations of and investment in appearance, health/illness, and fitness.
Body image is an important aspect of body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) which has received little investigation. Ninety-two BDD participants who participated in one of three BDD pharmacotherapy studies completed the Multidimensional Body-Self Relations Questionnaire, which assesses attitudinal body image, specifically evaluations of and investment in appearance, health/illness, and physical fitness. Scores were compared to population norms. Compared to norms, BDD participants were significantly less satisfied with their appearance. Less satisfaction was associated with more severe BDD and greater delusionality. Men with BDD were significantly more invested in their appearance compared to male population norms. Compared to population norms, males and females with BDD felt less physically healthy and females were less invested in a healthy lifestyle. However, compared with population females, females with BDD were less alert to being ill. These findings suggest that patients with BDD differ from population norms in a number of important aspects of body image.
Didie
Elizabeth R
ER
Butler Hospital and the Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI 02906, United States. Elizabeth_Didie@brown.edu
Kuniega-Pietrzak
Tracy
T
Phillips
Katharine A
KA
D000328:Adult; D018687:Antidepressive Agents, Second-Generation / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001294:Attitude to Health; D001504:Beauty; D057215:Body Dysmorphic Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000523:psychology; D001828:Body Image; D018849:Controlled Clinical Trials as Topic; D003702:Delusions / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D005473:Fluoxetine / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005783:Gender Identity; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style; D008297:Male; D050177:Overweight / Q000523:psychology; D010555:Personality Inventory / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010809:Physical Fitness / Q000523:psychology*; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012016:Reference Values; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D055815:Young Adult
D018687:Antidepressive Agents, Second-Generation; D005473:Fluoxetine