Body image in eating disorders: the influence of exposure to virtual-reality environments.
The aim of this article was to study the effect of virtual-reality exposure to situations that are emotionally significant for patients with eating disorders (ED) on the stability of body-image distortion and body-image dissatisfaction. A total of 85 ED patients and 108 non-ED students were randomly exposed to four experimental virtual environments: a kitchen with low-calorie food, a kitchen with high-calorie food, a restaurant with low-calorie food, and a restaurant with high-calorie food. In the interval between the presentation of each situation, body-image distortion and body-image dissatisfaction were assessed. Several 2 x 2 x 2 repeated measures analyses of variance (high-calorie vs. low-calorie food x presence vs. absence of people x ED group vs. control group) showed that ED participants had significantly higher levels of body-image distortion and body dissatisfaction after eating high-calorie food than after eating low-calorie food, while control participants reported a similar body image in all situations. The results suggest that body-image distortion and body-image dissatisfaction show both trait and state features. On the one hand, ED patients show a general predisposition to overestimate their body size and to feel more dissatisfied with their body image than controls. On the other hand, these body-image disturbances fluctuate when participants are exposed to virtual situations that are emotionally relevant for them.
Department of Personality, Assessment and Psychological Treatments, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
José
J
Gutiérrez-Maldonado
Marta
M
Ferrer-García
Alejandra
A
Caqueo-Urízar
Elena
E
Moreno
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001290:Attitude; D057215:Body Dysmorphic Disorders / Q000523:psychology; D001828:Body Image; D004777:Environment; D001068:Feeding and Eating Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D005502:Food; D006801:Humans; D011581:Psychological Tests; D014584:User-Computer Interface; D055815:Young Adult