title: Mediators of the relationship between thin-ideal internalization and body dissatisfaction in the natural environment.
abstract: Social comparisons (i.e., body, eating, exercise) and body surveillance were tested as mediators of the thin-ideal internalization-body dissatisfaction relationship using ecological momentary assessment (EMA). Participants were 232 college women who completed a 2-week EMA protocol, responding to questions three times per day. Multilevel path analysis was used to examine a 2-1-1 mediation model (thin-ideal internalization assessed as trait; between-person effects examined) and a 1-1-1 model (component of thin-ideal internalization [thin-ideal importance] assessed momentarily; within- and between-person effects examined). For the 2-1-1 model, only body comparison and body surveillance were significant specific mediators of the between-person effect. For the 1-1-1 model, all four variables were significant specific mediators of the within-person effect. Only body comparison was a significant specific mediator of the between-person effect. At the state level, many processes explain the thin-ideal internalization-body dissatisfaction relationship. However, at the trait level, body comparison and body surveillance are more important explanatory factors.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, United States. Electronic address: fitzsimmonscrafte@psychiatry.wustl.edu.
authors.forename: Ellen E
authors.initials: EE
authors.lastname: Fitzsimmons-Craft
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, United States.
authors.forename: Anna M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Bardone-Cone
authors.affiliation: Neuropsychiatric Research Institute and Department of Clinical Neuroscience, University of North Dakota School of Medicine & Health Sciences, Fargo, ND, United States.
authors.forename: Ross D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Crosby
authors.affiliation: Neuropsychiatric Research Institute and Department of Clinical Neuroscience, University of North Dakota School of Medicine & Health Sciences, Fargo, ND, United States.
authors.forename: Scott G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Engel
authors.affiliation: Neuropsychiatric Research Institute and Department of Clinical Neuroscience, University of North Dakota School of Medicine & Health Sciences, Fargo, ND, United States.
authors.forename: Stephen A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Wonderlich
authors.affiliation: Departments of Psychiatry and Nutrition, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, United States; Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Solna, Sweden.
authors.forename: Cynthia M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Bulik
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001828:Body Image / Q000523:psychology*; D015444:Exercise / Q000523:psychology; D001068:Feeding and Eating Disorders; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D012928:Social Desirability; D012945:Social Values; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013851:Thinness / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Body dissatisfaction; Body surveillance; Ecological momentary assessment; Objectification; Social comparison; Thin-ideal internalization