بهزیستی روانشناختی و رابطه علائم نارضایتی از بدن - بلومیک: بررسی تعدیل کننده

Research has examined psychological moderators of the body dissatisfaction–bulimic symptomatology relationship, but the focus has been on variables thought to worsen the relationship. In this study, we examined self-esteem, optimism, satisfaction with life, and self-determination as potential buffers. Participants were 847 female undergraduates. Using hierarchical multiple regression (HMR), we controlled for the influences of social desirability and body mass index on bulimic symptomomatology and then determined the main and interactive effects of body dissatisfaction and each moderator. Self-determination, optimism, self-esteem, and satisfaction with life all buffered the deleterious effects of body dissatisfaction, such that when levels of the moderators were high, the relationship between body dissatisfaction and bulimic symptomatology was weakest. Knowing what psychological variables moderate women's body dissatisfaction can assist psychologists and other health professionals in developing effective treatments for lessening disordered eating among women.

Etiological models of disordered eating and subsequent research have identified and established body dissatisfaction (a) as a risk factor for bulimic symptomatology and subclinical eating problems (e.g., Polivy and Herman, 2002, Stice, 2001 and Striegel-Moore and Bulik, 2007), (b) as normative among girls and women (e.g., Mazzeo, 1999), and (c) to have markedly increased over the last 25 years (Feingold & Mazzella, 1998). Even so, the actual incidence of clinical, and to some extent subclinical, eating disorders remains relatively low (Striegel-Moore & Cachelin, 2001). This discrepancy begs the question of why relatively few women develop subclinical and clinical eating disorders when so many are body dissatisfied. Thus, it is important to consider the psychosocial factors that may exacerbate or may buffer the deleterious effects of body dissatisfaction. In other words, determining which psychosocial variables moderate the effects of body dissatisfaction is a necessary focus of future eating disorder research (Stice, 2002).