وضوح خودپنداره, درونی سازی ایده آل و مقایسه اجتماعی مربوط به ظاهر بعنوان پیش بینی کننده نارضایتی از بدن

Abstract This study examined the associations among self-concept clarity, thin-ideal internalization, appearance-related social comparison tendencies, and body dissatisfaction. Female university students (N = 278) completed self-report measures of these constructs. Structural equation modeling revealed several key findings: (a) thin-ideal internalization mediated the link between appearance-related social comparison tendencies and body dissatisfaction; (b) self-concept clarity was negatively associated with both thin-ideal internalization and appearance-related social comparison tendencies; and (c) thin-ideal internalization mediated the link between self-concept clarity and body dissatisfaction. These findings suggest that low self-concept clarity might contribute to body image problems because it increases women's vulnerability to thin-ideal internalization and appearance-related social comparison tendencies.

Introduction Body image concerns are highly prevalent among university-aged women (Berg et al., 2009, Mintz and Betz, 1988 and Neighbors and Sobal, 2007). Negative body image has been associated with depression, stress, and low self-esteem (Johnson & Wardle, 2005) and can be a maintenance factor for disordered eating (Stice, 2002). Given the range of problems associated with negative body image, researchers have been motivated to identify the factors that contribute to women feeling dissatisfied with their bodies. One influential model—the Tripartite Influence Model—describes how social influence from media, parents, and peers can predict body image and eating disturbances. In particular, this model suggests that these social influences are mediated by both internalization of the thin ideal and a tendency towards appearance-related social comparisons (e.g., Keery et al., 2004 and Shroff and Thompson, 2006). The present study aims to extend this model by examining an important intrapersonal variable—the extent to which people have a clear and stable sense of their own identity—that can predict individual differences in thin-ideal internalization and appearance-related social comparison tendencies. Past research illustrates that women's body image can be negatively affected by their internalization of the thin ideal (Cafri, Yamamiya, Brannick, & Thompson, 2005). The ultra-thin idealized bodies that are frequently presented in the media are extremely difficult, if not impossible, for most women to achieve. Consequently, women who aspire to (i.e., who have internalized) the thin ideal and who fail to achieve this ideal will in turn experience negative feelings about their bodies. Numerous studies have demonstrated an association between women's internalization of the thin ideal and their body dissatisfaction, including correlational (e.g., Vartanian, 2009), prospective (e.g., Stice, 2001), and experimental studies (e.g., Nouri, Hill, & Orelle-Valente, 2011). The robust nature of this association is supported by recent meta-analyses (e.g., Cafri et al., 2005 and Stice, 2002). Another factor that can contribute to negative body image among women is the tendency to make appearance-related social comparisons. Women tend to evaluate their appearance against women who they perceive to be superior to themselves (upward comparisons; Leahey, Crowther, & Mickelson, 2007). It has been suggested that women might compare themselves to thinner women for inspiration (Mills, Polivy, Herman, & Tiggemann, 2002). However, these upward comparisons generally induce greater body dissatisfaction (Bailey and Ricciardelli, 2010, Bessenoff, 2006 and Leahey et al., 2007). Indeed, meta-analyses have found that when women compare themselves to thinner targets, they experience increased dissatisfaction with their bodies (Groesz et al., 2002 and Myers and Crowther, 2009). There is also some evidence that exposure to less attractive others (i.e., downward comparisons) might induce more positive self-evaluations (e.g., Leahey et al., 2007), but other research has found that a general tendency to make appearance-based comparisons (both upward and downward) is significantly associated with eating disturbance (O’Brien et al., 2009). Thus, a chronic tendency to make appearance-based social comparisons may be associated with negative outcomes regardless of the direction of those comparisons. Although there is clear evidence that thin-ideal internalization and appearance-related social comparison tendencies can adversely impact body image, there is relatively little research examining the connection between those two risk factors, and there is ambiguity in the joint role that these factors share in predicting body dissatisfaction. For example, research on the Tripartite Influence Model suggests that thin-ideal internalization mediates the association between appearance-based social comparisons and body dissatisfaction (e.g., Halliwell and Harvey, 2006, Keery et al., 2004, Rodgers et al., 2011 and Shroff and Thompson, 2006). Other research, however, has examined social comparison tendencies as a mediator of the link between thin-ideal internalization and body dissatisfaction and found mixed results. One study found that the extent to which preadolescent girls compared their physical appearance to others (partially) mediated the relationship between their thin-ideal internalization and body dissatisfaction (Blowers, Loxton, Grady-Flesser, Occhipinti, & Dawe, 2003). Another study testing university-aged women, however, failed to produce that same effect (Fitzsimmons-Craft, Harney, Koehler, Danzi, Riddell, & Bardone-Cone, 2012), which the authors suggest may have been due to the fact that upward and downward comparisons were not differentiated in their study. Thus, the joint role of appearance-based social comparison tendencies and thin-ideal internalization in predicting body dissatisfaction needs to be clarified. In order to develop a better understanding of the factors that contribute to negative body image, it is also important to identify the factors that predict thin-ideal internalization and appearance-related social comparison tendencies. In addition to the social factors that form part of the Tripartite Influence Model (media, parents, and peers), it can be important to examine personality characteristics and other individual-difference variables. One individual-difference variable that might hold promise in this regard is self-concept clarity. Self-concept clarity is defined as “the extent to which the contents of an individual's self-concept (e.g., perceived personal attributes) are clearly and confidently defined, internally consistent, and temporally stable” (Campbell, Trapnell, Heine, Katz, Lavallee, & Lehman, 1996, p. 141). Because individuals who are low in self-concept clarity lack a clear sense of their own identity, they might seek out and become vulnerable to the influence of external sources that can help define the self; in contrast, individuals high in self-concept clarity should be less influenced by external guides because they have a strong sense of their own personal identity. For women, societal standards of attractiveness can be a highly accessible external source used to define the self. Consequently, women low in self-concept clarity may be more likely to internalize the thin ideal and may be more likely to engage in appearance-related social comparison. An early theoretical perspective suggested that identity disturbance might lead to internalization of societal standards of attractiveness (Stice, 1994). To date, however, only two studies have provided empirical support for this suggestion. Cahill and Mussap (2007) reported that low self-concept clarity was associated with a greater degree of thin-ideal internalization. Vartanian (2009) replicated that finding and further demonstrated that thin-ideal internalization mediated the relation between self-concept clarity and body image concerns. Thus, there is some preliminary evidence implicating self-concept clarity as a predictor of internalization of the thin ideal and body image concerns. No study in the body image literature has examined the connection between self-concept clarity and appearance-related social comparison tendencies, although a few studies from the social psychology literature have suggested that these two constructs are related. Festinger's (1954) social comparison theory proposes that individuals uncertain of their sense of self will be highly motivated to compare themselves to others so that they can better understand how and where they fit into society. Supporting that hypothesis, studies have found that individuals low in self-concept clarity are more inclined to engage in social comparisons compared to those high in self-concept clarity (Butzer and Kuiper, 2006 and Stapel and Tesser, 20011). One might similarly expect that low self-concept clarity would predict social comparisons in the body image domain. Furthermore, just as internalization has been found to mediate the association between self-concept clarity and body image concerns, one might also expect that appearance-related comparison tendencies would mediate the association between self-concept clarity and body dissatisfaction.

Results Correlational Analyses Table 1 presents the bivariate correlations among all of the variables in this study. Of particular note, thin-ideal internalization, upward appearance comparisons, and downward appearance comparisons were positively correlated with body dissatisfaction. Thin-ideal internalization was positively correlated with upward and downward appearance comparisons. Finally, self-concept clarity was negatively correlated with thin-ideal internalization, upward appearance comparisons, downward appearance comparisons, and body dissatisfaction. Table 1. Bivariate correlations, means, and standard deviations for demographic variables and all variables included in the structural equation model. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1. Age – 2. BMI .13* – 3. SCCS .12* .003 – 4. INT-G −.17** .10 −.25*** – 5. UPACS −.22*** .05 −.37*** .66*** – 6. DACS −.13* .16** −.35*** .41*** .51*** – 7. EDI-BD −.004 .47*** −.27*** .45*** .36*** .23*** – M 19.73 21.43 52.80 27.29 3.23 2.33 3.79 SD 3.70 3.31 12.97 8.69 1.02 1.02 1.10 Note. BMI: body mass index; SCCS: Self-Concept Clarity Scale; INT-G: Internalization-General subscale; UPACS: Upward Appearance Comparison Scale; DACS: Downward Appearance Comparison Scale; EDI-BD: Eating Disorder Inventory-Body Dissatisfaction. * p < .05. ** p < .01. *** p < .001. Table options Structural Equation Modeling Analyses Model 1. This first model tested the hypothesis that thin-ideal internalization would mediate the connection between appearance-related social comparison tendencies and body dissatisfaction, and that thin-ideal internalization and appearance-related social comparison tendencies would mediate the association between self-concept clarity and body dissatisfaction (Fig. 1). The overall model fit was good, χ2(81; N = 277) = 2.07, p < .001, NFI = .96, CFI = .98, RMSEA = .06, and explained 25% of the variance in body dissatisfaction. Parcel factor loadings were all significant (ps < .001), and ranged from .80 to .89 for self-concept clarity, .89 to .95 for thin-ideal internalization, .91 to .96 for upward comparisons, .91 to .95 for downward comparisons, and .75 to .94 for body dissatisfaction. Structural equation model predicting body dissatisfaction with thin-ideal ... Fig. 1. Structural equation model predicting body dissatisfaction with thin-ideal internalization as the mediator between self-concept clarity and body dissatisfaction (Model 1). Solid lines represent significant paths; dashed lines represent non-significant paths. Values represent standardized path coefficients. *p < .05 and ***p < .001. Figure options We next explored the hypothesized mediation paths (indirect effects). Thin-ideal internalization mediated the association between upward social comparisons and body dissatisfaction (95% CI = .17 to .48), but the indirect effect for downward social comparisons was not statistically significant (95% CI = −.01 to .12). The total indirect path from self-concept clarity to body dissatisfaction was significant (95% CI = −.21 to −.04). However, follow-up analyses indicated that thin-ideal internalization was a significant mediator (95% CI = −.01 to −.003), but that upward comparisons (95% CI = −.01 to .003) and downward comparisons (95% CI = −.004 to .004) were not. Upward comparison tendencies were a significant mediator of the association between self-concept clarity and thin-ideal internalization (95% CIs = −.21 to −.10), but the indirect effect for downward comparisons was not statistically significant (95% CI = −.06 to .003). Model 2. In this second model, we examined whether appearance-related social comparison tendencies mediated the connection between thin-ideal internalization and body dissatisfaction (Fig. 2). This model also fit the data well, χ2(81; N = 277) = 1.63, p < .001, NFI = .97, CFI = .99, RMSEA = .05, and explained 25% of the variance in body dissatisfaction. Unlike Model 1, in this model, self-concept clarity had a significant direct effect on thin-ideal internalization. Thin-ideal internalization, in turn, was a significant mediator of the connection between self-concept clarity and upward appearance comparisons (95% CI = −.24 to −.05), downward appearance comparisons (95% CI = −.15 to −.10), and body dissatisfaction (95% CI = −.19 to −.04). However, neither upward appearance comparisons (95% CI = −.005 to .002) nor downward appearance comparisons (95% CI = −.003 to.003) mediated the association between self-concept clarity and body dissatisfaction. Similarly, neither upward appearance comparisons (95% CI = −.01 to .02) nor downward appearance comparisons (95% CI = −.01 to .01) mediated the association between thin-ideal internalization and body dissatisfaction. Structural equation model predicting body dissatisfaction with ... Fig. 2. Structural equation model predicting body dissatisfaction with appearance-related social comparisons as mediators between self-concept clarity and body dissatisfaction (Model 2). Solid lines represent significant paths; dashed lines represent non-significant paths. Values represent standardized path coefficients. *p < .05 and ***p < .001.