ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic provided a context associated with negative consequences for body image and eating behavior. However, little is known about what factors helped to mitigate these consequences and build a positive body image. Previous research pointed to the significance of body image flexibility and perceived body acceptance by others in predicting body appreciation. However, as most of the studies have been cross-sectional, causal relationships are poorly understood. This longitudinal study tested the reciprocal association between body appreciation, body image flexibility, and perceived body acceptance by others during the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany. We analyzed data from a large community sample consisting of 1436 women and 704 men who were invited to complete the study measures (BAS-2, BI-AAQ-5, BAOS-2) at three time points, each approximately six months apart. Latent cross-lagged panel analyses revealed that greater T1 body appreciation predicted an increase in T2 body image flexibility among both genders, while for women, we additionally observed reciprocal effects between T2 and T3. Among both genders, we further found that greater body appreciation predicted increased perceived body acceptance by others over both measurement intervals (but not vice versa). Our findings are discussed in light of pandemical constraints during the studies' assessments.
ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic has created shifts in consumer behavior. Beauty customers who normally purchased products in physical stores shifted to purchasing online. Because beauty products are sold at various types of retailers, beauty customers have multiple options for online purchases. This study focused on factors related to beauty that may change group behavior (social norms) using objectification theory and the theory of reasoned action. Broad conceptualizations of beauty and body appreciation and their effect on social norms that in turn affect customers' purchase intentions with omnichannel beauty retailers were analyzed. A series of hypotheses were developed and empirically tested. Trust in online retailers was also analyzed as an indirect effect on purchase intention. 756 participants completed the online survey through Amazon MTurk. The findings show that broad conceptualizations of beauty have no significant effect on social norms, but body appreciation does have a negative effect on social norms. Trust was also shown to have an indirect effect on purchase intention. These findings demonstrate that people's views of their body can also impact group behavior. When individuals have a positive body image, their individual perception outweighs the group's social behavior, which in turn affects their purchase intentions. © 2022 Korean Scholars of Marketing Science.
ABSTRACT
Objectives While symptoms of fibromyalgia (FM) and psychological distress are directly linked, indirect effects are also apparent. The aim of the present study was to develop an explanatory model for the effect of FM on women's psychological distress and identify possible protective and risk factors. Methods This study comprised of total of 293 women aged 20-68 (M=34.3, SD= 12.1), of which 141 were women with FM and 152 healthy peers (HP), who completed questionnaires regarding demographic characteristics, anxiety (GAD-7), depression (PHQ-9), body appreciation (BAS-2), social comparison strategies, and pain assessment (SF-MPQ). Results FM patients demonstrated higher psychological distress, i.e. depression and anxiety and lower body appreciation. Body appreciation significantly correlated with social comparison coping strategies. Body appreciation and social comparison strategies mediated the link between FM and psychological distress. Among FM patients, body appreciation moderated the links between pain intensity and aspects of social comparison strategies, thus explaining the link between pain intensity and psychological distress. Conclusion Women with FM demonstrated higher levels of anxiety and depression symptoms and lower body appreciation compared to HP. The unique role of body appreciation in moderating the indirect link between pain and psychological distress appears to be protective.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: According to sociocultural theory, media is associated with detrimental effects on body image. Due to the popularity of social networking sites (SNS) and the prevalence of body image disturbance among young women, the association between them is worth further exploration. This study examined the relationship between photo activity on SNS and body dissatisfaction (BD) and the roles of thin-ideal internalization (TII) and body appreciation (BA) in this relation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 746 Chinese female undergraduate students (mean age 20.34 ± 1.47 years) completed a questionnaire measuring SNS photo activity, TII, BD, and BA. RESULTS: (1) Photo activity on SNS was positively associated with BD (r = 0.10, p < 0.01), and TII could mediate this relation (ß = 0.07, 95% CI = [0.04, 0.10]). (2) Both the direct effect of SNS photo activity on BD (ß = -0.08, p < 0.05) and the mediating effect of TII (ß = -0.09, p < 0.01) were moderated by BA. Specifically, these associations were more pronounced for students with lower BA. CONCLUSION: People exposed to ideal photos or images can shape women's body image perception via TII, whether in the age of traditional media or the Internet, and BA did not buffer the effect of ideal photos on internalization. Our findings could provide practical suggestions for rational photo activity on SNS and the intervention for BD.
ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic has created shifts in consumer behavior. Beauty customers who normally purchased products in physical stores shifted to purchasing online. Because beauty products are sold at various types of retailers, beauty customers have multiple options for online purchases. This study focused on factors related to beauty that may change group behavior (social norms) using objectification theory and the theory of reasoned action. Broad conceptualizations of beauty and body appreciation and their effect on social norms that in turn affect customers' purchase intentions with omnichannel beauty retailers were analyzed. A series of hypotheses were developed and empirically tested. Trust in online retailers was also analyzed as an indirect effect on purchase intention. 756 participants completed the online survey through Amazon MTurk. The findings show that broad conceptualizations of beauty have no significant effect on social norms, but body appreciation does have a negative effect on social norms. Trust was also shown to have an indirect effect on purchase intention. These findings demonstrate that people's views of their body can also impact group behavior. When individuals have a positive body image, their individual perception outweighs the group's social behavior, which in turn affects their purchase intentions.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: To explore motives for combat sport participation, weight regulation practices, symptoms of low energy availability (LEA), disordered eating (DE) or eating disorders (ED), and any experiences with sexual harassment (SH) among female combat-sport athletes. METHODS: In total, 29 athletes were recruited by social media and in clubs. Participants responded to a questionnaire on health behavior and mental health and completed diet registration and a DXA-scan. RESULTS: Most athletes started combat sports to feel empowered and experienced an inclusive milieu, but the frequency of health issues was high. A total of 21-67% had symptoms of ED, suffered from injuries, had low site-specific BMD, and/or symptoms of LEA. Athletes had insufficient intake of energy and nutrients, and <50% received any dietary information or guidance from their clubs. Most athletes complied with favorable weight-loss strategies; still, >20% used unfavorable methods and rapid weight-loss periods. A total of 70% of the athletes had experienced SH, of which 41% experienced SH within the combat-sport context. CONCLUSION: Combat sport offers an inclusive milieu, which may increase women's health and confidence; still, our results indicates a need for actions to safeguard female combat-sport athletes' mental and physical health, implying a cultural change within the community of combat sport and a need for increased health and nutrition literacy.
ABSTRACT
Background: The opportunities and conveniences brought by the developing technology greatly reduce the workload of individuals. The restrictions occurring from the Covid pandemic also allow us to easily do all our work from home over the Internet. However, this situation has caused a serious decrease in the physical activity rate of individuals. The decrease in physical activity increases the tendency for eating easily accessible and unhealthy foods, leading to a move away from healthy nutrition habits. Unhealthy nutrition, on the other hand, causes negative situations in our body, both physically and physiologically. The aim of this study is to examine whether the motivation of adolescent athletes to participate in physical activity is related to and predicted by the variables of body appreciation and attitude towards healthy nutrition. Methods: This research is a relational study aiming to determine whether body appreciation and attitude levels towards healthy nutrition predict the adolescents' motivations for participating in physical activities. A total of 335 athletes, 104 (31%) girls and 231 (69%) boys, playing basketball in Istanbul and Mersin in 2021-2022, voluntarily participated in the study. They were between the ages of 12-17. Attitude Scale for Healthy nutrition, Body appreciation Scale and the Motivation Scale for Participation in Physical Activity were used for data collection. Stepwise multiple linear regression was used in data analysis. Results: It was revealed that the variables of body appreciation and attitude towards healthy nutrition have significant roles in predicting the motivation of adolescent athletes for participating in physical activities. The variable of Attitude for Healthy nutrition, included in the model in the first stage, explained 16% of the total variance. In the second stage, when the body appreciation variable was added to the model, the explained variance increased to 18%. The regression coefficients manifested that these two variables are positively correlated with motivation to participate in physical activities. Thus, the two-stage model predicted 18% of the total variance. Conclusion: Both physical characteristics and attitudes towards healthy nutrition are effective in the motivation of adolescent athletes to participate in physical activities.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Following the initial manufacture of COVID-19 vaccines, numerous studies have investigated factors that influence people's vaccination intentions. However, no studies have examined links of vaccination attitudes with body-related attitudes, especially body appreciation. To address this gap in the literature, we conducted this study to disentangle the relationship between college students' COVID-19 vaccination intentions and body appreciation. METHOD: A cross-sectional study was conducted among Chinese college students. Participants completed the Body Appreciation Scale-2 (BAS-2) and other questionnaire measures of demographics, intentions to be vaccinated, and attitudes toward COVID-19 vaccination programs. RESULTS: A total of 2058 college students participated in this study. Students who were willing to get COVID-19 vaccines had significantly higher BAS-2 scores than did those who were unwilling to receive a vaccine (3.61 ± 0.84 vs. 3.34 ± 0.92, p < 0.001). A hierarchical multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to test the association between body appreciation and COVID-19 vaccine intentions when controlling for other covariates; elevated BAS-2 scores were associated with greater willingness to receive COVID-19 vaccines (OR = 1.250, 95%CI: 1.112-1.406, p < 0.001), independent of other significant influences. CONCLUSION: Our study was the first to reveal that body appreciation is a significant factor related to college students' COVID-19 vaccination intentions. Public health interventions designed to improve people's body-appreciation levels may help in efforts to promote universal immunization.
ABSTRACT
The ability of dance to address social isolation is argued, but there is a lack of both evidence of such an effect and interventions designed for the purpose. An interdisciplinary research team at University of Calgary partnered with Kaeja d'Dance to pilot test the effects of an intervention designed to facilitate embodied social connections among older adults. Within a mixed methods study design, pre and post behavioral tests and qualitative surveys about experiences of the body and connecting were administered to thirteen participants along with test instruments of loneliness and body appreciation. In the short-term, no significant changes were found on quantitative tests. Exploratory analysis revealed intervention improvements on individual body appreciation questions only. This indication of change was strongly supported by converging qualitative data and identified as relating to: increased connection through task-based collaboration, increased awareness of interpersonal boundaries, and a shift to experiencing the body as responsive. These indications of increased relational capacity were deemed likely to cause further impact in the long term. Examining this possibility and the subsequently arisen factor of COVID-19 risks and restrictions, test instruments were administered again to 10 participants 4 and 5 months after the intervention. A significant increase in loneliness was found. Despite this negative impact of COVID-19 isolation, several positive intervention changes remained detectable and some continued to increase over time. Seventy percent of the participants, who made new social contacts during the intervention and later sought continued contact, improved significantly across all body appreciation measures over the full study. The qualitative data from the last two time-points revealed both consistent values and new, negative changes. While these preliminary findings speak to the durability of intervention changes, they also identify areas of urgent priority to help older adults restore embodied relational capacity that has declined during COVID-19. Within the limitations of a small-sample pilot study, converging mixed methods results support the hypothesis that dance interventions designed for the purpose can positively affect the social inclusion of older adults. Although we recommend further study, these promising results also indicate that dance interventions can help older adults recover from pandemic isolation.