ABSTRACT
Increased interest in body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) has generated a wealth of recent research. This paper reviews the current literature regarding conceptualizations of the disorder, the development of assessment tools, and treatment outcome. Although BDD has been viewed as a variant of an eating disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, or a somatoform disorder, it appears best conceptualized as a body image disorder with social, psychological, and possibly biological influences. Assessment instruments with acceptable psychometric properies have been developed to specifically assess BDD (e.g., the Body Dysmorphic Disorder Examination and the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale modified for Body Dysmorphic Disorder). Examination and the initial results from uncontrolled and controlled treatment research suggest that cognitive behavioral treatments for BDD may be as effective as those for possibly related disorders such as obsessive compulsive disorder and bulimia nervosa.
Subject(s)
Body Image , Somatoform Disorders , Comorbidity , Delusions/etiology , Feeding and Eating Disorders/psychology , Female , Humans , Male , Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder/psychology , Prevalence , Psychotherapy/methods , Somatoform Disorders/classification , Somatoform Disorders/diagnosis , Somatoform Disorders/epidemiology , Somatoform Disorders/psychology , Somatoform Disorders/therapyABSTRACT
The Body Image Assessment (BIA) is a simple measure of body image disturbance. However, it has currently only been used with an individual administration format and only to assess ratings of current body size, ideal body size, and body dissatisfaction. It has also only been validated for use with women. In the current two studies, the reliability and validity of a group-administered version of the BIA procedure for both men and women that also assessed ratings of the ideal opposite sex and predictions about what the opposite sex would prefer as most attractive was examined. In the first study, results indicated good test-retest reliability for the group version for current and ideal body size and good concurrent validity with the individual administration format of the BIA. The results of the second study supported the construct and predictive validity of the group administered BIA, suggesting that it is a time-efficient alternative to the original, individually administered assessment.
Subject(s)
Body Image , Group Processes , Surveys and Questionnaires , Adolescent , Adult , Body Constitution , Body Mass Index , Feeding and Eating Disorders/diagnosis , Feeding and Eating Disorders/psychology , Female , Humans , Male , Personal Satisfaction , Predictive Value of Tests , Reproducibility of Results , Self ConceptABSTRACT
To study cross-cultural differences in various aspects of body image, we examined body size ratings of self, ideal, and ideal opposite sex, and predictions regarding the opposite sex, for men and women in two different cultures, one in which there is a high incidence of eating disorders (the United States) and one in which there is believed to be a lower incidence (Spain). Participants were 240 college students from universities in Spain or the southwest United States. A group-format version of the Body Image Assessment with both female and male silhouettes was administered to all participants. Women's ratings of current and ideal body sizes were very similar across countries, although there was a tendency for American women to be more dissatisfied with their body size. Greater differences were found for men in that, on average, American men wanted to be larger and Spanish men wanted to be smaller. Across countries, men's ratings of their ideal body size were consistent with what they predicted that women found attractive whereas women in both countries wanted to be thinner than what they predicted that men found attractive.
