The Role of Individual and Social Variables in Predicting Body Dissatisfaction and Eating Disorder Symptoms among Iranian Adolescent Girls: An Expanding of the Tripartite Influence Mode.

The aim of the present study was to examine the causal relationships between psychological and social factors, being independent variables and body image dissatisfaction plus symptoms of eating disorders as dependent variables through the mediation of social comparison and thin-ideal internalization. To conduct the study, 477 high-school students from Tehran were recruited by method of cluster sampling. Next, they filled out Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale (RSES), Physical Appearance Comparison Scale (PACS), Self-Concept Clarity Scale (SCCS), Appearance Perfectionism Scale (APS), Eating Disorder Inventory (EDI), Multidimensional Body Self Relations Questionnaire (MBSRQ) and Sociocultural Attitudes towards Appearance Questionnaire (SATAQ-4). In the end, collected data were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Findings showed that the assumed model perfectly fitted the data after modification and as a result, all the path-coefficients of latent variables (except for the path between self-esteem and thin-ideal internalization) were statistically significant (p>0.05). Also, in this model, 75% of scores' distribution of body dissatisfaction was explained through psychological variables, socio-cultural variables, social comparison and internalization of the thin ideal. The results of the present study provid experimental basis for the confirmation of proposed causal model. The combination of psychological, social and cultural variables could efficiently predict body image dissatisfaction of young girls in Iran.

The Relation Between Marital Adjustment and Posttraumatic Growth in Infertile Couples: The Mediatory Role of Religious Coping Strategies.

BACKGROUND: Infertility as a crisis can both lead to negative reactions and stress in infertile couples and bring about positive reactions and growth, to which henceforth posttraumatic growth is referred. This study was conducted to model the relation between martial adjustment and posttraumatic growth through the mediation of religious coping strategies in infertile couples. METHODS: This correlation-based study was performed on 250 couples at the infertility center of Shariati hospital, Tehran, Iran, selected via convenience sampling. They answered to the Marital Adjustment Scale, the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory, and the Religious Coping Strategies Inventory. This study used Structural Equation Modeling. RESULTS: The results showed significant positive relationships between marital adjustment and both positive religious coping strategies and posttraumatic growth. A significant positive relationship between positive religious coping strategies and posttraumatic growth was also detected. Positive religious coping strategies were observed to play a mediatory role between marital adjustment and posttraumatic growth. This was the case while attributing such a mediatory role to negative coping strategies was not possible. CONCLUSION: Based on the results, this study can be seen as further evidence showing the necessity of focusing on the role of positive religious coping strategies in marital adjustment and posttraumatic growth in infertile couples.