Comparing the body esteem of pediatric survivors of burn injury with the body esteem of an age-matched comparison group without burns.

Objective: To evaluate the impact of scarring on the body esteem of pediatric survivors of burn injuries. Method: Pediatric burn survivors, ages 8 to 18 years (n=195), completed the Body-Esteem Scale for Adolescents and Adults (BES; B. K. Mendelson, M. J. Mendelson, & D. R. White, 2001), the Perceived Stigmatization Questionnaire, and the Social Comfort Questionnaire. A parent completed a demographic and burn characteristic questionnaire. Burn survivors between the ages of 12 and 18 years (n=148) were compared with members of an age-matched comparison group without burns taken from published data on the BES validation sample (n=981). Correlates of body esteem were examined among the survivors of burn injury. Results: Male burn survivors did not differ from boys in the comparison group on the BES. Surprisingly, female burn survivors, on average, reported better body esteem than did girls in the comparison group. Among the survivors of burn injury, body esteem was unrelated to demographic variables (e.g., gender, age), had a small but significant relationship with various measures of scar severity, and was moderately related to both perceived stigmatization and social comfort. Discussion: The clinical and theoretical implications of the study are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Coping, Distress, and Life Events in a Community Sample.

Coping strategies represent behavioral and cognitive efforts to deal with stressful encounters (R. S. Lazarus & S. Folkman, 1984). This study aimed to assess the pattern of associations between demographic variables, problem-and emotion-focused coping, and distress. A representative sample of 510 adult Israelis completed coping and distress inventories. Emotion-focused coping showed strong positive associations with distress, whereas problem-focused coping was negatively related to this variable, although to a lesser degree. The effects of problem-focused coping on distress were more pronounced for participants who had experienced a recent life event. The conclusion to be drawn is that stressful conditions may enhance the effects of coping strategies on distress. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Frequency and correlates of depression symptoms among long-term adult burn survivors.

Objective: To determine the frequency and correlates of symptoms of depression experienced by long-term burn survivors. Design: An exploratory study of a cross-sectional, self-selected sample. Participants: 311 burn survivors who were at least 3 years postburn (M = 20, SD = 15). Main Outcome Measure: The Short Mood and Feelings Questionnaire, which is a self-report measure of symptoms of depression. Results: Depending on the cutoff score used, 20%-30% of the sample reported clinically significant symptoms of depression. A hierarchical multiple regression model accounted for 59% of the variance in symptoms of depression. Variables were entered in 3 blocks--burn characteristics, demographic characteristics, and psychosocial characteristics. Psychosocial characteristics such as social support and social comfort accounted for a majority of the variance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Correlates of body image dissatisfaction among overweight women seeking weight loss.

Predictors of body image dissatisfaction (BID) among obese people are poorly understood. In 79 obese women seeking weight reduction, associations with BID of self-esteem, youth teasing, adult teasing, and internalization of sociocultural appearance standards (ISAS) were studied. Analyses revealed that only self-esteem, adult teasing, and ISAS predicted BID. Results highlight the importance of adulthood self-esteem and interpersonal--cultural context--rather than childhood experiences--in predicting adulthood BID. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Pain, depression, and physical functioning following burn injury.

Objective: Little is known about how pain and depression after burn injury may influence long-term outcomes such as physical functioning. This prospective study examined associations between pain, depression, and physical functioning in a sample of burn injury survivors. Design and Participants: Questionnaires assessing pain, depression, and physical functioning were completed by 64 (52% of original sample) adult burn survivors shortly after discharge from burn care and at 1- and 2-year follow-ups. Results: Pain and physical functioning improved over the 2 years of the study, whereas depression levels were stable. Pain and depression were associated with poorer physical functioning over time, but associations varied according to the time span under consideration. Also, the association between pain and physical functioning was strongest among persons with higher depression scores. Conclusions: Pain and depression may contribute independently to compromises in physical functioning. The co-occurrence of pain and depression represents even greater risk for reduced physical functioning over time among burn survivors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Parental bonds, anxious attachment, media internalization, and body image dissatisfaction: Exploring a mediation model.

The first purpose of this study was to investigate direct links between body image dissatisfaction (BID) in college women and their memories of either parent as cold and emotionally aloof. Theory, clinical case evidence, and a small (but growing) number of studies support these links. After estimating the strength of the associations between parental “care” and BID, the second goal of this study was to investigate a 2-stage model in which adult attachment anxiety and internalization of media images each serve as mediators of this relationship. Thus, in a sample of 224 college women, the authors tested a causal chain with 3 links and 4 sets of variables. Results suggested that both mother and father care were negatively associated with attachment anxiety; attachment anxiety was positively associated with internalization of media influence; and media influence was positively associated with BID. Most important, the authors found that the significant negative associations between mother and father care and BID were mediated by both attachment anxiety and media internalization. The data supported a 2-stage mediation model of hypothesized links of BID etiology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effect of body image threat on smoking motivation among college women: Mediation by negative affect.

A recent experimental study found that activation of negative body image cognitions produced urges to smoke in young women (E. N. Lopez, D. J. Drobes, J. K. Thompson, & T. H. Brandon, 2008). This study intended to replicate and extend these experimental findings by examining the role of negative affect as a mediator of the relationship between body dissatisfaction and smoking urges. Female college smokers (N = 133) were randomly assigned to a body image challenge (trying on a bathing suit) or a control condition (evaluating a purse). State levels of urge to smoke, mood, and body dissatisfaction were assessed both pre- and postmanipulation. Trying on a bathing suit increased body dissatisfaction and reported urges to smoke, particularly those urges related to reducing negative affect. Additionally, state negative affect mediated the relationship between the body image manipulation and smoking urge. This study provides additional support, through an experimental design, that situational challenges to body image influence smoking motivation and that this effect occurs, at least in part, through increases in negative affect. Theoretical and applied implications are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sociocultural and individual psychological predictors of body image in young girls: A prospective study.

This study investigated the prospective predictors of body image in 9- to 12-year-old girls. Participants were 150 girls in Grades 4-6 with a mean age of 10.3 years. Girls completed questionnaire measures of media and peer influences (television/magazine exposure, peer appearance conversations), individual psychological variables (appearance schemas, internalization of appearance ideals, autonomy), and body image (figure discrepancy and body esteem) at Time 1 and 1 year later at Time 2. Linear panel analyses showed that after controlling for Time 1 levels of body image, none of the Time 1 sociocultural variables predicted body image variables at Time 2. Body mass index (BMI; a biological variable) and psychological variables, however, did offer significant prospective prediction. Specifically, higher BMI, higher appearance schemas, higher internalization of appearance ideals, and lower autonomy predicted worsening body image 1 year later. Thus, higher weight and certain psychological characteristics were temporally antecedent to body image concerns. It was concluded that both biological and individual psychological variables play a role in the development of body image in children. Individual psychological variables, in particular, may provide useful targets in prevention and intervention programs addressing body image in 9- to 12-year-old girls. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Body image dissatisfaction among women with scleroderma: Extent and relationship to psychosocial function.

Body image dissatisfaction and its relationship to psychosocial function were investigated in 127 women with scleroderma. Results indicated elevated body image dissatisfaction, with participants reporting higher levels than a sample of patients with severe burn injuries. Age, skin tightening above the elbows, and functional disability were related to heightened body image dissatisfaction, suggesting that younger patients with more severe disease may be at greatest risk for developing body image concerns. Path analysis revealed that depression mediated the relationship between body image dissatisfaction and psychosocial function. Results suggest that body image dissatisfaction is a significant concern in women with scleroderma and should be assessed routinely. Early identification and treatment of body image dissatisfaction may help prevent the development of depression and psychosocial impairment in this population. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Changes in body image following sensory deprivation in schizophrenic and control groups.

This study concerns body image changes in schizophrenic and nonpsychotic groups following a sensory deprivation experience. 20 schizophrenics and 20 nonpsychotics were examined before and after a sensory deprivation period with a test battery assessing various aspects of body image. A control group of 20 schizophrenics was similarly tested and retested but with no period of sensory deprivation intervening. This latter group showed no change in any of the body image measures pre- to posttesting. However, the 2 experimental groups demonstrated a number of changes in body image following sensory deprivation, with schizophrenics evidencing a degree of reintegration and nonpsychotics more disintegration in body image. (19 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The thin ideal and body image: An experimental study of implicit attitudes.

Thin-ideal internalization is a core construct in body dissatisfaction, central to eating disorders and generally assessed with explicit measures. To compare implicit and explicit measures of thin-ideal internalization and their relationship to body image, the authors developed a thin-ideal implicit association test (IAT). Although the IAT revealed a strong cognitive bias toward fat as negative (differences in response latencies: t[85]=9.829, p     

Does Barbie make girls want to be thin? The effect of experimental exposure to images of dolls on the body image of 5- to 8-year-old girls.

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 42(6) of Developmental Psychology (see record 2006-20488-033). A substantive error occurs in the Body shape dissatisfaction section on page 287. The sentence describing the calculation of body shape dissatisfaction scores from girls' responses to the Child Figure Rating Scale should instead read as follows: "A body shape dissatisfaction score was computed by subtracting the girl's actual from her ideal body size."] The ubiquitous Barbie doll was examined in the present study as a possible cause for young girls' body dissatisfaction. A total of 162 girls, from age 5 to age 8, were exposed to images of either Barbie dolls, Emme dolls (U.S. size 16), or no dolls (baseline control) and then completed assessments of body image. Girls exposed to Barbie reported lower body esteem and greater desire for a thinner body shape than girls in the other exposure conditions. However, this immediate negative impact of Barbie doll was no longer evident in the oldest girls. These findings imply that, even if dolls cease to function as aspirational role models for older girls, early exposure to dolls epitomizing an unrealistically thin body ideal may damage girls' body image, which would contribute to an increased risk of disordered eating and weight cycling. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

United We Stand? The Effects of a Couple-Coping Intervention on Adjustment to Early Stage Breast or Gynecological Cancer.

Cancer diagnosis affects the psychological well-being of both patients and their partners, and effective coping has been suggested to be a conjoint process of mutual support. Ninety-four married women with early stage cancer and their partners were randomly assigned to couples-based coping training (CanCOPE), individual coping training for the woman, or a medical education control. Couples' observed support communication and self-reported psychological distress, coping effort, and sexual adjustment were assessed at diagnosis, after cancer surgery, and at 6- and 12-month follow-ups. CanCOPE produced significant improvements in couples' supportive communication, reduced psychological distress and coping effort, and improved sexual adjustment. Training in couples rather than individual coping was more effective in facilitating adaptation to cancer. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The mental health of men with a psychiatric disorder or traumatic brain injury: Wives' labeling and husbands' perceived control.

Objective: To investigate the relations among wives' labeling of their husbands' psychiatric disorder or brain injury as an organic illness, the husbands' perceived control over their disabilities, and the husbands' mental health. Participants: 57 male clients of the Department of Rehabilitation, Israel's Ministry of Defence (26 with a psychiatric disorder and 31 with a traumatic brain injury) and their wives. Measures: Illness Labeling Questionnaire, the Perceived Control Over Illness Questionnaire, and the Mental Health Inventory. Results: Husbands' mental health was low but did not differ according to disability; wives' labeling of husbands' condition was negatively related to the husbands' mental health; husbands' perceived control was positively related to their mental health for both disabilities. Conclusion: Organic illness labels, even when adopted by the wives of the persons with the disability, seem to be negatively related to that person's mental health, whereas perceived control over a mental disorder or a brain injury seems to contribute positively to mental health, independently of how the disorder or injury is labeled. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)