Abstract
From a psychiatric standpoint, body image disturbances characterize multiple clinical conditions. In fact, body image is a multifaceted experience including thoughts, feelings, and behaviors related to the subjective perception of one’s own body, identity and self-esteem. Moreover, body image has a relational component as well: it develops along the life span and tends to be influenced by significant others and peers. Main body image disturbances can be found in eating disorders but also in body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) and delusional conditions like those of the psychotic spectrum. With more detail, the psychopathology of anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and BDD has as a hallmark a core emotional and cognitive disturbance of body image. Furthermore, body image is also strictly connected to personality. This chapter will provide the reader with an overlook of the main findings on body image across the aforementioned clinical conditions.
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Fassino, S., Marzola, E. (2018). Diagnostic Classification of Body Image Disturbances. In: Cuzzolaro, M., Fassino, S. (eds) Body Image, Eating, and Weight. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-90817-5_2
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