Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

The role of thin-idealization in associations between body dissatisfaction, dieting, and eating pathology: A moderated mediation analysis

  • Published:
Current Psychology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Dieting is associated with poor psychological health and disordered eating. For this reason, it is important to identify person-level characteristics that influence the effect of dieting on eating pathology. The Psycho-Behavioral Dieting Paradigm posits that high-intensity, appearance-focused dieting is associated with worse outcomes than low intensity, health-focused dieting. Accordingly, individuals who diet in pursuit of the thin-ideal may be at a higher risk for negative outcomes. The current study tests this model by examining associations between body dissatisfaction, dieting, eating pathology, and thin-ideal internalization in a sample of female college students (n = 342). A moderated mediation model informed by the Psycho-Behavioral Dieting Paradigm was tested to evaluate whether the indirect effect of body dissatisfaction on eating pathology through dieting is moderated by thin-ideal internalization. Dieting mediated the relationship between body dissatisfaction and eating pathology, and this mediation effect was moderated by thin-ideal internalization. Specifically, the strength of the mediation effect increased with higher thin-ideal internalization. These results suggest that the explanatory role of dieting in predicting eating pathology is particularly pronounced among women who endorse a preference for a slender body.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Baron, R. M., & Kenny, D. A. (1986). The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51, 1173–1182. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.51.6.1173.

  • Becker, T. E. (2005). Potential problems in the statistical control of variables in organizational research: A qualitative analysis with recommendations. Organizational Research Methods, 8, 274–289. https://doi.org/10.1177/1094428105278021.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2015, May 15). Body Mass Index (BMI). Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/assessing/bmi/index.html.

  • Cooper, P. J., Taylor, M. J., Cooper, Z., & Fairburn, C. G. (1987). The development and validation of the body shape questionnaire. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 6, 485–494.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Crow, S., Eisenberg, M. E., Story, M., & Neumark-Sztainer, D. (2006). Psychosocial and behavioral correlates of dieting among overweight and non-overweight adolescents. Journal of Adolescent Health, 38, 569–574.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dakanalis, A., Timko, C. A., Carrà, G., Clerici, M., Zanetti, M. A., Riva, G., & Caccialanza, R. (2014). Testing the original and the extended dual-pathway model of lack of control over eating in adolescent girls. A two-year longitudinal study. Appetite, 82, 180–193. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2014.07.022.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Espinoza, P., Penelo, E., & Raich, R. M. (2010). Disordered eating behaviors and body image in a longitudinal pilot study of adolescent girls: What happens 2 years later? Body Image, 7, 70–73. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2009.09.002.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fairburn, C. G., Cooper, Z., Doll, H. A., & Davies, B. A. (2005). Identifying dieters who will develop an eating disorder: A prospective, population-based study. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 162, 2249–2255.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Furnham, A., Badmin, N., & Sneade, I. (2002). Body image dissatisfaction: Gender differences in eating attitudes, self-esteem, and reasons for exercise. The Journal of Psychology, 136, 581–596. https://doi.org/10.1080/00223980209604820.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Garner, D. M., Olmsted, M. P., Bohr, Y., & Garfinkel, P. (1982). The eating attitudes test: Psychometric features and clinical correlates. Psychological Medicine, 12, 871–878.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Greenstein, T. N., & Davis, S. N. (2012). Methods of family research. Thousand Oaks: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hayes, A. F. (2013). Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis: A regression-based approach. New York: Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Haynos, A. F., Field, A. E., Wilfley, D. E., & Tanofsky-Kraff, M. (2015). A novel classification paradigm for understanding the positive and negative outcomes associated with dieting. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 48, 362–366. https://doi.org/10.1002/eat.22355.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Holmes, M., Fuller-Tyszkiewicz, M., Skouteris, H., & Broadbent, J. (2014). Tests of an extension of the dual pathway model of bulimic symptoms to the state-based level. Eating Behaviors, 15, 280–285. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eatbeh.2014.03.011.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Jackson, T., & Chen, H. (2014). Risk factors for disordered eating during early and middle adolescence: A two year longitudinal study of mainland Chinese boys and girls. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 42, 791–802. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-013-9823-z.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Keery, H., van den Berg, P., & Thompson, J. K. (2004). An evaluation of the tripartite influence model of body dissatisfaction and eating disturbance with adolescent girls. Body Image, 1, 237–251.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liechty, J. M., & Lee, M. J. (2013). Longitudinal predictors of dieting and disordered eating among young adults in the U.S. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 46, 790–800. https://doi.org/10.1002/eat.22174.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Preacher, K. J., Rucker, D. D., & Hayes, A. F. (2007). Addressing moderated mediation hypotheses: Theory, methods, and prescriptions. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 42, 185–227.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Putterman, E., & Linden, W. (2004). Appearance versus health: Does the reason for dieting affect dieting behavior? Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 27, 185–204. https://doi.org/10.1023/B:JOBM.0000019851.37389.a7.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rosen, J. C., Jones, A., Ramirez, E., & Waxman, S. (1996). Body shape questionnaire: Studies of validity and reliability. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 20, 315–319.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shroff, H., & Thompson, J. K. (2006). The tripartite influence model of body image and eating disturbance: A replication with adolescent girls. Body Image, 3, 17–23.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stice, E. (2001). A prospective test of the dual-pathway model of bulimic pathology: Mediating effects of dieting and negative affect. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 110, 124–135.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stice, E. (2002). Risk and maintenance factors for eating pathology: a meta-analytic review. Psychological Bulletin, 128, 825–848.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stice, E., & Shaw, H. E. (2002). Role of body dissatisfaction in the onset and maintenance of eating pathology: A synthesis of research findings. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 53, 985–993.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stice, E., & Whitenton, K. (2002). Risk factors for body dissatisfaction in adolescent girls: A longitudinal investigation. Developmental Psychology, 38, 669–678.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stice, E., Ziemba, C., Margolis, J., & Flick, P. (1996). The dual pathway model differentiates bulimics, subclinical bulimics, and controls: Testing the continuity hypothesis. Behavior Therapy, 27, 531–549.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stice, E., Shaw, H., Becker, C. B., & Rohde, P. (2008). Dissonance-based interventions for the prevention of eating disorders: Using persuasion principles to promote health. Prevention Science, 9, 114–128.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stice, E., Marti, C. N., & Durant, S. (2011). Risk factors for onset of eating disorders: Evidence of multiple risk pathways from an 8-year prospective study. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 49, 622–627 http://doi.org/http://dx.doi.org.libproxy.usc.edu/10.1016/j.brat.2011.06.009.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thompson, J. K., & Stice, E. (2001). Thin-ideal internalization: Mounting evidence for a new risk factor for body-image disturbance and eating pathology. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 10, 181–183. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8721.00144.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • van Strien, T., Frijters, J. E., van Staveren, W. A., Defares, P. B., & Deurenberg, P. (1986). The predictive validity of the Dutch restrained eating scale. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 5, 747–755.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. VA HSR&D Center for the Study of Healthcare Innovation, Implementation, and Policy (CSHIIP), VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System , Sepulveda, California, USA

    Taona P. Chithambo

Authors
  1. Taona P. Chithambo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Taona P. Chithambo.

Ethics declarations

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Ethical Approval

This article does not contain any studies with animals performed by any of the authors.

Informed Consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

Conflict of Interest

Taona Chithambo declares that she has no conflict of interest.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Chithambo, T.P. The role of thin-idealization in associations between body dissatisfaction, dieting, and eating pathology: A moderated mediation analysis. Curr Psychol 39, 550–555 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-017-9776-4

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-017-9776-4

Keywords

Search

Navigation