International Journal of Behavioral Sciences

International Journal of Behavioral Sciences

The Mediating Emotion Dysregulation in Relationship between Mindfulness and Body Image Concern among Female Students

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Amir-Reza Bakhshandeh-Sajjad 1
Shahrbanoo Aali 2
Bahareh Rajabi-Gol 2
Amir-Hossein Hamedani 2
1 Department of Psychology, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman, Kerman, Iran
2 Department of Psychology, Faculty of Education and Psychology, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran
10.30491/ijbs.2022.315702.1699
Abstract
Introduction: Body image concern has ever prevailed among female students. It has affected their satisfaction with life and induced psychological disorders. Thus, the present study aimed to investigate the mediating role of emotion dysregulation in the relationship between body image concern and mindfulness in the target population.
Method: The present descriptive and correlational study lay within the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) framework. A sample of 509 subjects were selected in a convenience method. Online surveys were used to collect the required data from all female university students in Mashhad. The instruments were Gratz and Roemer’s Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (2004), Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (2003) and Littleton’s Body Image Concern Inventory (2005). The statistical procedures were run in SPSS26 and AMOS24.
Results: The results showed a statistically significant direct and negative correlation between mindfulness and body image concern. Besides, a significant direct and positive correlation was found between emotion dysregulation and body image concern. The effect of mindfulness on body image concern was mediated by emotion dysregulation. The significance level of interpreting the findings was <0.05.
Conclusion: Changes in body image concern can be directly explained based on mindfulness and indirectly based on emotion regulation in female students. Therefore, the use of mindfulness interventions and teaching emotion regulation strategies for this issue is recommended to psychotherapists.
Keywords
Body Image Concern
Emotion Dysregulation
Mindfulness
Female Students
  1. Turk F, Waller G. Is self-compassion relevant to the pathology and treatment of eating and body image concerns? A systematic review and meta-analysis. Clinical Psychology Review. 2020;79:101856. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2020.101856
  2. Ahmadi M, Bagheri M. Mediating role of cognitive distortions in the relationship of adolescents’ body image with social anxiety. International Journal of Behavioral Sciences. 2014;7(4):321-9.
  3. Irvine KR, McCarty K, McKenzie KJ, Pollet TV, Cornelissen KK, Toveé MJ, et al. Distorted body image influences body schema in individuals with negative bodily attitudes. Neuropsychologia. 2019;122:38-50. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2018.11.015
  4. Marengo D, Longobardi C, Fabris M, Settanni M. Highly-visual social media and internalizing symptoms in adolescence: The mediating role of body image concerns. Computers in Human Behavior. 2018;82:63-9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2018.01.003
  5. Walker DC, White EK, Srinivasan VJ. A meta‐analysis of the relationships between body checking, body image avoidance, body image dissatisfaction, mood, and disordered eating. International Journal of Eating Disorders. 2018;51(8):745-70. https://doi.org/10.1002/eat.22867
  6. Coco GL, Salerno L, Bruno V, Caltabiano ML, Ricciardelli LA. Binge eating partially mediates the relationship between body image dissatisfaction and psychological distress in obese treatment seeking individuals. Eating behaviors. 2014;15(1):45-8.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eatbeh.2013.10.006
  7. Winter VR, O’Neill EA, Cook M, Rose KL, Hood A. Sexual function in hook-up culture: The role of body image. Body image. 2020;34:135-44.Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2020.05.010
  8. Esser P, Mehnert A, Johansen C, Hornemann B, Dietz A, Ernst J. Body image mediates the effect of cancer‐related stigmatization on depression: A new target for intervention. Psycho‐oncology. 2018;27(1):193-8. https://doi.org/10.1002/pon.4494
  9. Davis LL, Fowler SA, Best LA, Both LE. The role of body image in the prediction of life satisfaction and flourishing in men and women. Journal of Happiness Studies. 2020;21(2):505-24. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-019-00093-y
  10. Rodgers RF, Slater A, Gordon CS, McLean SA, Jarman HK, Paxton SJ. A biopsychosocial model of social media use and body image concerns, disordered eating, and muscle-building behaviors among adolescent girls and boys. Journal of youth and adolescence. 2020;49(2):399-409. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-019-01190-0
  11. Heidari G, & Alipour khodadadi , S. Comparison of social anxiety and worry about body image of male and female students. New discoveries in psycologie. 2011;22: 83-95.
  12. Golmohammadian M, Morovati F, Rashidi A. To predict the concern of body image based on mindfulness, experiential avoidance and metacognition beliefs in high school students. Iran J Health Educ Health Promot. 2018;6(2):168-78. http://dx.doi.org/10.30699/acadpub.ijhehp.6a.1.168
  13. Babakhani V. Effectiveness of training the McMaster model on mindfulness and marital conflicts of couples. International Journal of Behavioral Sciences. 2016;10(1):18-23.
  14. Brown KW, Ryan RM, Creswell JD. Mindfulness: Theoretical foundations and evidence for its salutary effects. Psychological inquiry. 2007;18(4):211-37. https://doi.org/10.1080/10478400701598298
  15. Cox AE, McMahon AK. Exploring changes in mindfulness and body appreciation during yoga participation. Body image. 2019;29:118-21.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2019.03.003
  16. Lavell CH, Webb HJ, Zimmer-Gembeck MJ, Farrell LJ. A prospective study of adolescents’ body dysmorphic symptoms: Peer victimization and the direct and protective roles of emotion regulation and mindfulness. Body image. 2018;24:17-25. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2017.11.006
  17. Cox AE, Ullrich-French S, Howe HS, Cole AN. A pilot yoga physical education curriculum to promote positive body image. Body Image. 2017;23:1-8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2017.07.007
  18. Khoshkerdar P, Raeisi Z. The effect of mindfulness‐based stress reduction on body image concerns of adolescent girls with dysfunctional eating attitudes. Australian Journal of Psychology. 2020;72(1):11-9. https://doi.org/10.1111/ajpy.12265
  19. Hill CL, Updegraff JA. Mindfulness and its relationship to emotional regulation. Emotion. 2012;12(1):81. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/a0026355
  20. Slutsky J, Rahl H, Lindsay EK, Creswell JD. Mindfulness, emotion regulation, and social threat. Mindfulness in social psychology: Routledge; 2017. p. 79-93.
  21. Wheeler MS, Arnkoff DB, Glass CR. The neuroscience of mindfulness: How mindfulness alters the brain and facilitates emotion regulation. Mindfulness. 2017;8(6):1471-87. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-017-0742-x
  22. Rolston A, Lloyd-Richardson E. What is emotion regulation and how do we do it. Cornell Research Program on Self-Injury and Recovery. 2017:1-5.
  23. Gross JJ, Jazaieri H. Emotion, emotion regulation, and psychopathology: An affective science perspective. Clinical psychological science. 2014;2(4):387-401. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F2167702614536164
  24. Braunstein LM, Gross JJ, Ochsner KN. Explicit and implicit emotion regulation: a multi-level framework. Social cognitive and affective neuroscience. 2017;12(10):1545-57. https://doi.org/10.1093/scan/nsx096
  25. Vanderlind WM, Millgram Y, Baskin-Sommers AR, Clark MS, Joormann J. Understanding positive emotion deficits in depression: From emotion preferences to emotion regulation. Clinical psychology review. 2020;76:101826. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2020.101826
  26. Svaldi J, Naumann E, Trentowska M, Lackner HK, Tuschen-Caffier B. Emotion regulation and its influence on body-related distress in overweight women. Journal of Experimental Psychopathology. 2013;4(5):529-45. https://doi.org/10.5127%2Fjep.028712
  27. Asberg KK, Wagaman A. Emotion regulation abilities and perceived stress as predictors of negative body image and problematic eating behaviors in emerging adults. American Journal of Psychological Research. 2010;6(1):193-2017.
  28. Zoghipaidar MR, Karami A, Nabizadeh S. Compare body image disorder, body dysmorphic disorder and fashion trends in cosmetic surgery applicants and non-applicants. Journal of Health Psychology. 2018;7(26):7-24.
  29. Phares V, Steinberg AR, Thompson JK. Gender differences in peer and parental influences: Body image disturbance, self-worth, and psychological functioning in preadolescent children. Journal of Youth and Adolescence. 2004;33(5):421-9. https://doi.org/10.1023/B:JOYO.0000037634.18749.20
  30. Kline RB. Principles and practice of structural equation modeling: Guilford publications; 2015.
  31. Littleton HL, Axsom D, Pury CL. Development of the body image concern inventory. Behaviour Research and therapy. 2005;43(2):229-41. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2003.12.006
  32. Basaknejad S, Ghaffari M. The relationship between fear of physical deformity and psychological disorders of university students. Journal of Behavioral Sciences. 2006;2:179-87.
  33. Entezari s, Alavizadeh M. The relationship between fear of body deformity and suicidal ideation among men and women referring to skin, hair and weight clinics in Tehran. Jundishapur Medical Scientific Journal. 2011.
  34. Gratz KL, Roemer L. Multidimensional assessment of emotion regulation and dysregulation: Development, factor structure, and initial validation of the difficulties in emotion regulation scale. Journal of psychopathology and behavioral assessment. 2004;26(1):41-54.https://doi.org/10.1023/B:JOBA.0000007455.08539.94
  35. Azizi A, Mirzaei A, Shams J. Investigating the relationship between disturbance tolerance and emotional regulation with students' dependence on smoking. Hakim Research Quarterly. 2010;13:11-8.
  36. Brown KW, Ryan RM. The benefits of being present: mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Journal of personality and social psychology. 2003;84(4):822.
  37. Ghasemipour Y, Ghorbani N. Mindfulness and Basic Psychological Needs among Patients with Coronary Heart Disease. Iranian Journal of Psychiatry and Clinical Psychology. 2010;16:154-62.
  38. Kalantari K. Structural Equation Modeling in Socio-Economic Research. Tehran Farhang saba. 2009.
  39. Byrne BM. Structural equation modeling with AMOS: Basic concepts, applications, and programming. Routledge. 2010.
  40. Stewart TM. Light on body image treatment: Acceptance through mindfulness. Behavior Modification. 2004;28(6):783-811.Doi: https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0145445503259862
  41. Dijkstra P, Barelds DP. Examining a model of dispositional mindfulness, body comparison, and body satisfaction. Body Image. 2011;8(4):419-22. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2011.05.007
  42. Pidgeon AM, Appleby L. Investigating the role of dispositional mindfulness as a protective factor for body image dissatisfaction among women. Current Research in Psychology. 2014;5(2):96.
  43. Roemer L, Williston SK, Rollins LG. Mindfulness and emotion regulation. Current Opinion in Psychology. 2015;3:52-7.
  44. Huang F-Y, Hsu A-L, Hsu L-M, Tsai J-S, Huang C-M, Chao Y-P, et al. Mindfulness improves emotion regulation and executive control on bereaved individuals: An fMRI study. Frontiers in human neuroscience. 2019;12:541. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2018.00541
  45. Iani L, Lauriola M, Chiesa A, Cafaro V. Associations between mindfulness and emotion regulation: The key role of describing and nonreactivity. Mindfulness. 2019;10(2):366-75.Doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-018-0981-5
  46. Prefit AB, Cândea D-M, Szentagotai-Tătar A. Effects of acceptance and reappraisal on body dissatisfaction: an experimental comparison of two adaptive emotion regulation strategies. Eating and Weight Disorders-Studies on Anorexia, Bulimia and Obesity. 2020;25(3):803-9.doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40519-019-00691-y

 

 

International Journal of Behavioral Sciences
Volume 16, Issue 1
Spring 2022
Pages 36-42