Comparing internalization of appearance ideals and appearance-related pressures among women from the United States, Italy, England, and Australia

Lauren M Schaefer¹, Natasha L Burke², Lisa M Anderson³, J Kevin Thompson⁴, Leslie J Heinberg⁵, Anna M Bardone-Cone⁶, Mary K Higgins Neyland², David A Frederick⁷, Drew A Anderson⁸, Katherine Schaumberg⁹, Amanda Nerini¹⁰, Cristina Stefanile¹⁰, Helga Dittmar¹¹, Kelly L Klump¹², Allison C Vercellone¹³, Susan J Paxton¹⁴

Affiliations

¹ Neuropsychiatric Research Institute, 120 Eighth Street South, Fargo, ND, 58103, USA. lauren.m.schaefer@gmail.com.
² Department of Medical and Clinical Psychology, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS), Bethesda, USA.
³ Department of Psychiatry, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, USA.
⁴ Department of Psychology, University of South Florida, Tampa, USA.
⁵ Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, USA.
⁶ Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, USA.
⁷ Department of Psychology, Chapman University, Orange, USA.
⁸ Department of Psychology, University at Albany-State University of New York, Albany, USA.
⁹ Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, USA.
¹⁰ Department of Health Sciences, Section of Psychology, University of Florence, Florence, Italy.
¹¹ School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Sussex, UK.
¹² Department of Psychology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, USA.
¹³ Department of Psychology, Saint Louis University, St. Louis, USA.
¹⁴ School of Psychology and Public Health, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia.

PMID: 30019258
PMCID: PMC6815512
DOI: 10.1007/s40519-018-0544-8

Comparing internalization of appearance ideals and appearance-related pressures among women from the United States, Italy, England, and Australia

Lauren M Schaefer et al. Eat Weight Disord. 2019 Oct.

. 2019 Oct;24(5):947-951.

doi: 10.1007/s40519-018-0544-8. Epub 2018 Jul 17.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Neuropsychiatric Research Institute, 120 Eighth Street South, Fargo, ND, 58103, USA. lauren.m.schaefer@gmail.com.
² Department of Medical and Clinical Psychology, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS), Bethesda, USA.
³ Department of Psychiatry, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, USA.
⁴ Department of Psychology, University of South Florida, Tampa, USA.
⁵ Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, USA.
⁶ Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, USA.
⁷ Department of Psychology, Chapman University, Orange, USA.
⁸ Department of Psychology, University at Albany-State University of New York, Albany, USA.
⁹ Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, USA.
¹⁰ Department of Health Sciences, Section of Psychology, University of Florence, Florence, Italy.
¹¹ School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Sussex, UK.
¹² Department of Psychology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, USA.
¹³ Department of Psychology, Saint Louis University, St. Louis, USA.
¹⁴ School of Psychology and Public Health, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia.

PMID: 30019258
PMCID: PMC6815512
DOI: 10.1007/s40519-018-0544-8

Abstract

Researchers have observed variation in levels of body image disturbance and eating pathology among women from different Western countries. Examination of cross-cultural differences in the established risk factors (i.e., thin-ideal internalization, muscular-ideal internalization, and appearance pressures from family, peers, and media) for negative outcomes may help to elucidate the prominence of specific risk factors within a given Western society and guide associated interventions. Women from the United States (US), Italy, England, and Australia completed the Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Questionnaire-4 (SATAQ-4). Analysis of covariance controlling for age and BMI indicated significant cross-country differences for all SATAQ-4 subscales. Results typically indicated higher levels of appearance-ideal internalization and appearance pressures in the US and lower levels in Italy; however, associated effect sizes were generally small. A medium effect of country was observed for peer-appearance pressures, which were highest in the US compared with all other countries. Repeated-measures analysis of variance and paired samples t tests conducted within each country identified thin-ideal internalization and media appearance pressures as the predominant risk factors for all four countries. Overall, findings suggest more cross-country similarities than differences, and highlight the importance of delivering interventions to address thin-ideal internalization and media appearance pressures among women from Western backgrounds.Level of evidence Descriptive study, Level V.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest On behalf of all authors, the corresponding author states that there is no conflict of interest.

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Comparing internalization of appearance ideals and appearance-related pressures among women from the United States, Italy, England, and Australia

Affiliations

Comparing internalization of appearance ideals and appearance-related pressures among women from the United States, Italy, England, and Australia

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

Conflict of interest statement

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MeSH terms

Grants and funding

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