Predicting Body Dissatisfaction: The Utility of Sociocultural Theory and Objectification Theory Andrea Niles, UCLA David Frederick, UCLA Gordon Forbes, Millikin University Contact: David Frederick at

The Problem Body dissatisfaction and dieting are widespread among women and men. These attitudes and behaviors are strongly linked to poorer psychological well-being. Two dominant theories for explaining this phenomenon have been developed: Sociocultural and Objectification Theory The relative usefulness and inter-relationships of these theoretical constructs is unknown.

Sociocultural Theory The media features slender, large-breasted women and muscular men as prestigious. Using the SATAQ-3 measure (Thompson et al., 2004), Sociocultural Theorists propose that the following sets of media- related attitudes negatively effect body image: 1. Information Is the media an important source of information about what is attractive? 2. General Internalization Do you believe you should look like people featured in popular media? 3. Athletic Internalization Do you believe you should look like athletes featured in popular media? 4. Pressures Do you feel pressure from the media to look attractive? *Higher scores indicated increased pressure, internalization, etc.

Objectification Theory Women’s bodies are sexually objectified by men. This causes women to constantly scrutinize and control their appearance, and to feel shame when they fail to meet appearance standards. This theory has also recently been applied to men’s experiences as well. Researchers assess these concerns with the OBCS (McKinley & Hyde, 1996). 1. Surveillance How much do you monitor and scrutinize how you appear to others? 2. Control How much do you believe you can control your appearance? 3. Shame Do you feel shame because your body does not match the ideal body? *Higher scores indicate increased surveillance, control, shame.

Present Study Goal: To test the associations and relative utility of these constructs in predicting dieting and dissatisfaction. Participants: 576 female and 283 male undergraduates. Primary Predictors: The SATAQ-3 and OBCS Other Predictors: BMI and Self-Esteem Dependent Variables: –Appearance Evaluation (Cash, 2000) –Dieting Behavior “Restraint” (Polivy, Herman, & Warsh, 1978) –Body Fat Self-Ideal Discrepancy (Stunkard, Sorenson, & Schlusinger, 1983) –Muscle Self-Ideal Discrepancy for Men (Frederick et al., in press) –Breast Self-Ideal Discrepancy for Women (Thompson & Tantleff-Dunn, 1992) –BMI Self-Ideal Discrepancy (calculated using data provided on current and ideal weight) *Note: All self-ideal discrepancies are operationalized as the absolute value of participants current minus ideal body

Women Report Higher Scores on Most SATAQ-3 and OBCS Constructs (Effect Sizes Cohen’s d)

Women Report Equal or Higher Scores than Men on Body Dissatisfaction Measures (Effect Sizes Cohen’s d)

Associations Among SATAQ-3 and OBCS SATAQ-3OBCS InformationPressureGeneralAthleteSurveillanceShameControl Information.56*.60*.33*.30*.24*-.12* Pressure.47*.81*.52*.48*.47*-.06 General.62*.74*.53*.51*.41*-.03 Athlete.47*.52*.69*.23*.32*-.03 Surveillance.36*.41*.52*.44*.49*-.01 Shame.28*.47*.38*.34*.35*-.18* Control *-.14* Associations between the SATAQ-3 and OBCS constructs were only weakly to moderately overlapping, suggesting they are tapping different constructs.

Linear Regressions: Constructs from Both Theories Predict Poor Body Image in Women BMI Discrepancy B Body Fat Discrepancy B Breast Discrepancy B Appearance Evaluation B Restraint B Shame B Predictors Information Pressure * *.29* General Internalization -.19*.00.19* Athlete Internalization.13* * Surveillance *.36* Control.00.11* * Shame.35* *.37*- Overall Model R.40*.42*.21*.48*.68*.59*

Linear Regressions: Constructs from Both Theories Predict of Poor Body Image in Men BMI Discrepancy B Body Fat Discrepancy B Muscle Discrepancy B Appearance Evaluation B Restraint B Shame B Predictors Information Pressure.15.20* *.11.40* General Athlete Surveillance * *.19* Control *-.07 Shame.25*.14* *.41*- Overall Model R.30*.27*.29*.38*.58*-.51*

However, BMI or Self-Esteem is the Best Predictor in Many Cases for Women BMI Discrepancy B Body Fat Discrepancy B Breast Discrepancy B Appearance Evaluation B Restraint B BMI.78*.45*.02.33*.06 Self Esteem * *-.04 Information Pressure *.01.34* General.07.15*.20* Athlete Surveillance *.02.22* Shame.14*.16*.02.19*.34* Control * Overall Model R.83*.60*.21*.65*.68*

BMI and Self-Esteem Were Also Important Predictors for Men BMI Discrepancy B Body Fat Discrepancy B Muscle Discrepancy B Appearance Evaluation B Restraint B BMI.51*.23*.00.18*.23* Self-Esteem -.13* *-.38*.07 Information Pressure General Athlete Surveillance *.15*.22* Shame * Control * Overall Model R.56*.35*.33*.52*.62*

Conclusions Constructs from both Objectification Theory and Sociocultural Theory were only moderately correlated and both explained unique variance in body dissatisfaction and dieting. However, a large degree of variance in body satisfaction across individuals is still unexplained. Future research should simultaneously consider the relative importance using a more diverse array of important theoretical constructs. These include constructs derived from sociocultural, social comparison, self-discrepancy, social pressures, and objectification theories (e.g., A test of four theoretical models of body dissatisfaction and dieting; Frederick, Niles, Peplau, & Jarcho, in preparation).