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Shame and eating psychopathology: exploring the role of self-judgment and fears of receiving compassion

Year: 2016
Type: dissertation
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Shame has been for long associated with the development and maintenance of \nbody image and eating difficulties. However, the mechanisms underlying this association \nremain unclear. Therefore, the current study sought to examine the role of external shame \non the endorsement in disordered eating attitudes and behaviours through the mechanisms \nof self-judgment and fears of receiving compassion from others, while controlling for \nbody mass index (BMI). Participated in this study 400 women from general population, \nwith ages ranging from 18 to 55 years old. \nCorrelation results showed a significant and positive relationship between external \nshame, self-judgment, fears of receiving compassion from others and eating \npsychopathology. Path analyses results demonstrated that, when controlling for the effect \nof BMI, external shame had a direct impact on disordered eating severity, and an indirect \neffect mediated by higher levels of self-judgment and increased fears of receiving \nkindness and compassion from others. Results confirmed the plausibility of the tested \nmodel, which explained 36% of eating psychopathology’s variance. These findings seem \nto support that women who perceive that others view them negatively tend to endorsedefensive and maladaptive emotion regulation strategies (such as harsh critical attitudes \ntowards the self and resistance at receiving compassion from others), which may trigger \nmaladaptive eating attitudes and behaviours. \nThe current research appears to be a pioneer study in the field of body image and \neating-related psychopathology and seems to represent a new avenue for future research \nand for the development of intervention programs.
Language: English
Field: Psychology
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W6987170035
Cites: 14
Cited by:
Related to: 10