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Appearance-related teasing, body dissatisfaction, and disordered eating: A meta-analysis
Jessie E Menzel1, Lauren M Schaefer, Natasha L Burke
1Department of Psychology, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, United States.
Body Image
|July 27, 2010
Summary
Weight and appearance teasing are linked to body dissatisfaction, restrictive eating, and bulimic behaviors. Prevention programs should address negative appearance commentary to mitigate these risks.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Eating Disorders Research
Background:
- Teasing related to weight and appearance is a common experience.
- Existing research suggests a link between teasing and negative body image and eating behaviors, but a comprehensive synthesis is needed.
Purpose of the Study:
- To conduct a meta-analysis synthesizing the relationship between appearance and weight-based teasing and body dissatisfaction, restrictive eating, and bulimic behaviors.
- To identify significant moderators influencing these relationships.
Main Methods:
- Conducted four meta-analyses using 50 effect sizes from 10,618 participants.
- Analyzed data based on teasing type (weight vs. appearance) and outcome measures (body dissatisfaction, restrictive eating, bulimic behaviors).
Main Results:
- Moderate effect sizes were found for weight teasing and body dissatisfaction (.39), appearance teasing and body dissatisfaction (.32), weight teasing and dietary restraint (.35), and weight teasing and bulimic behaviors (.36).
- Teasing measure type, publication type, study type, age group, and gender were significant moderators.
Conclusions:
- Findings support the inclusion of strategies addressing negative appearance-related commentary in body image and eating disorder prevention and intervention programs.
- Interventions should focus on coping mechanisms for appearance-based teasing to reduce negative psychological and behavioral outcomes.
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