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Developing a Novel Measure of Body Satisfaction Using Virtual Reality.

Clare K Purvis1, Megan Jones2, Jakki O Bailey3

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Summary

Virtual reality (VR) shows promise for assessing body image disturbance (BID) in young women. Immersive VR environments effectively detected differences in body satisfaction and avatar interaction, suggesting its utility in clinical settings.

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Area of Science:

  • Psychology
  • Human-Computer Interaction
  • Eating Disorder Research

Background:

  • Body image disturbance (BID) is a core feature of eating disorders, predominantly affecting young women.
  • Current assessment methods for BID rely solely on self-report, limiting objective measurement.
  • Virtual reality (VR) offers a novel approach to study and quantify BID.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To explore the utility of immersive virtual reality (VR) environments for eliciting and detecting changes in body image disturbance (BID).
  • To compare BID responses between college-aged women with elevated concerns and a control group.
  • To investigate behavioral responses (interpersonal distance, visual attention, approach preference) toward avatars of varying body sizes within VR.

Main Methods:

  • 38 college-aged women with elevated BID and 40 controls were exposed to four virtual environments varying in body salience and social presence.
  • Participants interacted with avatars of thin, normal, and overweight sizes in virtual social settings (beach, party).
  • State body satisfaction, interpersonal distance, visual attention, and approach preference toward avatars were measured.

Main Results:

  • Women with higher baseline BID reported significantly greater state body satisfaction across all VR environments compared to controls.
  • Both groups reported higher state body satisfaction in a virtual beach setting with avatars.
  • Individuals with elevated BID exhibited distinct behavioral patterns, approaching normal weight avatars more closely and attending longer to thin avatars.

Conclusions:

  • Virtual reality (VR) serves as a viable tool for measuring state-level body image disturbance (BID).
  • VR-based assessments can differentiate between individuals with and without elevated BID.
  • This technology holds potential for objective measurement of treatment outcomes in eating disorder interventions.