Positive and negative psychological wellbeing predictors of body appreciation: Insights from a prospective study

Body appreciation is a component of positive body image and is associated with numerous mental health benefits. However, little research has examined whether psychological functioning indicators predict subsequent body appreciation. This exploratory report investigated whether components of negative (depression, generalized anxiety, social anxiety, and loneliness) and positive (self-esteem, general psychological wellbeing, and flourishing) indicators of psychological functioning predicted body appreciation over three months in 1765 adults (M_age=33.76; 99.7% women), not restricted to any country. Univariable regressions controlling for baseline body appreciation showed that all negative indicators predicted lower body appreciation at follow-up, whereas all positive indicators predicted higher body appreciation. In the multivariable model, only self-esteem and general psychological wellbeing remained significant and unique predictors. Findings suggest that positive psychological resources may be more important than indicators of distress in influencing body appreciation, and highlight self-esteem and psychological wellbeing as potentially important variables to consider in positive body image research.