ABSTRACT

Purpose

Body appreciation, conceptualized as a respectful, appreciative and balanced attitude towards one’s body appearance and characteristics, has been reported as a promising protective mechanism in face of body image and eating-related difficulties. However, the research about body appreciation, which may contribute to the development of more effective prevention and treatment programmes for eating problems, is still scarce. This study tested the moderator effect of body appreciation on the association between both external and internal shame with eating psychopathology.

Methods

This study included 701 women participants from within the general Portuguese population aged between 18 and 60, who completed an online survey using measures of shame, body appreciation, and eating disorder symptoms.

Results

Correlation analysis revealed that body appreciation was negative and strongly associated with external and internal shame, and with eating disorder symptoms. Path analyses’ results demonstrated that body appreciation moderates the effect of both external shame and internal shame on eating disorder symptoms. These moderation models explain 56% and 57% of the variance of eating psychopathology, respectively.

Conclusions

Findings seem to support that body appreciation may operate as a buffer against the pervasive effect of both external and internal shame experiences on eating psychopathology. Although this data is preliminary, this study seems to represent an important contribution to research and clinical practice by suggesting the relevance of promoting body appreciation competencies in prevention and treatment programs for eating–related difficulties.

KEY POINTS

(1) Body appreciation may operate as a buffer against the pervasive effect of both external and internal shame experiences on eating psychopathology.

(2) Findings revealed that, for any level feelings of shame, women who present higher body appreciation express lower tendency to engage in eating psychopathology-related behaviours.

(3) Data supports the relevance of promoting an attitude of respect and acceptance with one’s body, regardless of its features, to prevent eating–related difficulties.

中文翻译：

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身体欣赏可以缓冲外部和内部羞耻经历与饮食精神病理学之间的关联吗？

摘要

目的

身体欣赏被概念化为对一个人的身体外观和特征的尊重、欣赏和平衡的态度，据报道，它是一种很有前途的保护机制，可应对身体形象和与饮食相关的困难。然而，关于身体欣赏的研究仍然很少，这可能有助于制定更有效的饮食问题预防和治疗方案。这项研究测试了身体欣赏对外部和内部羞耻与饮食精神病理学之间关联的调节作用。

方法

这项研究包括 701 名年龄在 18 至 60 岁之间的葡萄牙普通人口中的女性参与者，她们使用羞耻、身体欣赏和饮食失调症状的措施完成了一项在线调查。

结果

相关性分析表明，身体欣赏是负面的，并且与外部和内部羞耻以及饮食失调症状密切相关。路径分析的结果表明，身体欣赏可以调节外部羞耻和内部羞耻对饮食失调症状的影响。这些适度模型分别解释了饮食精神病理学差异的 56% 和 57%。

结论

研究结果似乎支持身体欣赏可能起到缓冲作用，以防止外部和内部羞耻经历对饮食精神病理学的普遍影响。虽然这些数据是初步的，但这项研究似乎代表了对研究和临床实践的重要贡献，它提出了促进身体欣赏能力在预防和治疗饮食相关困难计划中的相关性。

关键点

(1) 身体欣赏可以起到缓冲作用，以防止外部和内部羞耻体验对饮食精神病理学的普遍影响。

(2) 研究结果表明，对于任何程度的羞耻感，身体欣赏程度较高的女性表现出较低的参与精神病理学相关行为的倾向。

(3) 数据支持促进尊重和接受一个人的身体的态度，无论其特征如何，以防止与进食有关的困难。