Elsevier

Behavior Therapy

Volume 48, Issue 1, January 2017, Pages 19-28
Behavior Therapy

A Person-by-Situation Account of Why Some People More Frequently Engage in Upward Appearance Comparison Behaviors in Everyday Life

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.beth.2016.09.007Get rights and content

Highlights

  • We used ecological momentary data to predict instances of appearance comparisons.

  • This is the first study to jointly consider state and trait predictors of comparisons.

  • Trait body dissatisfaction predicted upward comparisons.

  • State body satisfaction individuals were less likely to engage in upward comparisons.

  • Downward and lateral comparisons were unrelated to these body image variables.

Abstract

Although the influence of stable, trait-like factors (such as trait body dissatisfaction and appearance internalization) on instances of appearance comparison has been well documented, the additive and interactive influence of contextual factors (such as one’s current body satisfaction) on comparison behaviors is unknown. Therefore, the present study tested a Person × Situation model in which both state and trait body image variables interacted to predict engagement in various forms of comparison (upward, downward, and lateral). Participants included 161 women who completed a baseline measure of trait body dissatisfaction and internalization, and then completed, via an iPhone app, an ecological momentary assessment phase in which they reported momentary experiences of mood and comparison behaviors at up to 6 random times per day for 7 days. Multilevel analyses revealed that upward comparisons (comparisons against more attractive people) were more likely for individuals with heightened trait and/or state negative body image, but these predictive effects of state and trait on appearance comparisons appear largely independent of each other. Furthermore, neither state nor trait body image variables were related to the other forms of comparison, and time lag at the state-level between predictor and outcome did not seem to influence the strength of these associations. Present findings are consistent with the notion that how an individual feels in the moment about their appearance may influence engagement in deleterious appearance behaviors. However, further testing is needed to confirm these causal hypotheses.

Section snippets

Participants

A total of 211 women were recruited via advertising of the study across three university sites and from the general population via advertising on the websites of eating disorder–related organizations. Forty participants were excluded due to: (a) completing less than three EMA surveys (n = 27), (b) no baseline measures completed (n = 11), (c) failure to report their unique ID number, thus preventing linkage of EMA and baseline data (n = 10), or (d) being male (n = 2). This resulted in a final sample of

Compliance rates and descriptive statistics

The average number of responses completed per participant (out of a possible 42) was 21.8 (SD = 9.2). Average time lag between within-day assessments was 142.3 minutes (SD = 84.0). Forty-eight percent (1,214 of 2,531) assessments were within 2 hours of each other, and a further 40% (1,008 assessments) were between 2 and 4 hours apart.

Bivariate correlations between compliance rates for EMA surveys and trait measures were nonsignificant for BMI, r(161) = -.05, p = .54, two-tailed, trait body

Discussion

While the influence of trait-level variables on state appearance comparisons are well documented (e.g., Fitzsimmons-Craft et al., 2012, Leahey et al., 2007, Ridolfi et al., 2011), the contribution of contextual factors for these comparisons has received considerably less research attention. Guided by Person × Situation Theory (Mischel & Shoda, 1995), the present study evaluated the possibility that the effect of trait body image (in particular, internalization and body dissatisfaction) on state

Conflict of Interest Statement

The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest.

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