Abstract

PEREZ-BUSTINZAR, Ana Regina et al. Sociocultural influences on body image in female patients with eating disorders: an explanatory model. Psychology, Society & Education [online]. 2023, vol.15, n.2, pp.1-9.  Epub Mar 18, 2024. ISSN 1989-709X.  https://dx.doi.org/10.21071/psye.v15i2.15608.

Introduction: sociocultural theories of body image formation suggest that the pressures exerted by certain social agents encourage the internalization of certain patterns and the impulse towards thinness on the part of women. Objective: to analyze a model based on the Tripartite Model of Sociocultural Influence that explains how social pressures contribute to greater body dissatisfaction. Method: the sample consisted of 195 women with an age range of 12 to 30 years (M = 18.63, SD = 2.87) diagnosed with anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and unspecified eating disorder. The patients were interviewed for their diagnosis and two psychometric instruments were also applied. Data were analysed using structural equation modeling techniques. Results: the sociocultural factor that contributed the most to explain body dissatisfaction was the influence of the family. The model had a good fit. Discussion: The evidence obtained suggests that sociocultural factors, and in particular the influence exerted by the family, would contribute to the processes of body image formation in patients with eating disorders. The results of this study can be used by health professionals focused on patients with eating disorders both in the clinical and research fields, mainly in the treatment part of these patients.

Keywords : Body image; Eating disorders; Diagnosis; Sociocultural factors.

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