A serial mediation model of attentional engagement with thin bodies on body dissatisfaction: The role of appearance comparisons and rumination

Abstract

The present study examined the associations among biased attentional responding to thin-ideal bodies, appearance comparisons, eating disorder-specific rumination, and body dissatisfaction. Sixty-seven females completed an attentional task capable of independently assessing biased attentional engagement with, and biased attentional disengagement from, images of thin-ideal bodies relative to images of non-thin bodies. Self-report measures of the other relevant constructs were also taken. Results revealed that a heightened tendency to engage in appearance comparisons was predicted by increased attentional engagement with thin-ideal bodies but not by impaired attentional disengagement from thin-ideal bodies. Moreover, a serial mediation analysis revealed that increased attentional engagement with thin-ideal bodies was associated with greater appearance comparison, which in turn was associated with greater eating disorder-specific rumination and consequently greater body dissatisfaction. The current findings suggest that increased attentional engagement with thin-ideal bodies might represent a pathway to body dissatisfaction, mediated by greater appearance comparison and eating-disorder specific rumination.