An experimental investigation of the effects of acceptance and rumination about body image

Abstract

Objective: The aim of the present study was to compare the effects of different ways of responding to thoughts about body image after exposure to images of the sociocultural ideal body type. Method: One hundred nineteen women with high and low body dissatisfaction were randomly assigned to rumination, acceptance, and control conditions which gave them instructions on how to handle thoughts they had in response to viewing images of the sociocultural ideal body type. Participants completed questionnaires assessing body image, mood, and self-esteem before and after the experimental manipulation. They also participated in word recall and word recognition tasks in order to assess memory bias to shape and appearance words as well as a taste test to evaluate differences in food intake. Results: Rumination increased negative mood in participants with high body dissatisfaction. Training in acceptance had beneficial effects on body image, mood, and self-esteem in comparison to the rumination and control conditions among participants with high body dissatisfaction. As expected, the experimental condition did not affect individuals with low body dissatisfaction. Rumination and acceptance did not affect memory biases toward shape and appearance words or the amount of food consumed during the taste test. Conclusion: These findings suggested that training in acceptance helps protect body image, mood, and self-esteem in women with high body dissatisfaction in response to a body image stressor they experience frequently in their daily lives. These results suggest that acceptance-based treatments for body image might facilitate improvements in body image, mood, and self-esteem in this population.%%%%