Developing a Novel Measure of Body Satisfaction Using Virtual Reality.

Clare K Purvis,Jakki O Bailey,Jeremy Bailenson,C Barr Taylor,Megan Jones,Amy Brown

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0140158

Abstract

Body image disturbance (BID), considered a key feature in eating disorders, is a pervasive issue among young women. Accurate assessment of BID is critical, but the field is currently limited to self-report assessment methods. In the present study, we build upon existing research, and explore the utility of virtual reality (VR) to elicit and detect changes in BID across various immersive virtual environments. College-aged women with elevated weight and shape concerns (n = 38) and a non-weight and shape concerned control group (n = 40) were randomly exposed to four distinct virtual environments with high or low levels of body salience and social presence (i.e., presence of virtual others). Participants interacted with avatars of thin, normal weight, and overweight body size (BMI of approximately 18, 22, and 27 respectively) in virtual social settings (i.e., beach, party). We measured state-level body satisfaction (state BD) immediately after exposure to each environment. In addition, we measured participants’ minimum interpersonal distance, visual attention, and approach preference toward avatars of each size. Women with higher baseline BID reported significantly higher state BD in all settings compared to controls. Both groups reported significantly higher state BD in a beach with avatars as compared to other environments. In addition, women with elevated BID approached closer to normal weight avatars and looked longer at thin avatars compared to women in the control group. Our findings indicate that VR may serve as a novel tool for measuring state-level BID, with applications for measuring treatment outcomes. Implications for future research and clinical interventions are discussed.

Highlights

Body image disturbance (BID) refers to negative self-evaluations of one’s physical appearance which lead to significant distress or impairment [1]
Women with current eating disorders (ED) were not included in the present study for several reason: (a) BID is often severe among ED patients, and as such might not be expected to fluctuate according to environmental conditions in a manner comparable to nonED women; (b) exposure to the environments could be triggering for women with ED; (c) this study aimed to explore BID among women with elevated weight-and-shape concerns but without current diagnosis of ED, as this is an important but understudied population in the BID literature
We further found that compared to the control group women with BID spent a greater percentage of time looking at thin avatars as compared to the other avatar groups

Summary

Introduction

Body image disturbance (BID) refers to negative self-evaluations of one’s physical appearance which lead to significant distress or impairment [1]. While BID has been studied widely, certain important features of this phenomenon remain poorly understood This is partly the result of existing assessment techniques, which limit the scope of BID research by focusing on BID main as a stable attitude, or trait; few measures assess the degree to which one’s body image fluctuates at a given moment in time [10]. Such momentary fluctuations in BID are referred to as one’s “state” body (dis)satisfaction (state BD); variability in state BD is an important predictor of the likelihood of developing ED, and an indicator of BID severity [11]. Factors that influence state BD are poorly understood, partly because state BD assessments rely on retrospective accounts or lack ecological validity [12]

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