The Role of Cognitive Distortions in Young Women’s Body Image Perception

Abstract

The analysis of modern psychological research and the practice of psychological assistance indicates the relevance of the problem of body image, especially for girls and young women. Therewith, most of the available papers focus on the study of the body image of adolescent girls, which makes it necessary to clarify the predictors of body image in other age periods. The purpose of the study is to highlight the results of a theoretical and empirical study of the role of cognitive distortions in the perception of the body image of adolescent girls. The methodological basis of the research was T. Cash’s cognitive-behavioural concept of understanding body image, the interpretation of psychological mindedness by H. Conte, and A. Freeman’s theory of cognitive errors. The role of various factors in the perception of body image is considered: 1) cognitive distortions as one of the predictors of an irrational strategy of human behaviour and thinking; 2) interest in one’s own personality and understanding of one’s own experiences as a factor of full self-acceptance. A Multidimensional Body-Self Relations QuestionnaireAppearance Scales by T. Cash, Cognitive error questionnaire by A. Freeman and R. DeWolf, psychological mindedness scale by H. Conte, and the author’s questionnaire were used. The study confirmed the influence of social stereotypes on the perception of young women’s own body image. In particular, it is identified that a substantial number of respondents (78.3%) emphasise the existence of social standards and express a desire to lose weight or change the shape of their bodies. It was determined that 71% of respondents have a normal body weight, which does not require changes in terms of health. Correlation analysis showed weak to moderate associations between women’s psychological mindedness indicators and how they perceive their own bodies. A comparison of groups of women who expressed a desire to change their own bodies with women who did not have such a desire identified substantial differences between these groups in the severity of cognitive distortions, such as catastrophisation (p ≤ 0.01) and trust in criticism (p ≤ 0.05). The use of regression analysis confirmed the substantial impact of catastrophisation on how respondents perceive their own body image. There is also a moderate association between catastrophisation and the desire and willingness to discuss their own experiences, which should be considered when creating methods of psychological assistance for women with an irrational perception of their own body image