The whole is more than the sum of its parts: A qualitative investigation of body-dissatisfied college women’s experiences of relational body image

Abstract

Research on relational body image suggests that women’s body image changes across their important relationships, with women most at risk for maladaptive body image reporting the most extreme changes. To enrich our understanding of relational body image beyond that offered by prior psychologically-based quantitative research, the present study integrated critical-feminist approaches. Eighteen female-identified university students participated in a one-on-one semi-structured interview. Each participant first completed ratings of her body image across seven important relationships, which the interviewer used to create a graph depicting her relational body image. The interviewer shared the graph with the participant to prompt reflection on her subjective experiences of relational body image and asked her a series of questions. Reflexive thematic analysis, informed by a critical-realist framework, was used to identify themes. One overarching theme, “The Whole Is More than The Sum of Its Parts,” demonstrated how relational body image may be understood as a unique configuration of interconnected factors within a specific relationship. Three subthemes then highlighted how interpersonal, idiographic, and systemic factors come together to influence subjective experiences of relational body image. The present results suggest that personalized treatment targets within specific relationships may be a worthwhile focus for future body image interventions.