1. Objectifs

Intentions :
« The purpose of the current investigation with a young adult population was to enhance our understanding of the relationship of body image to interpersonal discomfort and adult attachment styles. » (p. 92)

2. Méthode

Échantillon/Matériau :
« At a large, mid-Atlantic U.S. public university, students volunteered to participate in the study in exchange for extra credit in psychology classes. The 228 participants (103 men and 125 women) were 18 to 25 years old (Mdn = 20). The ethnically diverse sample was 58% white, 30% black, 8% Asian, 2% Hispanic, and 2% other ethnicities. Regarding current relationship status, 35% reported being in a serious nonmarital relationship, 7% were married, 18% were exclusively dating one person, 9% were dating multiple persons, and 30% were not dating. The body mass index (kg weight /m2 height) for men and women averaged 24.9 (SD = 4.4) and 24.2 (SD = 5.6), respectively. » (p. 92)

Instruments :
- the 34-item short-form of the well-validated MBSRQ (Brown, Cash, & Mikulka, 1990; Cash, 2004);
- the Appearance Schemas Inventory (ASI : Cash, 2004; Cash&Labarge, 1996);
- the Situational Inventory of Body image Dysphoria (SIBID : Cash, 2004, 2002);
- the Fear of Negative Evaluation (FNE) Scale ;
- the Fear-of-Intimacy Scale (FIS: Descutner &Thelen, 1991);
- the Relationship Styles Questionnaire (RSQ : Griffin and Bartholomew, 1994);
- the Experiences in Close Relationships Questionnaire (ECR : Brennan, Clark, & Shaver, 1998).
Type de traitement des données :
Analyse statistique

3. Résumé

« A growing literature attests to the salience of social factors in body image development and the importance of body image to interpersonal functioning. The purpose of the present investigation was to examine the relationships of specific facets of the multidimensional body image construct to interpersonal anxiety and adult attachment processes for both sexes. Participants were 103 male and 125 female college students who completed standardized assessments of dimensions of body image as well as social-evaluative anxiety, fear of romantic intimacy, general adult attachment, and romantic attachment. Our results indicated significant associations of body image evaluation, investment, and affect with social-evaluative anxiety for both sexes, and with romantic intimacy anxiety for women. For both sexes, greater body image dysfunction was linked to less secure general attachment, especially more preoccupied general adult attachment and more anxious romantic attachment. Findings are discussed in terms of the importance of understanding the interplay of body image and interpersonal variables. Clinical implications are elaborated. » (p. 89)