Examining a model of dispositional mindfulness, body comparison, and body satisfaction

Abstract

The present study examined the links between dispositional mindfulness, body comparison, and body satisfaction. It was expected that mindfulness would be associated with less body comparison and more body satisfaction. Two models were tested: one exploring body comparison as a mediator between mindfulness and body satisfaction and an alternative model exploring mindfulness as a mediator between body comparison and body satisfaction. In an online survey, 1287 Dutch women answered questions concerning dispositional mindfulness, body comparison, and body satisfaction. Results showed that body comparison was related negatively to both dispositional mindfulness and body satisfaction, whereas the two latter variables were related positively. Body comparison partially mediated the relation between mindfulness and body satisfaction. However, a stronger indirect effect was noted in the alternative model, where mindfulness partially mediated the link between body comparison and body satisfaction.

Introduction

It is generally assumed that body dissatisfaction results from pervasive and unrealistic societal ideals regarding what is or should be attractive. These ideals are, to a large extent, transmitted through the mass media (e.g., Hargreaves & Tiggemann, 2004). Social comparison can be seen as an important process linking media messages of beauty and body dissatisfaction (e.g., Tiggemann & Slater, 2004). By routinely comparing their bodies with media images of beauty, individuals (particularly women) become less satisfied with their bodies (for a review see Dijkstra, Gibbons, & Buunk, 2010; for a critical review see Levine & Murnen, 2009). Several studies have revealed contrast-effects with regard to self-perceived attractiveness (e.g., Krones, Stice, Batres, & Orjada, 2005). Specifically, individuals usually experience a decrease in body satisfaction after viewing a highly attractive same-sex individual, whereas they experience an increase in body satisfaction when viewing an unattractive same-sex individual.

Although social comparison processes may lead individuals to feel either less or more satisfied with their body, these processes more often have adverse rather than positive effects on body satisfaction. One reason is that individuals (especially women) often use the strategy of upward contrast when comparing themselves with beauty ideals (i.e., focus on the differences between themselves and beauty ideals), and consequently feel bad about themselves (e.g., Engeln-Maddox, 2005). Moreover, using such a strategy may result in a smaller positive compensatory effect on body satisfaction of viewing unattractive individuals. For instance, Lin and Kulik (2002) found that exposure to a thin peer reduced women's body satisfaction, whereas exposure to an oversize peer did not produce the expected compensatory increase in their body satisfaction. In general, the more often individuals compare their bodies to those of others, the less satisfied they feel with their bodies (e.g., Cattarin, Thompson, Thomas, & Williams, 2000). The present study aimed to examine body comparison as a potential mediator in the relation between dispositional mindfulness and body satisfaction in women.

Mindfulness originates from Buddhist practice, which has contrasted two modes of functioning. First, individuals may function in a “mindless” mode, characterized by inattentiveness and the use of inflexible mental routines. In contrast, mindfulness involves paying attention to what is occurring. More formally, mindful processing has been described as “focusing one's attention.. on the experience occurring in the present moment” (Baer, Smith, & Allen, 2004, p. 191; see also Feltman, Robinson, & Ode, 2009). In addition to being a state, several scholars have proposed that mindfulness can also be seen as an individual difference variable in that individuals may naturally differ in their tendencies toward mindful versus mindless states (e.g., Brown and Ryan, 2003, Feldman et al., 2007).

Mindfulness may be more formally described as being conscientious and intentional in what you do, being open and creative with possibilities, or being aware of the present moment without grasping onto judgments (see Siegel, 2010). There are several reasons to expect dispositional mindfulness to be positively related to body satisfaction. The aspect of non-judgment, for example, is a critical component of mindfulness and is also highly relevant to the construct of body image (e.g., Reindl, 2002) in that not judging oneself against impossible societal standards of attractiveness will likely contribute to less body satisfaction. In a qualitative study, women who endorsed a positive body image consciously avoided judging their body against the societal ideal (Wood-Barcalow, Tylka, & Augustus-Horvath, 2010). In addition, several studies have shown that mindfulness is related to other indices of well-being, showing that higher levels of mindfulness are associated with lower levels of distress, anger, and depression (e.g., Brown & Ryan, 2003). To date only one study specifically examined the link between dispositional mindfulness and body satisfaction and found that those individuals who were more mindful experienced higher body satisfaction (Dekeyser, Raes, Leijssen, Leysen, & Dewulf, 2008).

In addition to a direct link between mindfulness and body satisfaction, one might expect social comparison (or more specifically body comparison) to mediate the relation between mindfulness and body satisfaction. Social comparisons are typically mindless and automatic judgments. According to Langer, Pirson, and Delizonna (2010) individuals are unaware of the fact that they are implicitly making choices about the specific subject of comparison, accept at face value that the comparison is meaningful and not transitory, and mindlessly accept the criteria on which the evaluation was based. Because social comparisons are typically mindless and automatic judgments, these should be reduced by mindfulness, which in turn should result in higher body satisfaction. Other authors have also argued that mindfulness may counter the negative effects of social comparison tendencies and, as a result, may decrease negative affect, such as body dissatisfaction (e.g., Neff, 2003). Fredrickson and Roberts (1997) suggested that self-objectification (which, arguably, social comparison could be considered an aspect of) predicts decreases in concentration (flow, an aspect of mindfulness), which in turn is related to negative body image. This suggests that mindfulness might alternatively act as a mediator in the relation between body comparison and body satisfaction.

According to objectification theory (Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997), women are typically acculturated to internalize an observer's perspective as the primary view of their physical self. Although much research on objectification theory exists, these studies do not specifically address the relations between self-objectification, reduced concentration and body image. There is, therefore, a clear need for studies that do explicitly address these relations (see also Moradi & Huang, 2008). The present study focused on body comparison and body satisfaction in women because physical attractiveness is a more valued characteristic in women than in men, and social comparison has been found to have a stronger effect on women's body image than on men's (e.g., Dijkstra et al., 2010). Besides examining the links between dispositional mindfulness, body comparison, and body satisfaction in women, the present study will examine two mediation models: one examining the mediating role of body comparison in the link between mindfulness and body satisfaction, and an alternative model examining the mediating role of mindfulness in the link between body comparison and body satisfaction.