Data_Sheet_1_Psychological correlates of body dissatisfaction in Swiss youth over a one-year study-period.pdf

IntroductionIt is well known that young individuals often report pronounced negative perceptions and attitudes towards their own body or intense fear of being not muscular enough. There is much less data available, however, on the role of psychological mechanisms on these perceptions and attitudes, such as emotion regulation difficulties, correlates of alexithymia, and appearance-related rejection sensitivity.
MethodsWe therefore set out to assess associations between these psychological mechanisms, and body image as well as muscle dysmorphic symptoms. Our sample was recruited as part of a larger-scale study aiming at assessing correlates of mental health (with a focus on eating disorder symptoms) in German speaking Switzerland. The first wave (T1), starting in April 2021, included 605 participants (80% female, 19.6 ± 2.5 years) who completed the online-questionnaire and were reassessed in a second wave (T2), one year later.
ResultsResults indicated that at both waves, emotion regulation difficulties [DERS-SF] and appearance-based rejection sensitivity [ARS-D] were both positively cross-sectionally associated with body dissatisfaction [BSQ-8C] and muscle dysmorphic symptoms [MDDI] at the first assessment time-point and one year later at follow-up assessment. Moreover, alexithymia [TAS-20] was positively cross-sectionally associated with muscle dysmorphic symptoms at both waves. We further observed high absolute and relative level stabilities for all variables involved across the one-year study period.
Discussion/ConclusionEven though the effects for some associations were rather small, our findings underline the relevance of such mechanisms in the development of body dissatisfaction and to a lesser extent of muscle dysmorphia symptoms over the period of one year. Additional research is necessary to replicate these findings in other youth samples.

引言：众所周知，青少年群体常报告对自身身体存在显著的负面感知与态度，或是对自身肌肉量不足怀有强烈恐惧。然而，针对此类感知与态度背后的心理机制（如情绪调节困难、述情障碍相关特征、外貌相关拒绝敏感性）的相关研究数据却较为匮乏。
研究方法：为此，本研究旨在探讨上述心理机制与身体意象及肌肉躯体变形症状之间的关联。本研究的样本来自一项针对瑞士德语区人群心理健康相关特征（重点关注进食障碍症状）的大型研究。该研究的第一波数据收集（T1）于2021年4月启动，共纳入605名完成线上问卷的参与者（其中80%为女性，年龄为19.6±2.5岁）；并于一年后开展第二波追踪评估（T2），对上述参与者进行了重测。
研究结果：结果表明，在两次评估节点中，情绪调节困难（采用简化版情绪调节量表DERS-SF）与外貌相关拒绝敏感性（采用外貌拒绝敏感性量表ARS-D），均与基线评估及一年后追踪评估中的身体不满意（BSQ-8C）及肌肉躯体变形症状（MDDI）呈显著横断面正相关。此外，述情障碍（TAS-20）在两次评估中均与肌肉躯体变形症状呈显著正相关。本研究还观察到，在为期一年的研究周期内，所有纳入分析的变量均表现出较高的绝对与相对水平稳定性。
讨论与结论：尽管部分关联的效应量较小，但本研究结果证实，上述心理机制在一年周期内对身体不满意的发展具有重要意义，而对肌肉躯体变形症状的影响相对较弱。未来仍需开展额外研究，在其他青少年样本中复现本研究结果。