Biomedical subjects

Marika Tiggemann

Publications and source records attributed to Marika Tiggemann.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2007

Sociocultural influences and body image in 9- to 12-year-old girls: the role of appearance schemas.

This study tested whether an individual's beliefs about the importance of appearance in their life is a mediator of sociocultural influences on body dissatisfaction in young girls. Participants were 265 girls in Grades 4 to 7 (M age = 10.71 years) from 5 private primary schools in metropolitan Adelaide, South Australia. Girls completed questionnaire measures of appearance television and magazine exposure, peer appearance conversations, autonomy, appearance schemas, and body dissatisfaction. Appearance media exposure and peer appearance conversations were negatively related to body esteem, and autonomy positively predicted body esteem. Most important, appearance schemas mediated between all sociocultural variables and body dissatisfaction.

Australia↗

PubMed2006

Impact of interactive school-based media literacy lessons for reducing internalization of media ideals in young adolescent girls and boys.

OBJECTIVE: The primary objective of the current study was to examine the efficacy of single media literacy lessons in reducing media internalization in young adolescents. METHOD: Eleven classes of 237 students (100 girls and 137 boys; mean age = 13.79 years, SD = .42) randomly received 1 of 6 lessons. Eating disorder risk factors were assessed at baseline, and the Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Questionnaire-3 (SATAQ-3) was used to assess media internalization postintervention. RESULTS: At postintervention, boys had significantly lower SATAQ-3 scores on 4 of the 5 subscales (effect sizes = .42-.71), whereas girls had significantly lower scores on 1 subscale (effect size = .54). Higher baseline levels of dietary restraint, magazines bought/read, and perceived sociocultural pressure predicted smaller reductions in boys' scores, whereas depression predicted smaller reductions in girls' scores. CONCLUSION: The current study provides support that boys be included in eating disorder prevention programs and that media literacy may represent a promising prevention approach.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2006

Nonreporting of body mass index: a research note on the interpretation of missing data.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to investigate the correlates of missing values on body mass index (BMI), with a view to distinguishing between potential hypotheses as to their origin. METHOD: Participants were 1,452 secondary school students who completed questionnaire measures of BMI, perceived weight, body dissatisfaction, appearance investment, and eating disorder symptomatology. RESULTS: More than one fourth of the sample had missing values on height or weight, the highest proportion of missing data occurring among older girls. Missing status on weight was associated with poorer body image and a greater investment in appearance for girls, but not for boys. CONCLUSION: It was concluded that the pattern of results was most consistent with the hypothesis that missing values resulted from motivated nonresponding. More generally, the study provides an illustration of the usefulness of treating missing values as data in their own right.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2006

Reduction of vividness and associated craving in personalized food imagery.

This study aimed to extend recent experimental work on the efficacy of visuo-spatial working memory-based techniques for reducing food cravings by adopting a more naturalistic methodology. Fifty undergraduate women formed images of their favorite foods while performing a visuo-spatial task across six successive trials. Vividness and craving intensity were rated for each food image. Concurrent visuo-spatial processing reduced the vividness of, and craving reactivity to, personally relevant food images. Forehead tracking, a novel self-administered task, proved to be as effective in reducing vividness and craving ratings as the established visuo-spatial working memory laboratory tasks of eye movements, dynamic visual noise, and spatial tapping, and thus presents a simple, accessible technique potentially applicable in the home environment. All four tasks maintained their reducing effect over multiple trials. Individual differences in imaging ability and habitual food craving did not impact upon their effectiveness, indicating that visuo-spatial tasks can be successfully used to reduce food cravings across a range of people.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed2006

The contribution of peer and media influences to the development of body satisfaction and self-esteem in young girls: a prospective study.

This study aimed to prospectively examine the role of peer and media influences in the development of body satisfaction (incorporating the desire for thinness and satisfaction with appearance) in young girls, as well as the relationship between body satisfaction and self-esteem. A sample of 97 girls 5-8 years of age completed individual interviews at Time 1 and 1 year later at Time 2. Linear panel analyses found that Time 1 perception of peers' desire for thinness was temporally antecedent to girls' desire for thinness, appearance satisfaction, and self-esteem 1 year later. In addition, the watching of appearance-focused television programs was temporally antecedent to appearance satisfaction. Finally, girls' desire for thinness was found to temporally precede low self-esteem. Thus, as early as school entry, girls appear to already live in a culture in which peers and the media transmit the thin ideal in a way that negatively influences the development of body image and self-esteem.

Body Image↗

PubMed2006

Prevalence and long-term course of lifetime eating disorders in an adult Australian twin cohort.

OBJECTIVE: Few studies exist that have examined the spectrum and natural long-term course of eating disturbance in the community. We examine the lifetime prevalence and long-term course of anorexia nervosa (AN), bulimia nervosa (BN) and eating disorder not otherwise specified (EDNOS) in an adult female twin population. METHOD: Female twins (n = 1002) from the Australian Twin Registry, aged 28-39 years, were assessed using the Eating Disorder Examination, revised to yield lifetime diagnostic information. For women with lifetime eating disorders, the assessment occurred, on average, 14.52 years (SD = 5.65) after onset of their disorder. RESULTS: In accordance with other community studies, we found a 1.9% lifetime prevalence of AN, with an additional 2.4% who met the criteria for 'partial AN' (absence of amenorrhea). Criteria for BN were met by 2.9% of the women, an additional 2.9% of women met criteria for binge eating disorder, while 5.3% met criteria for purging disorder unaccompanied by binge eating (EDNOS-p). Eleven (7%) of the women with lifetime eating disorders had a current eating disorder. Each diagnostic group continued to be differentiated by current eating pathology from women without lifetime eating disorders. Although approximately 75% of the women had a good outcome, less than 50% of each diagnostic group was asymptomatic. CONCLUSIONS: Eating disorders tend to improve over time often reaching subdiagnostic levels of severity, but only a minority of sufferers becomes asymptomatic. The DSM-IV diagnosis EDNOS needs to be considered in studies of the prevalence and course of eating disorders.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

The contribution of physical activity and media use during childhood and adolescence to adult women's body image.

This study aimed to investigate the effects of both past and current physical activity and media use on women's body image. A sample of 144 female undergraduate students completed measures of current physical activity, media use and body image, as well as providing retrospective reports of their physical activity participation and media usage during childhood and adolescence. Regression analyses showed that childhood experiences of physical activity and media use predicted adult body-image concerns more strongly than current activities. It was concluded that early experiences of both physical activity and media use during childhood and adolescence play an important role in the development of adult women's body image.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2006

'Body image is for girls': a qualitative study of boys' body image.

Although a considerable and informative literature on boys' body image is beginning to emerge, this literature has been guided strongly by theorizing about female body image. The present study aimed to gain access to boys' own ideas and terminology regarding their body image. The participants (aged 14 to 16 years) said that they are satisfied with their appearance, but some conceded their physical appearance to be more important than they like to admit. Boys do not believe that the mass media influences their body image and said they do not talk about body image because it is a feminine or gay issue.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2005

Effects of hunger and visuo-spatial interference on imagery-induced food cravings.

The present study investigated the effects of hunger and visuo-spatial interference on imagery-induced food cravings. Forty-two women were randomly assigned to a hungry (no food for prior 4h) or not hungry condition. Participants were asked to form and maintain images of desired foods while looking at a blank computer screen (control condition) or performing a task designed to load the visuo-spatial sketchpad of working memory (dynamic visual noise). They then rated the vividness of their images and their craving intensity. Although hungry participants reported stronger food cravings, dynamic visual noise made images less vivid and cravings less intense, irrespective of participant hunger status. Thus concurrent visuo-spatial processing may offer a useful technique for treating problematic food cravings that are predominantly psychological in origin, as well as those that are hunger-driven.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2005

Relationship between dieting to lose weight and the functioning of the central executive.

The study investigated the impact of weight-loss dieting on the four identified functions of the central executive of working memory: dual-task performance, random generation, task switching and activation of long-term memory. Participants were 32 female current dieters and 32 female non-dieters who completed four well-established cognitive tasks designed to tap each specific function. Participants also completed tasks designed to load on the phonological loop and visuo-spatial sketch pad working memory systems, as well as self-report measures of depressed affect and preoccupying cognitions. Dieters performed more poorly than non-dieters on all central executive measures except random generation. These dieting-related differences were most evident on moderately complex trials, and were partially mediated by preoccupying thoughts about food, weight and body shape, but not by BMI or depressed affect. It was concluded that weight-loss dieting has a relatively global impact on central executive functioning and thus has wide-ranging cognitive consequences.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

Chocolate cravings are susceptible to visuo-spatial interference.

The study investigated the specificity of visuo-spatial working memory-based techniques as a means to reduce chocolate cravings. Twenty-four self-identified chocolate cravers and 24 non-cravers formed and maintained images of chocolate-containing foods elicited by pictures, while performing a visuo-spatial task (loading the visuo-spatial sketch pad) or an auditory task (loading the phonological loop). Vividness and craving intensity were rated for each image. Concurrent visuo-spatial processing was found to render chocolate images significantly less vivid and cravings less intense compared to concurrent verbal processing, for both cravers and non-cravers. Chocolate cravers did, however, report higher levels of chocolate craving and intake than non-cravers. It was concluded that visuo-spatial tasks provide an effective craving reduction mechanism for the management of chocolate cravings. Such techniques may be particularly useful in populations for whom eating problems are triggered by chocolate craving.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2005

Working memory performance and preoccupying thoughts in female dieters: evidence for a selective central executive impairment.

OBJECTIVE: The study aimed to extend previous research into the impaired cognitive performance of spontaneous dieters by employing the Double Span Memory Task to investigate the relationship between weight-loss dieting and performance simultaneously on the three subsystems of working memory. METHOD: A sample of 33 dieting and 33 non-dieting women were presented with increasingly longer sequences of common objects, displayed successively in different, randomly chosen locations of a 4 x 4 grid. Participants were then asked to name the objects (phonological loop), point to the locations (visuospatial sketch pad), or both (central executive). Participants also completed self-report measures of preoccupying cognitions, dietary restraint, depressed affect, and verbal intelligence. RESULTS: Current dieters performed more poorly than non-dieters on combined recall, but not on the single recall of objects or locations. They also scored more highly on self-rated preoccupying cognitions. CONCLUSION: Dieting to lose weight selectively impairs central executive functioning, rather than the storage capacity of the two slave systems. This dieting-related central executive deficit is at best partly attributable to the preoccupying thoughts about food, weight, and body shape accompanying dieting.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2005

The nature of imagery processes underlying food cravings.

OBJECTIVE: The study used a working memory approach to examine the nature of the imagery processes underlying food cravings. DESIGN AND METHOD: A sample of 60 dieters and 60 non-dieters were asked to imagine either a food induction or a holiday induction scenario. Participants then performed 18 trials of either a visual imagery task (loading the visuo-spatial sketch pad) or auditory imagery task (loading the phonological loop). Food craving was measured before and after the induction scenario, and then after every 6 trials of the imagery task. RESULTS: Craving intensity increased following instructions to imagine the food (but not holiday) induction scenario, especially for dieters. As predicted, the visual imagery task was superior to the auditory imagery task in reducing the level of food craving. DISCUSSION: The results confirmed the imaginal basis of food cravings. Specifically, they demonstrated that the imagery processes involved in food cravings are predominantly visual in nature. Hence concurrent tasks that load the visuospatial sketch pad of working memory can be used to reduce food cravings. The findings have potential application in the treatment of craving episodes in clinical populations.

Acoustic Stimulation↗

PubMed2005

Individual differences in male body-image: an examination of self-objectification in recreational body builders.

OBJECTIVES: Male bodybuilders have been found previously to have higher levels of disordered eating and body-image disturbance than do other men. This study investigated whether objectification theory (Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997) could be used to explain these observed differences in male body-image. DESIGN: A cross-sectional, self-report design was used. METHODS: Three samples of men were recruited: bodybuilders (N = 31), weightlifters (N = 17), and non-athletic controls (N = 35). Participants completed a questionnaire containing measures of self-objectification, self-surveillance, body shame, appearance anxiety, and four outcomes: body dissatisfaction, drive for muscularity, bulimia, and depression. RESULTS: As predicted, bodybuilders had significantly higher levels of self-objectification than weightlifters and controls, and higher levels of body dissatisfaction and drive for muscularity than controls. Overall, the relationships between self-objectification and the outcome variables, and self-surveillance and the outcome variables, were mediated by appearance anxiety. CONCLUSIONS: Bodybuilding is associated with outcomes that suggest it may not result in greater overall health for men. It was concluded that objectification theory provides a useful framework for examining body-image differences in men.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2004

Thin ideals in music television: a source of social comparison and body dissatisfaction.

OBJECTIVE: The study investigated the impact of thin idealized images of women as presented in music television, a popular form of entertainment for young people. METHODS: A sample of 84 women viewed a videotape containing either appearance music videos (which emphasized appearance and featured thin and attractive women) or non-appearance music videos. The instructional set was also manipulated to encourage or discourage social comparison. RESULTS: Viewing the appearance music videos featuring thin women led to increased social comparison and body dissatisfaction. Regression analyses showed that the effect of video condition on body dissatisfaction was mediated by the level of comparison processing. DISCUSSION: The study demonstrated that the content of television programming can have negative consequences for women's body image. In addition, it offered social comparison processing as both a theoretic mechanism and a practical target for intervention.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2004

Reduction of food cravings through concurrent visuospatial processing.

OBJECTIVE: Two experiments adopted a working memory approach to evaluate the effectiveness of visuospatial tasks as a technique for reducing food cravings. METHOD: Dieting and non-dieting women were asked to form images of both food-related and nonfood items, induced by either pictures (Experiment 1) or verbal cues (Experiment 2). They were required to concurrently perform one of three tasks that load on the visuospatial sketch pad of working memory: saccadic eye movements, dynamic visual noise, or spatial tapping. RESULTS: In support of the working memory model of limited visuospatial capacity, concurrent visuospatial activity reduced the vividness of food-related images which, in turn, reduced the intensity of the associated craving. The same pattern of results was observed across dieters and non-dieters and for all stimulus types. DISCUSSION: Visuospatial tasks may provide a useful technique for the treatment of food craving episodes in both nonclinical and clinical populations.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2004

Dietary restraint and self-esteem as predictors of weight gain over an 8-year time period.

The study aimed to assess dietary restraint and self-esteem as predictors of weight change over a time period of 8 years. Questionnaires assessing self-reported weight, body dissatisfaction, dietary restraint, and self-esteem were completed by 77 young adults (19 men and 58 women) on two occasions separated by 8 years. On average, participants gained approximately 6 kg over the 8 years. Although neither dietary restraint nor self-esteem predicted weight change on its own, their interaction did. Furthermore, the relationship between restraint and weight change was best described as curvilinear. It was concluded that dietary restraint is predictive of subsequent weight gain, but in a more complex way than previously assumed.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

A word-stem completion task to assess implicit processing of appearance-related information.

OBJECTIVE: This paper reports on the development and utility of a new implicit measure of appearance-related information processing. METHODS: A 20-item word-stem completion task was constructed, in which each word stem could be completed with either an appearance-related word or at least one non-appearance alternative. The measure was tested in four different experiments, most investigating the impact of acute exposure to media-portrayed thin idealised female images. RESULTS: Exposure to media images or other appearance-related material led to the generation of more appearance- or weight-related words in both female and male samples. CONCLUSION: It was concluded that the word-stem task has empirical utility as a simple, self-paced and sensitive outcome measure in experimental studies of media exposure. We conceptualise the word-stem task as a measure of appearance- and weight-schema activation.

Adolescent↗