Thesis (Ed.D.)--Duquesne University, 2007. / Title from document title page. Abstract included in electronic submission form. Includes bibliographical references (p. 145-158) and index.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Nevada, Reno, 2008. / "May, 2008." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 56-65). Online version available on the World Wide Web.

Thesis advisor: Sam V. Cochran, Elizabeth M. Altmaier. Includes bibliographic references (p. 117-130).

Thesis (B.A. (Hons.)) - University of Queensland, 2004. / Includes bibliography.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2004. / Supervisor: Eric Stice. Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2006. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

M.A. / Many women who live with body disfigurement as a consequence of illness, continue to suffer from body perceptual disturbances many years following their recovery. Problematic however, is the tendency of disease-specific studies investigating body perceptual disturbances to focus on illness associated body changes. Consequently, this silences the experiences of many women who live with body disfigurement in the absence of illness and more specifically, in instances where body disfigurement is the result of having suffered a common ailment (Francis, 2002; Newell, 2000). Impeding the concerns raised are inferences of earlier studies such as that by Patterson and Craig (1963) who reason that, by virtue of the body's integrity being dependent upon external appearances, hysterectomy, as something internal to the body, fails to feature as a psychological difficulty experienced in women who have this. Recent studies by Newell (2000) and Francis (2002) identify a need for research on body disfigurement following a common ailment and in the absence of illness. In an attempt to address some of the concerns raised, and in keeping with body disfigurement resulting from a common ailment (e.g. cancer, dysmenorrhoea and uterine fibroids, etc), this study compares levels of depression and self-concept in women who have undergone either mastectomy, hysterectomy or vulvectomy. Additionally, this study challenged the inferences by Patterson and Craig (1963) in that the onset of psychopathology in these women is here thought to develop irrespective of the levels of disfigurement visibility (whether disfigurement is internal to the body as in hysterectomy or external to the body as in mastectomy and vulvectomy). In terms of the three areas of participation, of the hysterectomy group (n = 16), of the mastectomy group (n = 8), and of the vulvectomy group (n = 4). Additionally, only participants who had not undergone reconstructive surgery were selected. To investigate for self-concept and body perceptual disturbances, data was collected using the Beck Depression Inventory II, the Self-Description Questionnaire III, the Six Factor Self-Concept Scale and also from open-ended questions posited in a Biographical Questionnaire. The Mann-Whitney, Kruskal-Wallis and Wilcoxon Signed Ranks tests were utilised as nonparametric statistics of choice in the data analyses. The results showed seven areas of significant group differences as this pertains to: levels of depression, physical appearance, spiritual/religious values, general esteem, opposite sex peer relations, parent relations and power. Most striking was the participant responses made in respect to the Importance versus Accuracy subsection of the SDQ-III. Of the 12 statements contained under this section, all were considered to be more important to the participants than the statement was thought accurate of them. Significant differences on this subsection were observed in terms of: parent relations, spiritual/religious values, emotional stability and physical appearance. Although investigating depression and self-concept in women with body disfigurement in South Africa proved to be a complex and difficult research undertaking, the results of this study clearly strengthen its implementation value and demonstrate the need for future research in this area. This pilot study enabled for invaluable insight to be gleaned in terms of the thoughts, feelings and struggles of these women. Similarly the study provided for a method of pre-testing and fine-tuning prior to Phase Two. Additionally, the results of this study contribute to the sparse volume of literature on body disfigurement in the absence of illness. This complex, yet emotionally charged and dynamic terrain is fraught with a magnitude of possibilities for future research and of which can take an infinite number of directions. Altered body appearance and function can invariably result in highly complex psychological and psychosocial disturbances. Francis (2002) echoes what this study commits to when she says: "… when the process of knowing is fractured in a sudden catastrophe, when knowing of the external surfaces of the familiar body is interrupted, the sense of being at home in ones body becomes problematic" (p. 108). As such, this study embraces the possibility that many women in South Africa, who live with body disfigurement in the absence of illness, continue to suffer disturbances in body perception years later and that this is so despite being illness free and irrespective of visibility levels. The study's demonstration of this in real-life intervention serves to highlight this. Similarly, in that 92.3% of participants felt the need to join group therapy or formulate support groups for disfigured individuals as a means by which to voice and better come to terms with past and current traumatic experiences encountered as a result of living with altered body appearance and function, the need for future research in body disfigurement in the absence of illness, is strengthened. It is hoped that, albeit in some small way, this study adds volume to the silenced experience of these women. Similarly, this study hopes to provide a foundation from which many silenced experiences can be voiced.

The purpose of this study was to test a new theoretical model that integrates self-objectification, objectification of others, and social comparison as contributors to the development and maintenance of body image disturbance and disordered eating behavior. Within the new theoretical model, self-objectification, objectification of others, and social comparison are conceptualized as a self-perpetuating cycle, rather than as processes that occur independently of one another. Four hundred fifty-nine female college students between the ages of 18 and 32 completed measures of self-objectification, objectification of others, social comparison, body shame, body dissatisfaction, and eating disorder symptomatology. Structural equation modeling with nested model comparisons was used to examine the fit of the new theoretical model relative to less complex models which contain only relationships which have received previous attention in the research literature (e.g., the relationship between self-objectification and body shame). Results indicated that the new theoretical model demonstrates good fit for the data and that the fit of this model is significantly better than the original model suggested by the literature. Hierarchical multiple regression and mediational analyses also provided support for the interplay between objectification and social comparison. Implications for clinical work as well as theory and measurement will be discussed

Appearance-related commentary can be positive or negative. Such commentary has been shown to negatively affect the mental health and well-being of women in a well-documented body of research. There is limited research on this topic pertaining to males. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of appearance-related commentary in men. Results indicate that men who receive more negative commentary are more likely to experience eating pathology, body dissatisfaction, distress from commentary, and participate in compulsive exercising and appearancechange behaviors. However, men that receive positive commentary are likely to experience more positive outcomes, reporting less dissatisfaction and pathology but more appearance-change behaviors. It appears that men are affected by negative, appearance-related commentary in the same ways that women are, but that they experience positive commentary in a more direct and appropriate manner. Additionally, self-objectification, a covariate found to interact in similar relations with women, was not found to account for any of the variance between appearance-related feedback and outcomes.

The purpose of this study was to contribute to women’s healthy aging across the adult lifespan by empirically examining potential protective factors (e.g., empowerment and feminist attitudes) in maintaining positive body image, healthy eating behavior, and aging satisfaction. Objectification Theory (Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997) provided a theoretical framework for understanding the connections between sexual-objectification experiences, media influences, and self-objectification, and the resulting negative psychological consequences for women in Western society. This study was the first to examine empowerment in relation to Objectification Theory. Additionally, a developmental perspective was gained by using a diverse sample of young, middle-aged, and older women in the investigation of the impact of self-objectification on aging satisfaction. Results indicated that women of all ages were just as likely to report either body image satisfaction or body image dissatisfaction after accounting for BMI. However, younger women were more likely than older women to view their bodies as objects. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was performed utilizing Objectification Theory as a framework for predicting body image, eating behaviors, and aging satisfaction. Empowerment and feminist attitudes were not protective factors in promoting healthy eating behavior and positive thoughts related to body image and aging. The final structural model did, however, provide support for Objectification Theory and its proposed relationships between sexual-objectification experiences and the development of self-objectification and the negative consequences of self-objectification on a variety of health-related constructs. Long-term implications include incorporating this knowledge into empirically supported prevention and intervention programs aimed at reducing body image and eating disturbance and promoting healthy aging across the adult lifespan.