Historically disordered eating research has been gendered with models focusing on women’s pursuit of a thin ideal, as well as men’s attempts to obtain a muscular ideal. The motivations to achieve these ideals are called the drive for thinness (DT) and drive for muscularity (DM). More recently, a cultural shift has been noted in that ideal bodies are converging across sexes to a lean ideal, with the associated motivation being labeled the drive for leanness (DL). As DL is a nascent construct, little is known about its relationships with DT and DM, or if it predicts or is predicted by the same variables that are associated with DT and DM. This study aimed to expand what is known about DL in four ways: 1) ascertain the uniqueness of DL from DT and DM; 2) explore whether DL is sex neutral; 3) investigate the extent to which DL is more or less adaptive than DT and/or DM in terms of health-related outcomes; and 4) explore associations between DL and established predictors from sociocultural models of disordered eating. Analyses evidenced support for DL’s distinctiveness from DT and DM, partial support for DL’s sex neutrality, partial support discerned via relationships with health-related outcomes for DL’s adaptive nature in comparison to DT or DM, and support for DL’s relationships with sociocultural predictors being similar to that seen between these predictors with DT and DM. This study adds to the literature by broadening what is known about DL’s uniqueness, sex neutrality, adaptive nature, and sociocultural fit in relation to the other drives within a theory based framework, providing a potential basis for future DL model building and research in general.

The sociocultural model of eating disorders suggests that awareness of a thin physical ideal directly affects internalization of that ideal, which in turn, directly affects body dissatisfaction. The current study evaluated the general accuracy of the sociocultural model and examined the potential for ethnicity to protect against eating disorder symptomatology by moderating the relationships between awareness and internalization and between internalization and body dissatisfaction. Spanish (n = 100), Mexican American (n = 100), and Euro-American (n = 100) female participants completed various questionnaires measuring sociocultural attitudes towards appearance and body dissatisfaction. Analysis of covariance with tests of homogeneity of slope and path analysis using maximum likelihood with robust standard errors tested the two relationships by ethnic group. Results supported the sociocultural model: there was strong evidence for the mediational effect of internalization on the relationship between awareness and body dissatisfaction. Furthermore, ethnicity moderated the relationships such that both relationships were significantly stronger for Euro-American women than for Mexican American or Spanish women. Within the Mexican American group level of acculturation also moderated these relationships. Taken together, the results of this study highlight how ethnicity can protect against the development of eating disorder symptoms. Denouncing the thin ideal, minimizing appearance as an indicator of female value, and emphasizing personal traits other than appearance as determinants of worth are important in protecting against the development of body dissatisfaction and more severe eating pathology.

The sociocultural model of eating disorders suggests that awareness of a thin physical ideal directly affects internalization of that ideal, which in turn, directly affects body dissatisfaction. The current study evaluated the general accuracy of the sociocultural model and examined the potential for ethnicity to protect against eating disorder symptomatology by moderating the relationships between awareness and internalization and between internalization and body dissatisfaction. Spanish (n = 100), Mexican American (n = 100), and Euro-American (n = 100) female participants completed various questionnaires measuring sociocultural attitudes towards appearance and body dissatisfaction. Analysis of covariance with tests of homogeneity of slope and path analysis using maximum likelihood with robust standard errors tested the two relationships by ethnic group. Results supported the sociocultural model: there was strong evidence for the mediational effect of internalization on the relationship between awareness and body dissatisfaction. Furthermore, ethnicity moderated the relationships such that both relationships were significantly stronger for Euro-American women than for Mexican American or Spanish women. Within the Mexican American group level of acculturation also moderated these relationships. Taken together, the results of this study highlight how ethnicity can protect against the development of eating disorder symptoms. Denouncing the thin ideal, minimizing appearance as an indicator of female value, and emphasizing personal traits other than appearance as determinants of worth are important in protecting against the development of body dissatisfaction and more severe eating pathology.

Etude 1 : L’objectif de cette étude était d’étendre la littérature existante en testant un modèle tripartite à deux voies du développement de l’image du corps masculin et des préoccupations alimentaires chez des jeunes hommes français. Le modèle final présentait un bon ajustement aux données et comprenait des voies distinctes de préoccupations musculaires et de préoccupations liées à la masse graisseuse.Etude 2 : L’objectif de cette étude était d’explorer différents profils de recherche de musculature et de minceur chez des jeunes femmes françaises. Le groupe de jeunes femmes avec « recherche de musculature et de minceur » présentait des scores significativement plus élevés pour la pression des amis et du partenaire, l’intérêt pour les médias, l’internalisation de l’idéal mince et tonique, la comparaison de l’apparence, les symptômes boulimiques et un fonctionnement psychologique moins bon.Etude 3 : Le but de cette troisième étude était d’explorer un modèle socioculturel longitudinal de l’influence des médias, des pairs et du partenaire amoureux sur l’insatisfaction corporelle, la recherche de minceur, et la recherche de musculature dans un échantillon de jeunes femmes françaises. Le modèle final présentait un bon ajustement aux données et a montré que les pressions médiatiques et interpersonnelles étaient associées, par le biais de la comparaison de l’apparence, à une augmentation de l’insatisfaction corporelle, de la recherche de minceur et de musculature un an plus tard. / Study 1: The aim of the present study was to extend the extant literature by testing a modified Tripartite dual pathway model of the development of male body image and eating concerns among French young men. The revised and final model was an adequate fit to the data and included separate pathways for muscularity- and leanness-related concerns.Study 2: The aim of this study was to explore different patterns of drive for muscularity and thinness among French young women. The group of young women with “drive for muscularity and thinness” displayed the highest means of friend and partner pressures, interest in the media, thin-and-toned ideal internalization, appearance comparison, bulimic symptoms and the poorest psychological functioning.Study 3: The aim of the current study was to explore a prospective sociocultural model of the influence of media, peer, and partner pressures on body dissatisfaction, drive for thinness, and drive for muscularity in a sample of French young women. The final model presented a good fit to the data, and highlighted that media and interpersonal pressures were associated over time with increased body dissatisfaction, drive for thinness and drive for muscularity one year later, via appearance comparison.

There is growing concern for eating pathology and body dissatisfaction in sports; particularly, in sports that emphasize a lean body type. In 325 female collegiate swimmers/divers and gymnasts, we examined psychosocial well-being (i.e., perception of weight pressures, levels of internalization, body satisfaction, dietary intent, negative affect) at the beginning and end of an athletic season and predict their eating disorder classification at the end of their athletic season. Logistic regressions revealed that a model containing all 14 predictors at the beginning and end of an athletic season significantly predicted eating disorder classification at the end of an athletic season. Specifically, in the longitudinal logistic regression, with every one unit of increase on a measure of the pressure felt within the sport environment regarding their weight and every unit increase on a measure of their intentions to diet, respectively, the female athletes were 49% and 89% more likely to be classified in the subclinical/clinical group at the end of their sport season. Surprisingly, with every one unit of increase on a measure of sociocultural pressure to exercise, female athletes were 43% less likely to be classified in the subclinical/clinical group six months later. The cross-sectional logistic regression found that only dietary restraint was significant. Specifically, with every one unit of increase on a measure of their intentions to diet the female athletes were 3.6 times more likely to be classified in the subclinical/clinical group at the end of their sport season. The implications of this study may emphasize the importance of body healthy sport systems to reduce sport specific pressures and dieting among female collegiate athletes. Limitations of this study include self-report measures and longitudinal timeframe was only across one athletic season.

Eating disorders are debilitating psychiatric conditions which often result in severe impairment in many life domains. The sociocultural model specifies mechanisms through which sociocultural pressure leads to eating pathology among young women (Stice, 1994) and posits that exposure to the Western cultural thin ideal, internalization of the ideal and experience of a difference between self and ideal leads to body dissatisfaction, which is a well validated precursor to eating pathology. The current research examined whether the relationships between awareness of Western appearance ideals, internalization of such ideals, and body dissatisfaction were moderated by family food-related experiences and self-compassion. The current paper also investigated whether the strength of relationships between awareness of Western appearance ideals, internalization of such ideals, and body dissatisfaction are affected by certain types of family food-related experiences. Female university students (N = 106) completed self-report questionnaires. Results indicated that mindfulness, a constituent of self-compassion, moderated the relationship between internalization of cultural thinness standards and body dissatisfaction. In addition, self-compassion, each component of self-compassion and women’s perception of negative maternal family food-related experiences predicted internalization of Western societal norms of thinness, as well as body dissatisfaction. Moreover, women’s perception of negative paternal family food-related experiences predicted body dissatisfaction. Women’s perception of negative maternal commentary predicted internalization of Western beauty standards and body dissatisfaction. Finally, women’s perception of negative paternal commentary and paternal modelling of eating difficulties and body image concerns predicted internalization of those values. Future research should attempt to clarify causal relationships among self-compassion and family food-related experiences within the sociocultural model of eating disorders.

The sociocultural model of eating pathology is an empirically-supported model explaining eating disorder etiology. The model poses that body dissatisfaction and subsequent eating pathology stems from the unrealistic standards formulated by Westernized society. Although the model has strong empirical support, variables within the model do not account for 100% of the variance in disordered eating. Thus, the current researcher attempted to explore potential moderating factors in the sociocultural model of eating disorders that may help to explain variance currently unaccounted for. In particular, the researcher focused on the relationship between sociocultural internalization and body dissatisfaction, given that this relationship has not been previously explored within the literature. Based on theoretical support, the researcher chose several potential variables to test, including perfectionism, neuroticism, body surveillance, and shame. Primary analyses tested each variable for moderating effects using hierarchical moderated regression, but no significant findings were shown. Results of post hoc analyses showed all variables had significant mediating effects, with the exception of self-oriented perfectionism. The discussion section addresses consistency with previous research, limitations of the present study, treatment implications and guidelines for future research.