Shape- and weight-based self esteem was proposed to be a central cognitive component of the
eating disorders. In this thesis, the psychometric properties of the Shape- and Weight-Based Selfesteem
(SAWBS) Inventory, a newly-developed measure of the influence of shape and weight on
feelings of self-worth, were determined. A preliminary examination of possible developmental
precursors of shape- and weight-based self-esteem was also performed. SAWBS scores were
stable over 1 week, and correlated with women's negative perceptions about their bodies in eating
disorder and undergraduate control groups (EDG and UCG, respectively). In the UCG, SAWBS
scores correlated with one of two measures of shape and weight cognitive schemata. The validity
of shape- and weight-based self-esteem as a central feature of eating disorder symptomatology
was supported in a number of ways. SAWBS scores correlated positively with eating disorder
symptom scores in the UCG, and were significantly higher in women identified as "possible or
probable" eating disorder cases than in women not suspected of having an eating disorder.
SAWBS scores were also higher in the EDG than in the UCG or a psychiatric control group
(PCG), even after controlling for age, socioeconomic status, Body Mass Index (BMT), selfesteem,
and depression. Interestingly, a differing relationship between depression and SAWBS
emerged as a function of group. Follow-up investigations revealed that SAWBS scores differed
significantly between depressed, but not nondepressed women from the three groups. With
regard to discriminant validity, SAWBS scores were uncorrelated with BMI and socioeconomic
status in UCG and EDG women, and were uncorrelated with the tendency to respond in a socially
sanctionned manner in UCG women. Although the tendency to respond in a socially sanctionned
manner was related to SAWBS scores in EDG women, SAWBS scores remained higher in EDG
than in UCG women after the effect of social desirability was controlled. The proposed
developmental precursor variables of SAWBS included endorsement of stereotyped beliefs about
thinness, perceived SAWBS in friends, siblings, and parents, and perceived importance placed by
parents and romantic partner on the woman's own shape and weight. In both EDG and UCG
women, endorsement of societal beliefs about shape and weight, and perceived importance placed on their own shape and weight by mother and father were significantly related to SAWBS scores.
In sum, the SAWBS Inventory showed early promise as a reliable and valid measure of shape- and
weight-based self-esteem, and may be a useful tool in the assessment of eating disorders.
Theoretical and clinical implications with regard to the role of SAWBS in the development and
treatment of eating disorders are discussed. / Arts, Faculty of / Psychology, Department of / Graduate
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UBC/oai:circle.library.ubc.ca:2429/4831 |
| Date | 05 1900 |
| Creators | Geller, Josephine Amanda Caroline |
| Source Sets | University of British Columbia |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, Thesis/Dissertation |
| Format | 7527771 bytes, application/pdf |
| Rights | For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use. |
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