Skin Deep: Body Image and Interpersonal Relationship Quality in College Women

The relationship between body image and interpersonal relationships (of all sorts) in college women is not well understood, as the limited number of available studies focus primarily on marital relationships and fail to address cross-cultural differences. Thus, this study sought to determine how body satisfaction levels might differ between ethnicities in college women. Participants completed the Howard Body Image Relationship Quality Inventory (H-BIRQI) which examined body satisfaction, depression, and demographic variables. Participants were 40 women aged 18-29 (M = 20.30, SD = 2.20). Three null hypothesis and three research questions were tested using a One-Way ANOVA and Pearson’s product moment correlation coefficient. Results yielded several statistically significant correlations, some of which include the evidence that as body image satisfaction goes down there is a tendency for quality of interpersonal relationship to increase. Additionally, as body satisfaction increases, depression decreases. Future research should include factors that affect relationship quality as well as a larger sample size. How an individual evaluates one‟s self has a great deal to do with the quality of one‟s interpersonal relationship. Within interpersonal relationships, communication and attractiveness play an important role in self-perceived body image (Miller, 2002). Women with poor body image may be less likely to engage in relationship-promoting behaviors and thus may experience decreased satisfaction with their relationships (Metzler & McNulty, 2010). Research suggests that body image is an important aspect of both psychotic and nonpsychotic depression (Noles, Cash, & Winstead, 1985). Past research has studied perceived body image and interpersonal communication. However, little research has been done taking into account the complexity of interpersonal relationships, which may range from friendship to intimacy. It is also important for researchers to examine implicit and explicit attitudes toward thin ideal and implicit components of weight schemas (Ahern & Hetherington, 2006). The following literature review examines perceived body image and interpersonal relationships in young adults. This review describes studies that include dynamics such as culture, media influence, interpersonal relationships, and eating behaviors. The emphasis is placed on the nature of healthy relationships. Empirical studies used in this literature review were located using ERIC, Education Research Complete, PsycARTICLES, PsycREVIEW, and PsycINFO databases. Data clearly indicates the relevance of close examination of relationship satisfaction and body image. This review will also suggest directions for the current study. Body Image Given that body image is an important component of global self-esteem, women‟s body image may shape relationship satisfaction (Willis, Palermo & Burke, 2011). Many factors related to body image in young adults were gathered from across the literature because no one study used or described them all. These factors on body image include (a) friendship cliques (Paxton, Schultz, Werhern, & Muir, 1999); (b) peer influence on body image concerns (Paxton, et. al., 1999; Sechrist & Stangor, 2005); (c) body image and marital satisfaction (sexual frequency), (Meltzer & McNulty, 2010); (d) physical attractiveness (Noles, et al., 1985; Swami, Airs, Chouhan, Leon, & Towel, 2009); (e) romantic relationships (Boyes, Fletcher, & Latner, 2007; Lease, Cohen, & Dahlbeck, 2007); (f) media influence (i.e., social consensus), (Sechrist & Stangor, 2005; Sobal, 2005); and (g) cultural factors associated with body satisfaction (Roberts, et.al., 2006; Lau, Lum, Chronister, & Forrest, 2006). Positive Body Image. According to Meltzer and McNulty (2010), women with more positive body image may be more confident that their partners will continue to accept them and thus be more likely to take emotional risks that are necessary to maintain the relationship. The results of positive body image include, but are not limited to, romantic relationships. Both healthy friendships and family relations can benefit from an individual seeing themselves in a positive light. Depending on how individuals feel about their appearance, involvement and interaction may vary (Miller, 2002). Based on Miller‟s study, persons with higher self-esteem may have healthier involvement in interpersonal communication. Negative Body Image. Individual factors associated theoretically and empirically with poor body image and dieting behaviors include high body mass index (BMI), low self-esteem, and perceived family conflict (Paxton et al., 1999). Ahern and Hetherington (2006) used the Implicit Association Test (IAT) to reveal strong cognitive bias toward fat as negative. To add, one study reported that 84% of obesity surgery patients did not like to be seen in public. These findings would increase societal pressure to be thin. Media Influence Studies by Paxton et al. (1999) on media influence have suggested that greater exposure to media depicting thinness is related to more eating disorder symptomatology. Women in Western societies face numerous pressures to be thin in television, movies, theatre, and modeling. These and other pressures have led women to demonstrate a “normative discontent” regarding their bodies (Meltzer & McNulty, 2010). The average American watches 30 hours of television per week. In the American media, the female icon is tall, blonde, fair skinned, with a delicate bone structure and European facial features. Images in the media serve as powerful tools for relaying messages of what is normal and desirable to the general public (Lau et al., 2006). Interpersonal Relationships Friendships and peer interaction. In one study, body image concerns and use of extreme weight-loss behaviors showed equivalent within-group similarity (Paxton et al., 1999). It was also noted that friendship groups could be characterized by level of body image concern, dieting, and binge eating. Social impacts have made an impression on self-perception, which may allow us to understand group norms and the choice of friends with similar attributes (Paxton et al., 1999). Romantic relationships. Romantic relationships are multifaceted, and involve a variety of perceptions of self and partner, as well as comparison with others (Swami et al., 2009). This is supported by a number of articles indicating that the opinions of others are just as important as individuals‟ own thoughts and feelings. Meltzer and McNulty (2010) found women who reported more positive feelings toward their bodies also reported being more confident that their partners find them sexually attractive and thus sexually desirable. Women who report more negative feelings toward their bodies also report more anxiety about romantic intimacy and doubts that their partners desire them sexually. Oddly enough, individuals appear to perceive their romantic partners as being significantly more attractive than themselves (Swami et al., 2009). Cross-cultural Factors Theories relating to the nature and etiology of body image concerns and disturbed eating typicality implicate both individual and sociocultural environment factors (Paxton et al., 1999) Asian American women have multiple cultural influences regarding their body satisfaction. For example, Asian American women fall into the “model minority” stereotype that evokes the assumption that Asian Americans have overall positive self-concepts (Lau et al., 2006). The results of acculturation are not limited to Asian Americans. A considerable body of research suggests that Black women are more satisfied with their bodies than are White women. Compared with White women, Black women report greater satisfaction with the size, appearance and function of their body (Roberts et al., 2006). Psychological Implications Depression. There is no more powerful social psychological principle than the fact that our attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors are profoundly influenced by our perceptions of the attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors of those we care about (Sechrist & Stangor, 2005). Noles et al., (1985), determined that depression is common among individuals who experience body dissatisfaction. According to Cash, Marrow, Hrabosky, and Perry (2004), a negative body image can result in adverse psychosocial consequences for both sexes, including disordered eating, depression, social anxiety, impaired sexual function, poor self-esteem, and diminished quality of life. In one study, a multivariate and univariate analyses of variance indicated that depressed subjects were less satisfied with their bodies and saw themselves as less attractive than was reported by nondepressed subjects, Boyes et al. (2007) also found that the growing evidence that issues associated with dieting and body image, often conceptualized in the clinical literature are problems at the intrapsychological level. In recent research by Lau et al. (2006), it was emphasized that physical dysfunction and psychological disturbances, such as self-depreciation, that tend to accompany depression suggest that individuals who are depressed may feel less satisfied with their bodies than nondepressed individuals. Inversely, successful intimate relationships may provide women with a psychological buffer against societal pressures to attain a slim appearance (Boyes et al., 2007). Eating behaviors. Eight million individuals in the United States suffer from an eating disorder as a result of negative body image. Negative body image can have an adverse impact on every day outcomes ranging from proper health care and eating disorders to the sustainability of a marital relationship. In part, sociocultural pressure to be thin is central to the high prevalence of body dissatisfaction and disordered eating observed among women (Ahern & Hetherington, 2006). In sum, research in the area of body image has revealed how media has an influence on the way in which an indivi