Background: Negative body image and adverse body self-evaluation represent key psychological constructs within the realm of weight bias (WB), potentially intertwined with the negative self-evaluation characteristic of depressive symptomatology. Although WB encapsulates an implicit form of self-critical assessment, its exploration among people with mood disorders (MD) has been under-investigated. Our primary goal is to comprehensively assess both explicit and implicit WB, seeking to reveal specific dimensions that could interconnect with the symptoms of MDs. Methods: A cohort comprising 25 MD patients and 35 demographically matched healthy peers (with 83% female representation) participated in a series of tasks designed to evaluate the congruence between various computer-generated body representations and a spectrum of descriptive adjectives. Our analysis delved into multiple facets of body image evaluation, scrutinizing the associations between different body sizes and emotionally charged adjectives (e.g., active, apple-shaped, attractive). Results: No discernible differences emerged concerning body dissatisfaction or the correspondence of different body sizes with varying adjectives. Interestingly, MD patients exhibited a markedly higher tendency to overestimate their body weight (p = 0.011). Explicit WB did not show significant variance between the two groups, but MD participants demonstrated a notable implicit WB within a specific weight rating task for BMI between 18.5 and 25 kg/m2 (p = 0.012). Conclusions: Despite the striking similarities in the assessment of participants’ body weight, our investigation revealed an implicit WB among individuals grappling with MD. This bias potentially assumes a role in fostering selfdirected negative evaluations, shedding light on a previously unexplored facet of the interplay between WB and mood disorders.

Exploring weight bias and negative self-evaluation in patients with mood disorders: insights from the BodyTalk Project

Toffanin, Tommaso;
2024

Abstract

Background: Negative body image and adverse body self-evaluation represent key psychological constructs within the realm of weight bias (WB), potentially intertwined with the negative self-evaluation characteristic of depressive symptomatology. Although WB encapsulates an implicit form of self-critical assessment, its exploration among people with mood disorders (MD) has been under-investigated. Our primary goal is to comprehensively assess both explicit and implicit WB, seeking to reveal specific dimensions that could interconnect with the symptoms of MDs. Methods: A cohort comprising 25 MD patients and 35 demographically matched healthy peers (with 83% female representation) participated in a series of tasks designed to evaluate the congruence between various computer-generated body representations and a spectrum of descriptive adjectives. Our analysis delved into multiple facets of body image evaluation, scrutinizing the associations between different body sizes and emotionally charged adjectives (e.g., active, apple-shaped, attractive). Results: No discernible differences emerged concerning body dissatisfaction or the correspondence of different body sizes with varying adjectives. Interestingly, MD patients exhibited a markedly higher tendency to overestimate their body weight (p = 0.011). Explicit WB did not show significant variance between the two groups, but MD participants demonstrated a notable implicit WB within a specific weight rating task for BMI between 18.5 and 25 kg/m2 (p = 0.012). Conclusions: Despite the striking similarities in the assessment of participants’ body weight, our investigation revealed an implicit WB among individuals grappling with MD. This bias potentially assumes a role in fostering selfdirected negative evaluations, shedding light on a previously unexplored facet of the interplay between WB and mood disorders.
2024
Meneguzzo, Paolo; Behrens, Simone C.; Pavan, Chiara; Toffanin, Tommaso; Quiros-Ramirez, M. Alejandra; Black, Michael J.; Giel, Katrin E.; Tenconi, Ele...espandi
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11392/2551010
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