Features of objectified body consciousness and sociocultural perspectives as predictors of eating and body image disturbances among young women and men in China

In recent studies of the structure of affect, positive and negative affect have consistently emerged as two dominant and relatively independent dimensions. A number of mood scales have been created to measure these factors; however, many existing measures are inadequate, showing low reliability or poor convergent or discriminant validity. To fill the need for reliable and valid Positive Affect and Negative Affect scales that are also brief and easy to administer, we developed two 10-item mood scales that comprise the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS). The scales are shown to be highly internally consistent, largely uncorrelated, and stable at appropriate levels over a 2-month time period. Normative data and factorial and external evidence of convergent and discriminant validity for the scales are also presented.

The study aimed to extend tests of objectification theory into the realm of depression. The theory's applicability to men was also investigated. A cross-sectional study. A sample of 115 men and 171 women completed questionnaire measures of self-objectification, depressed mood, disordered eating, as well as the proposed mediating variables of body shame, appearance anxiety, flow and awareness of internal states. For women, it was found that depressed mood and disordered eating were both predicted by self-objectification and its corollary of habitual self-surveillance. Path analysis gave strong support to the mediational relationships of the theoretical model. With one major exception (the role of self-objectification), the pattern of relationships was similar for men. Objectification theory provides a useful framework for identifying predictors of depressed mood. Copyright 2004 The British Psychological Society