Prevalence of body dysmorphic disorder symptoms and associated clinical features among Australian university students
Dianna Bartsch,
Corresponding Author
Dianna Bartsch
School of Psychology, University of South Australia, Adelaide, South Australia, 5001, Australia
School of Psychology, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA, 5001, Australia, [email protected]Search for more papers by this authorDianna Bartsch,
Corresponding Author
Dianna Bartsch
School of Psychology, University of South Australia, Adelaide, South Australia, 5001, Australia
School of Psychology, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA, 5001, Australia, [email protected]Search for more papers by this authorAbstract
The current study addressed the frequency of body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) symptoms among university students and investigated the predictors of dysmorphic concern. Six hundred and nineteen Australian university students completed measures assessing BDD, dysmorphic concern, self-esteem, depression, life satisfaction, self-oriented and socially prescribed perfectionism. Approximately two thirds of the sample were concerned about an aspect of their appearance, with one third of these individuals preoccupied by this concern. Fourteen participants (2.3%) appeared to meet the criteria for BDD. Multiple regression analysis showed that dysmorphic concern was predicted by self-esteem, depression, self-oriented perfectionism, socially prescribed perfectionism and gender. Female subjects demonstrated significantly greater dysmorphic concern than male subjects. Furthermore, dysmorphic concern was lower among students of Asian background. This study suggests that appearance concerns are common among Australian university students, with approximately 1 in 50 fulfilling the criteria for a probable diagnosis of BDD.
References
-
Ahmad, S.,
Waller, G.,
Verduyn, C.
Eating attitudes among Asian schoolgirls: The role of perceived parental control
International Journal of Eating Disorders
1994 15 91–97.
10.1002/1098-108X(199401)15:1<91::AID-EAT2260150111>3.0.CO;2-7 CASPubMedWeb of Science®Google Scholar
- American Psychiatric Association, Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (DSM-IV;, 4th ed), Author, Washington, D.C. 1994.
-
Biby, E. L.
The relationship between body dysmorphic disorder and depression, self-esteem, somatisation, and obsessive-compulsive disorder
Journal of Clinical Psychology
1998 54 489–499.
10.1002/(SICI)1097-4679(199806)54:4<489::AID-JCLP10>3.0.CO;2-B CASPubMedWeb of Science®Google Scholar
- Bohne, A., Keuthen, N. J., Wilhelm, S., Deckersbach, T., Jenike, M. A. Prevalence of symptoms of body dysmorphic disorder and its correlates: A cross-cultural comparison Psychosomatics 2002 43 486–490.
- Bohne, A., Wilhelm, S., Keuthen, N. J., Florin, I., Baer, L., Jenike, M. A. Prevalence of body dysmorphic disorder in a German college student sample Psychiatry Research 2002 109 101–104.
- Crawford, J. R., Henry, J. D. The depression and anxiety stress scales (DASS): Normative data and latent structure in a large non-clinical sample British Journal of Clinical Psychology 2003 42 111–131.
- Deiner, E., Emmons, R. A., Larsen, R. J., Griffin, S. The satisfaction with life scale Journal of Personality Assessment 1985 49 71–75.
- Demarco, L. M., Li, L., Phillips, K. A., McElroy, S. L. Perceived stress in body dysmorphic disorder Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease 1998 186 724–726.
- Feingold, A., Mazella, R. Gender differences in body image are increasing Psychological Science 1998 9 190–195.
- Fitts, S. N., Gibson, P., Redding, C. A., Deiter, P. J. Body dysmorphic disorder: Implications for its validity as a DSM-III-R clinical syndrome Psychological Reports 1989 64 655–658.
- Grant, J. E., Kim, S. W., Eckert, E. D. Body dysmorphic disorder in patients with anorexia nervosa: Prevalence, clinical features, and delusionality of body image International Journal of Eating Disorders 2002 32 291–300.
- Grant, J. E., Phillips, K. A. Is anorexia nervosa a subtype of body dysmorphic disorder? Probably not, but read on… Harvard Review of Psychiatry 2004 12 123–126.
- Hanstock, T. L., O'Mahony, J. F. Perfectionism, acne and appearance concerns Personality and Individual Differences 2002 32 1317–1325.
- Hewitt, P. L., Flett, G. L. The multidimensional perfectionism scale: Development and validation Canadian Psychology 1989 30 339.
- Hewitt, P. L., Flett, G. L. Perfectionism in the self and social context: Conceptualisation, assessment, and association with psychopathology Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 1991 60 456–470.
- Hollander, E., Cohen, L. J., Simeon, D. Body dysmorphic disorder Psychiatric Annals 1993 23 359–364.
- Ishigooka, J., Iwao, M., Suzuki, M., Fukuyama, Y., Murasaki, M., Miura, S. Demographic features of patients seeking cosmetic surgery Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences 1998 52 283–287.
- Jolanta, J. R., Tomasz, M. S. The links between body dysmorphic disorder and eating disorders European Psychiatry 2000 15 302–305.
- Jorgensen, L., Castle, D., Roberts, C., Groth-Marnat, G. A clinical validation of the dysmorphic concern questionnaire Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry 2001 35 124–128.
- Lovibond, S. H., Lovibond, P. F. Manual for the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales Psychology Foundation, Sydney, NSW 1995.
-
Mayville, S.,
Katz, R. C.,
Gipson, M. T.,
Cabral, K.
Assessing the prevalence of body dysmorphic disorder in an ethnically diverse group of adolescents
Journal of Child and Family Studies
1999 8 357–362.
10.1023/A:1022023514730 Google Scholar
- Oosthuizen, P., Lambert, T., Castle, D. J. Dysmorphic concern: Prevalence and associations with clinical variables Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry 1998 32 129–132.
- Otto, M. W., Wilhelm, S., Cohen, L. S., Harlow, B. L. Prevalence of body dysmorphic disorder in a community sample of women American Journal of Psychiatry 2001 158 2061–2063.
- Phillips, K. A. The broken mirror: Understanding and treating body dysmorphic disorder Oxford University Press, New York 1996.
- Phillips, K. A. Quality of life for patients with body dysmorphic disorder Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease 2000 188 170–175.
- Phillips, K. A., Coles, M. E., Menard, W., Yen, S., Fay, C., Weisberg, R. B. Suicidal ideation and suicide attempts in body dysmorphic disorder Journal of Clinical Psychiatry 2005 66 717–724.
- Phillips, K. A., Diaz, S. F. Gender differences in body dysmorphic disorder Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease 1997 185 570–577.
- Phillips, K. A., Grant, J., Siniscalchi, J., Albertini, R. S. Surgical and nonpsychiatric medical treatment of patients with body dysmorphic disorder Psychosomatics 2001 42 504–510.
- Phillips, K. A., McElroy, S. L., Keck, P. E., Pope, H. G., Hudson, J. I. Body dysmorphic disorder: 30 cases of imagined ugliness American Journal of Psychiatry 1993 150 302–308.
- Phillips, K. A., Menard, W., Fay, C., Pagano, M. E. Psychosocial functioning and quality of life in body dysmorphic disorder Comprehensive Psychiatry 2005 46 254–260.
- Phillips, K. A., Menard, W., Fay, C., Weisberg, R. Demographic characteristics, phenomenology, comorbidity, and family history in 200 individuals with body dysmorphic disorder Psychosomatics 2005 46 317–325.
- Phillips, K. A., Nierenberg, A. A., Brendel, G., Fava, M. Prevalence and clinical features of body dysmorphic disorder in atypical major depression Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease 1996 184 125–129.
- Phillips, K. A., Pinto, A., Jain, S. Self-esteem in body dysmorphic disorder Body Image 2004 1 385–390.
- Poran, M. A. Denying diversity: Perceptions of beauty and social comparison processes among Latina, Black and White women Sex Roles 2002 41 65–82.
- Ricciardelli, L. A., McCabe, M. P., Ball, K., Mellor, D. Sociocultural influences on body image concerns and body change strategies among Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australian adolescent girls and boys Sex Roles 2004 51 731–741.
- Robinson, J., Shaver, P., Wrightsman, L. Measures of personality and social psychological attitudes (VI) Academic Press, San Diego, CA 1991.
- Rodin, J., Silberstein, L. R., Striegel-Moore, R. H. Women and weight: A normative discontent Psychology and gender: Nebraska symposium on motivation, 1984 T. B. Sonderregger University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln 1985, 267–307.
-
Rosenberg, M.
Society and the adolescent self-image Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ 1965.
10.1111/j.1559-1816.2002.tb02765.x Google Scholar
- Stanton, J. M. An empirical assessment of data collection using the Internet Personnel Psychology 1998 51 709–725.
-
Striegel-Moore, R.,
Marcus, M.
Eating disorders in women: Current issues and debates
Psychology of women's health: Progress and challenges in research an application A. Stanton,
S. Gallant American Psychological Association, Washington, DC 1995, 445–487.
10.1037/10178-026 Google Scholar
- Tabachnick, B. G., Fidell, L. S. Using multivariate statistics, ( 4th ed.) Allyn and Bacon, Boston, MA 2001.
-
Thompson, J. K.,
Heinberg, L.,
Altabe, M.,
Tantleff-Dunn, S.
Exacting beauty: Theory, assessment and treatment of body image disturbance American Psychological Association, Washington, DC 1999.
10.1037/10312-000 Google Scholar
- Veale, D., Boocock, A., Gournay, K., Dryden, W., Shah, F., Willson, R., et al Body dysmorphic disorder: A survey of fifty cases British Journal of Psychiatry 1996 169 196–201.
- Veale, D., Kinderman, P., Riley, S., Lambrou, C. Self-discrepancy in body dysmorphic disorder British Journal of Clinical Psychology 2003 42 157–169.
- Yang, C. J., Gray, P., Pope, H. G. Male body image in Taiwan versus the West: Yanggang zhiqi meets the Adonis complex American Journal of Psychiatry 2005 162 263–269.
