Higher Mindfulness and Voluntary Simplicity and Lower Exposure to Appearance-Focused Television Images Predict Lower Appearance Anxiety in Midlife Women
Anne Haas
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational cross-sectional survey |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 391 |
| Population | Community sample of midlife women |
| Topics | Anxiety Meditation |
| Key findings | Mindfulness, voluntary simplicity lifestyle, and older age were associated with lower weight and non-weight appearance anxiety, while higher appearance-focused television exposure was associated with higher appearance anxiety. The authors argue that personal empowerment practices should be considered indicators of well-being for midlife women's body image. |
Abstract
Although scant compared to research on younger women, research attention to the correlates of midlife women's body image is growing. This study investigates if mindfulness, voluntary simplicity lifestyle, and media exposure predict measures of body image (i.e., weight and non-weight appearance anxiety) among a community sample of midlife women (N = 391). Hierarchical regression analysis that controls for demographic variables and body mass index is used to determine the unique and combined variance of the three theoretical variables. Age, mindfulness, and voluntary simplicity lifestyle are, as predicted, associated with lower appearance anxiety. Higher appearance-focused television exposure is positively related to higher appearance anxiety. The findings underscore that considering personal empowerment practices for body image as indicators of well-being may be fruitful.
Comparable studies
Other cross-sectional and survey studies on anxiety, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Psychological flexibility mediates the relations between acute psychedelic effects and subjective decreases in depression and anxiety. International sample of people who reported having used a psychedelic | 2020 | Cross-sectional survey | n = 985 |
| The Challenging Experience Questionnaire: Characterization of challenging experiences with psilocybin mushrooms Internet survey respondents reporting challenging experiences with psilocybin | 2016 | Questionnaire development and validation | |
| Psychedelics and Mental Health: A Population Study Adult population in the United States | 2013 | Cross-sectional survey | n = 130,152 |
| Ecstasy/MDMA attributed problems reported by novice, moderate and heavy recreational users Ecstasy users who participated in a WWW study of recreational drug use | 2002 | Cross-sectional survey | n = 282 |
| 5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine (5-MeO-DMT) used in a naturalistic group setting is associated with unintended improvements in depression and anxiety. Adults who used 5-MeO-DMT in a group setting with structured procedures | 2019 | Cross-sectional survey | n = 362 |