Can Positive Mood or Mindfulness Interventions Increase Body Satisfaction?
Gabrielle Mary Rodgers
June 1, 2016 DOI: 10.31979/etd.x8ds-s2w4 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Experimental study (three experiments) |
|---|---|
| Population | Nonclinical population |
| Interventions | Negative mood manipulation Positive mood manipulation Positive mood induction Body scan mindfulness meditation |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key findings | Negative mood manipulation decreased mood and body satisfaction, while positive mood manipulation increased both, supporting a relationship between negative affect and body dissatisfaction in a nonclinical sample. In Experiment 3, positive affect and body satisfaction increased significantly over time following the proposed interventions and the control manipulation, so the specific interventions were not isolated as the cause of improvement. |
Abstract
Research has indicated that body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) and eating disorder interventions have historically targeted clinically diagnosed individuals. These interventions target specific predicting risk factors such as negative affect and body dissatisfaction. The current study focused on the relationship between negative affect and body dissatisfaction for a nonclinical population. The central questions were (i) whether the posited relationship between negative affect and body dissatisfaction could be replicated for a nonclinical population and (ii) if interventions that target mood would also lead to increases in self-perceived body satisfaction. The efficacy of mood interventions as a means to target body dissatisfaction was investigated. Experiment 1 demonstrated the effectiveness of the negative mood manipulation in decreasing mood and body satisfaction. In contrast, Experiment 2 demonstrated the effectiveness of the positive mood manipulation in increasing mood and body satisfaction. Experiment 3 examined the effectiveness of the proposed body dissatisfaction interventions, a positive mood induction and a body scan mindfulness meditation, in increasing mood and body satisfaction. Positive affect and body satisfaction significantly increased over time following the proposed body dissatisfaction interventions and the control manipulation. Implications of the results and future directions are discussed.
Comparable studies
Other experimental studies on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Cancer patients (clinical intervention study) | 2003 | Mixed methods: scale development, correlational, quasi-experimental, laboratory, experience-sampling, and clinical intervention study | |
| Loving-kindness meditation increases social connectedness. | 2008 | Controlled laboratory experiment | |
| Mindfulness and mind-wandering: Finding convergence through opposing constructs. | 2012 | Two studies: correlational study and experimental study | |
| Mental Training Enhances Attentional Stability: Neural and Behavioral Evidence | 2009 | Experimental study | |
| Mindfulness meditation and substance use in an incarcerated population. Incarcerated population | 2006 | Quasi-experimental with treatment-as-usual control condition |