98 Body Dissatisfaction
body image and body dissatisfaction can be found in Ben-Tovim and
Walker (1991b), Thompson (1990), Cash and Pruzinsky (1990), and
Allison (1995).
How is it measured?The measurement of body dissatisfaction can be considered in terms of
three different perspectives, as shown in figure 6.1.
Distorted body size estimation
Some research has conceptualized body dissatisfaction as a distorted body
size estimation and a perception that the body is larger than it really is.
For example, Slade and Russell (1973) asked anorexics to adjust the dis-
tance between two lights on a beam in a darkened room until the lights
represented the width of parts of their body such as their hips, waist, and
shoulders. The results showed that anorexics consistently overestimated their
size compared to control subjects. Other studies coming from the same
perspective have asked subjects either to mark a life-size piece of paper
(Gleghorn et al., 1987), to adjust the horizontal dimensions on either a
television or video image of themselves (Freeman et al., 1984; Gardner,
Martinez, and Sandoval, 1987), or to change the dimensions on a distorting
mirror (Brodie, Slade, and Rose, 1989). This research has consistently shown
that individuals with clinically defined eating disorders show greater per-
ceptual distortion than nonclinical subjects. The research has also shown
that the vast majority of women whether with or without an eating dis-
order think that they are larger than they actually are.
Discrepancy from the ideal
An alternative approach to body dissatisfaction has emphasized a discrep-
ancy between perceptions of reality versus those of an ideal. In contrast to
the approach described above, this perspective does not involve a comparison
to the individual’s actual size as objectively measured by the researcher. This
research has tended to use whole-body silhouette pictures of varying sizes,
with the subject asked to state which one is closest to how they look now
and which one best illustrates how they would like to look (see figure 6.2).
Stunkard, Sorensen, and Schulsinger (1983) used this approach with
normal male and female students; Counts and Adams (1985) used it with
bulimics, dieters, and ex-obese females; and Hill, Oliver, and Rogers (1992)
used it with preadolescent and adolescent children. This approach has