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

Body surveillance and body shame are features of objectified body consciousness that have utility in predicting body image and eating disturbances but evidence is based largely on samples in developed Western nations and it is not clear whether these factors predict disturbances independent of conceptually-related factors emphasized in alternate sociocultural accounts. To address these issues, we assessed the impact of body surveillance and body shame as well as features of other sociocultural models (i.e. perceived appearance pressure, appearance comparisons, general negative affect) on disordered eating, fatness concerns, and body dissatisfaction among young Chinese adults. University-age women (n = 466) and men (n = 230) from Chongqing, China completed validated self-report measures of demographics and the above constructs. For women, objectified body consciousness measures explained significant variance in each measure of disturbances, beyond effects of other factors; body surveillance had a unique impact in each prediction model. For men, facets of objectified body consciousness also combined for unique variance across prediction models, though body shame was the more prominent unique influence. Findings highlight the potential role of individual differences in body surveillance and body shame as influences on eating and body image of young women and men within a Chinese context.