Psychological and physiological consequences of exposure to mass media in young women - the role of moderators

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The current study sets out to investigate the following key questions: (1) Does laboratory induced exposure to thin ideals relate to psychological impairments in terms of body image, affect and eating behavior in 18 to 35 year old female suffering from anorexia and bulimia nervosa compared to female healthy controls and to a sample of females suffering from mixed mental disorders (depression and somatoform disorders)? (2) How do moderators such as cognitive distortions (Thought-Shape Fusion, TSF), and correlates of emotion regulation (ER) moderate the influence of the exposure to thin ideals. (3) Are these characteristics amenable to change after treatment? As a second focus it will be explored how exposure to media promoting the thin ideal relates to biological parameter of stress. We combine questionnaire-based and observational data and include biological measures of stress response such as saliva cortisol, alpha-amylase, heart rate and heart rate variability to assess impact of exposure to the thin ideal. To achieve these interdisciplinary goals, two research groups (Simone Munsch, University of Fribourg, Switzerland; Stephan Herpertz, LWL-University Bochum, Germany) provide their expertise for the investigation of ED pathology, negative affect, cognitive style, emotion regulation and psychological aspects of stress. A sample of 250 female participants including patients with AN, BN, depressive and somatoform disorders, and healthy women will be recruited in three collaborating Clinics in Switzerland and in the Clinic of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University of Bochum, Germany (SH). This project will provide pertinent findings about the role of moderators influencing the psychological and physiological effects of exposure to thin ideals promoted by mass media in AN and BN patients using an ecologically valid design. Comparing this susceptibility in ED patients to healthy participants and patients suffering from other mental disorder in a cross and longitudinal design will contribute to a better understanding of psychopathological mechanisms maintaining EDs and distinctions from depressive and somatoform disorders. Findings could be used to develop tailored interventions including a training in ER competences as well as cognitive restructuring of distorted beliefs about the own body shape and weight.