Skip to main content

Research Repository

Advanced Search

An Examination of the Tripartite Influence Model of Body Image: Does Women’s Sexual Identity Make a Difference?

Huxley, Caroline J.; Halliwell, Emma; Clarke, Victoria

Authors

Caroline J. Huxley

Emma Halliwell Emma.Halliwell@uwe.ac.uk
Associate Professor in Psychology

Profile image of Victoria Clarke

Dr Victoria Clarke Victoria.Clarke@uwe.ac.uk
Associate Professor in Qualitative & Critical Psychology



Abstract

© 2014, © The Author(s) 2014. According to the tripartite influence model of body image, appearance pressures from family, friends, partners, and the media lead to body dissatisfaction and restrained eating behaviours. There is strong support for this model among young, White heterosexual women. Evidence suggests that women who identified as lesbian as bisexual (LB) may be protected from sociocultural pressures around thinness, but no known research has tested the tripartite model among LB women. The current research tests this model with 264 heterosexual and 208 LB adult women. Heterosexual women reported more thin-ideal internalization than LB women. For both groups of women, pressures from the media, male romantic partners, and family were most strongly associated with weight satisfaction and thin-ideal internalization. However, the impact of these pressures differed for the two groups; the heterosexual women’s model included significant pathways from these pressures to weight satisfaction and restrained eating, which were not significant for the LB women. Differences also emerged between our findings and previous research with younger women; pressure from friends was not related to body image in the model for either group. These findings suggest that further research is needed to explore how diverse groups of women experience sociocultural pressures around thinness.

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Oct 20, 2014
Online Publication Date Oct 20, 2014
Publication Date Jan 1, 2015
Deposit Date Jul 29, 2019
Journal Psychology of Women Quarterly
Print ISSN 0361-6843
Electronic ISSN 1471-6402
Publisher SAGE Publications
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 39
Issue 3
Pages 337-348
DOI https://doi.org/10.1177/0361684314554917
Keywords body image; heterosexual women; lesbianism; bisexuality; tripartite influence model; thin-ideal internalization; interpersonal relationships; objectification
Public URL https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/1788720
Publisher URL https://doi.org/10.1177/0361684314554917