Outputs (44)

Surviving to thriving: Impact of art interventions on the wellbeing of women who have experienced sexual violence (2022)
Report

This evaluation report describes a series of art workshops designed to support the wellbeing of people who have experienced sexual violence, run through Somerset and Avon Rape and Sexual Abuse Support (SARSAS; www.sarsas.org.uk), led by socially enga... Read More about Surviving to thriving: Impact of art interventions on the wellbeing of women who have experienced sexual violence.

A systematic review of interventions aiming to promote positive body image in children and adolescents (2022)
Journal Article

Evidence shows interventions can improve positive body image in adult women. This systematic review examined the evidence of efficacy of interventions that aimed to increase positive body image in children and young people aged under 18 years. The au... Read More about A systematic review of interventions aiming to promote positive body image in children and adolescents.

Surviving to thriving: The impact of an arts intervention on the wellbeing of women who have experienced sexual violence (2021)
Presentation / Conference Contribution

The study evaluated the impact of a programme of creative workshop on the well-being and mood of 25 women (average age = 41, range = 20-57) who had experienced sexual violence, run through SARSAS (www.sarsas.org.uk). A pre-post evaluation was conduct... Read More about Surviving to thriving: The impact of an arts intervention on the wellbeing of women who have experienced sexual violence.

Mindful Eating - Conscious Living: A study of acceptability, feasibility and efficacy among adult women in the UK (2021)
Presentation / Conference Contribution

Disordered eating, or dis-ease around food and eating, is widespread. Many materials assisting individuals to apply mindfulness skills to their eating choices and behaviour are available online, from apps, to guided meditations, to asynchronous and... Read More about Mindful Eating - Conscious Living: A study of acceptability, feasibility and efficacy among adult women in the UK.

An evaluation of the impact of an arts intervention on the wellbeing of women who have experienced sexual violence (2021)
Presentation / Conference Contribution

Introduction The study evaluated the impact of a four-session creative workshop on well-being and mood among women who had experienced sexual violence, run through Somerset and Avon Rape and Sexual Abuse Support (SARSAS; https://www.sarsas.org.uk/).... Read More about An evaluation of the impact of an arts intervention on the wellbeing of women who have experienced sexual violence.

Cognitive-behavioral roots of body image therapy and prevention (2019)
Journal Article

The existing array of evidence-based body image prevention and intervention approaches has evolvedover time. However, the majority originated directly or indirectly from a cognitive-behavioral conceptu-alisation of body image pioneered by Thomas F. C... Read More about Cognitive-behavioral roots of body image therapy and prevention.

Cognitive dissonance-based interventions to facilitate positive body image and embodiment (2019)
Book Chapter

Prospective research indicates that positive body image, as defined as body appreciation, predicts adaptive eating behaviors among adolescent girls over a 1-year period (Andrew, Tiggemann, & Clark, 2016). Experimental research indicates that women wi... Read More about Cognitive dissonance-based interventions to facilitate positive body image and embodiment.

Mindful Eating - Conscious Living: An acceptability study (2019)
Presentation / Conference Contribution

Mindful Eating – Conscious Living™ (ME-CL) is a mindfulness-based programme originating in the US which aims to reduce anxiety around food and eating. While the programme is being delivered widely, it has never been tested under research conditions.... Read More about Mindful Eating - Conscious Living: An acceptability study.

The effectiveness of interventions aiming to promote positive body image in adults: A systematic review (2019)
Journal Article

© 2019 Elsevier Ltd Theory suggests promoting positive body image (PBI)through interventions would have a significant impact on health and well-being. However, little is known about the effectiveness of existing interventions. This review aimed to id... Read More about The effectiveness of interventions aiming to promote positive body image in adults: A systematic review.

A randomized experimental evaluation of a yoga-based body image intervention (2019)
Journal Article

Recent literature argues that body image interventions need to become more embodied. This paper evaluates a brief yoga-based body image intervention which incorporates themes specifically tailored to focus on positive body image. Young women (Mage= 2... Read More about A randomized experimental evaluation of a yoga-based body image intervention.

Evaluating the impact of a brief yoga intervention on preadolescents’ body image and mood (2018)
Journal Article

Yoga is an embodying activity that promotes body awareness, body connection, body responsiveness, and appreciation of body functionality, and it therefore may be a beneficial school-based intervention for children’s body image. The present study exam... Read More about Evaluating the impact of a brief yoga intervention on preadolescents’ body image and mood.

Evaluating the impact of a brief yoga intervention on preadolescents’ body image and mood (2018)
Journal Article

© 2018 Yoga is an embodying activity that promotes body awareness, body connection, body responsiveness, and appreciation of body functionality, and it therefore may be a beneficial school-based intervention for children's body image. The present stu... Read More about Evaluating the impact of a brief yoga intervention on preadolescents’ body image and mood.

A randomised-controlled trial investigating potential underlying mechanisms of a functionality-based approach to improving women’s body image (2018)
Journal Article

Focusing on body functionality is a promising technique for improving women's body image. This study replicates prior research in a large novel sample, tests longer-term follow-up effects, and investigates underlying mechanisms of these effects (body... Read More about A randomised-controlled trial investigating potential underlying mechanisms of a functionality-based approach to improving women’s body image.

An exploration of bisexual, lesbian, and heterosexual women's body dissatisfaction, and body hair and make-up practices (2017)
Journal Article

Body image pressures for heterosexual women are well established. However, lesbian body image is less well understood, while bisexual women have largely been overlooked with the psychological literature. Further, women's investment in ‘traditional’ a... Read More about An exploration of bisexual, lesbian, and heterosexual women's body dissatisfaction, and body hair and make-up practices.

Adapting the Body Appreciation Scale-2 for Children: A psychometric analysis of the BAS-2C (2017)
Journal Article

© 2017 Positive body image among adults is related to numerous indicators of well-being. However, no research has explored body appreciation among children. To facilitate our understanding of children's positive body image, the current study adapts a... Read More about Adapting the Body Appreciation Scale-2 for Children: A psychometric analysis of the BAS-2C.

More than just child’s play?: An experimental investigation of the impact of an appearance-focused internet game on body image and career aspirations of young girls (2017)
Journal Article

© 2017, The Author(s). In recent years, elements of the modern environment (such as television, Internet, toys and clothes) have been criticized for having an increasingly sexualized or appearance focus, which has been suggested to be detrimental to... Read More about More than just child’s play?: An experimental investigation of the impact of an appearance-focused internet game on body image and career aspirations of young girls.

Body Image in Primary Schools: A pilot evaluation of a primary school intervention program designed by teachers to improve children's body satisfaction (2016)
Journal Article

© 2016 Body Image in the Primary School (Hutchinson & Calland, 2011) is a body image curriculum that is widely available but has not yet been evaluated. This study evaluates a set of 6 of the 49 available lessons from this curriculum. Seventy-four gi... Read More about Body Image in Primary Schools: A pilot evaluation of a primary school intervention program designed by teachers to improve children's body satisfaction.

Reflective report: A qualitative exploration of whether lesbian and bisexual women are ‘protected’ from sociocultural pressure to be thin (2016)
Book Chapter

This reflective report provides another appearance-related example of a thematic analysis study. Whereas the worked example in Chapter 6 focused on gay men’s appearance and provided a predominantly latent-level interpretation of the data, this report... Read More about Reflective report: A qualitative exploration of whether lesbian and bisexual women are ‘protected’ from sociocultural pressure to be thin.

Future directions for positive body image research (2015)
Journal Article

© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. The emergence of positive body image research during the last 10 years represents an important shift in the body image literature. The existing evidence provides a strong empirical basis for the study of positive body image and r... Read More about Future directions for positive body image research.

Dissemination of evidence-based body image interventions: A pilot study into the effectiveness of using undergraduate students as interventionists in secondary schools (2015)
Journal Article

© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. Dissonance-based body image interventions are among the most effective interventions for adolescent girls. However, dissemination of these interventions remains challenging. In addition, the emerging field of positive body image... Read More about Dissemination of evidence-based body image interventions: A pilot study into the effectiveness of using undergraduate students as interventionists in secondary schools.

Social comparisons on social media: THE impact of Facebook on young women's body image concerns and mood (2015)
Journal Article

© 2014 Elsevier Ltd. The present study experimentally investigated the effect of Facebook usage on women's mood and body image, whether these effects differ from an online fashion magazine, and whether appearance comparison tendency moderates any of... Read More about Social comparisons on social media: THE impact of Facebook on young women's body image concerns and mood.

The Mediating Role of Appearance Comparisons in the Relationship Between Media Usage and Self-Objectification in Young Women (2015)
Journal Article

© 2015, © The Author(s) 2015. The media’s portrayal of women is often sexually objectifying, and greater exposure to objectifying media is associated with higher levels of self-objectification among young women. One reason why media usage may be asso... Read More about The Mediating Role of Appearance Comparisons in the Relationship Between Media Usage and Self-Objectification in Young Women.

Costing the invisible: A review of the evidence examining the links between body image, aspirations, education and workplace confidence (2014)
Preprint / Working Paper

Throughout the world, girls and women are interested in their looks. What has been perceived as an enjoyable part of life is however imbued with negative economic and psychological costs which are rarely calculated. International studies confirm the... Read More about Costing the invisible: A review of the evidence examining the links between body image, aspirations, education and workplace confidence.

An Examination of the Tripartite Influence Model of Body Image: Does Women’s Sexual Identity Make a Difference? (2014)
Journal Article

© 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 thi... Read More about An Examination of the Tripartite Influence Model of Body Image: Does Women’s Sexual Identity Make a Difference?.

Bisexual women's understandings of social marginalisation: 'The heterosexuals don't understand US but nor do the lesbians' (2014)
Journal Article

Drawing on interviews with 20 self-identified bisexual women, this paper contributes to the limited psychological literature on bisexual women by exploring their experiences of social marginalisation. These (mainly white and middle class) British bis... Read More about Bisexual women's understandings of social marginalisation: 'The heterosexuals don't understand US but nor do the lesbians'.

Resisting and conforming to the 'Lesbian Look': The importance of appearance norms for lesbian and bisexual women (2014)
Journal Article

Appearance is one way in which lesbian and bisexual identities and affiliation to lesbian, gay, bisexual (LGB) subculture can be demonstrated. 'Butch' and 'androgynous' styles have been used by lesbian women to communicate a non-heterosexual identity... Read More about Resisting and conforming to the 'Lesbian Look': The importance of appearance norms for lesbian and bisexual women.

Visible lesbians and invisible bisexuals: Appearance and visual identities among bisexual women (2013)
Journal Article

A number of feminist scholars have argued that dress and appearance can be used to critique the dominant culture and explore alternative subjectivities. Research on non-heterosexual visual identities has explored the role that appearance and clothing... Read More about Visible lesbians and invisible bisexuals: Appearance and visual identities among bisexual women.

Happy being me in the UK: A controlled evaluation of a school-based body image intervention with pre-adolescent children (2013)
Journal Article

This study evaluated an adapted version of 'Happy Being Me', a school-based body image intervention, with girls and boys aged 10-11 years. Forty-three children participated in a three-week intervention, and 45 children formed a control group. Both gr... Read More about Happy being me in the UK: A controlled evaluation of a school-based body image intervention with pre-adolescent children.

What works in secondary schools? A systematic review of classroom-based body image programs (2013)
Journal Article

Governments, schools, and curriculum authorities are increasingly recognizing that body image during adolescence is a public health issue that warrants attention in the school setting. After 30 years of eating disorder prevention research, and given... Read More about What works in secondary schools? A systematic review of classroom-based body image programs.

‘Happy Being Me’ in the UK: A controlled evaluation of a school-based body image intervention with pre-adolescent children (2012)
Presentation / Conference Contribution

Background Body image concerns among children are commonly associated with the onset of severe health-related implications including reduced physical activity, unhealthy eating behaviours, and low self-esteem, among others. Historically, attempts to... Read More about ‘Happy Being Me’ in the UK: A controlled evaluation of a school-based body image intervention with pre-adolescent children.

Body dissatisfaction: Can a short media literacy message reduce negative media exposure effects amongst adolescent girls? (2011)
Journal Article

Objectives. This experimental study examined whether a brief video intervention identifying the artificial nature of media images could protect adolescent girls from negative media exposure effects and body dissatisfaction. Design. A 2 (intervention... Read More about Body dissatisfaction: Can a short media literacy message reduce negative media exposure effects amongst adolescent girls?.

Post-feminist advertising laid bare: Young women's talk about the sexually agentic woman of 'midriff' advertising (2011)
Journal Article

This paper presents a feminist Foucauldian analysis of women's interpretations of images of women in post-feminist advertising. Building on Ros Gill's analysis of post-feminist advertising images of women, and more specifically the figure of 'the mid... Read More about Post-feminist advertising laid bare: Young women's talk about the sexually agentic woman of 'midriff' advertising.

Examination of a sociocultural model of excessive exercise among male and female adolescents (2010)
Journal Article

There is substantial evidence that sociocultural pressures and body image disturbances can lead to disordered eating, yet few studies have examined their impact on excessive exercise. The study adapted a sociocultural model for disordered eating to p... Read More about Examination of a sociocultural model of excessive exercise among male and female adolescents.

Adolescents' and parents' experiences of managing the psychosocial impact of appearance change during cancer treatment (2010)
Journal Article

Using combined qualitative data from multiple case study interviews and an online survey, this study explored the impact of appearance change on 22 adolescents receiving cancer treatment aged 13 to 18 years and six of their parents. Data were analyze... Read More about Adolescents' and parents' experiences of managing the psychosocial impact of appearance change during cancer treatment.

Are contemporary media images which seem to display women as sexually empowered actually harmful to women? (2010)
Journal Article

There has been a shift in the depiction of women in advertising from objectifying representations of women as passive sex objects to agentic sexual representations where the women appear powerful and in control (Gill, 2007a, 2008), and there is subst... Read More about Are contemporary media images which seem to display women as sexually empowered actually harmful to women?.

Investigating the role of attachment in social comparison theories of eating disorders within a non-clinical female population (2009)
Journal Article

Objective: The present study aimed to integrate attachment theory and sociocultural theory as predictors of disordered eating, thereby combining two previously distinct literatures in order to provide a more comprehensive model of eating disorder dev... Read More about Investigating the role of attachment in social comparison theories of eating disorders within a non-clinical female population.

A qualitative exploration of bisexual women’s appearance and visual identity (2009)
Presentation / Conference Contribution

The majority of studies that focus on bisexuality do not take into account the importance of bisexual visual identities, despite evidence that lesbians and gay men manage their visual presentation in multiple ways. Minimal academic research has focus... Read More about A qualitative exploration of bisexual women’s appearance and visual identity.

Domain-specific self-discrepancy activation mediated men's body dissatisfaction after exposure to media ideals (2009)
Presentation / Conference Contribution

Understanding the impact of thin media models on women's body-focused affect: the roles of thin-ideal internalization and weight-related self-discrepancy activation in experimental exposure effects (2009)
Journal Article

Previous experimental research demonstrates that exposure to ultra-thin media models has negative effects on many women's body image, but neglects underlying psychological processes. We develop and test a moderated mediation model with internalizatio... Read More about Understanding the impact of thin media models on women's body-focused affect: the roles of thin-ideal internalization and weight-related self-discrepancy activation in experimental exposure effects.

A qualitative exploration of bisexual women’s appearance and visual identity (2008)
Presentation / Conference Contribution

A qualitative exploration of bisexual women’s appearance and visual identity (2008)
Presentation / Conference Contribution

Associations between appearance-related self-discrepancies and young women's and men's affect, body satisfaction, and emotional eating: a comparison of fixed-item and participant-generated self-discrepancies. (2006)
Journal Article

This study examines the associations between appearance-related, actual-ideal self-discrepancies--from both own and romantic partner's standpoints--and negative affect, body satisfaction, and eating behavior. It extends previous research through stud... Read More about Associations between appearance-related self-discrepancies and young women's and men's affect, body satisfaction, and emotional eating: a comparison of fixed-item and participant-generated self-discrepancies..

The role of self-improvement and self-evaluation motives in social comparisons with idealised female bodies in the media (2005)
Journal Article

This study investigates the effect of social comparisons with media models on women's body image based on either self-evaluation or self-improvement motives. Ninety-eight women, for whom appearance was a relevant comparison dimension, viewed advertis... Read More about The role of self-improvement and self-evaluation motives in social comparisons with idealised female bodies in the media.

BRIEF REPORT: The impact of a pilot art intervention on the wellbeing of women who have experienced sexual violence
Report