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Outputs (36)

More than my appearance: A pilot evaluation of the Expand Your Horizon online functionality-based writing programme for adults with visible differences (2024)
Journal Article

Background: Adults with conditions that affect their appearance, known as visible differences, can experience appearance concerns, social anxiety, and depression. Interventions have been developed for this population to facilitate adjustment and copi... Read More about More than my appearance: A pilot evaluation of the Expand Your Horizon online functionality-based writing programme for adults with visible differences.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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?.

A qualitative exploration of whether lesbian and bisexual women are 'protected' from sociocultural pressure to be thin (2014)
Journal Article

Heterosexual women in Western cultures are known to experience body image concerns, dieting and disordered eating as a result of intense social pressures to be thin. However, it is theorised that lesbian and bisexual women belong to a subculture that... Read More about A qualitative exploration of whether lesbian and bisexual women are 'protected' from sociocultural pressure to be thin.

Can appearance conversations explain differences between gay and heterosexual men's body dissatisfaction? (2014)
Journal Article

Men's body dissatisfaction is prevalent and a serious health concern as it is associated with negative outcomes including depression, disordered eating, and anabolic steroid abuse. Gay men are particularly vulnerable to body dissatisfaction, perhaps... Read More about Can appearance conversations explain differences between gay and heterosexual men's body dissatisfaction?.

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.

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'.

The impact of thin idealized media images on body satisfaction: Does body appreciation protect women from negative effects? (2013)
Journal Article

This article examines whether positive body image can protect women from negative media exposure effects. University women (N=112) were randomly allocated to view advertisements featuring ultra-thin models or control images. Women who reported high l... Read More about The impact of thin idealized media images on body satisfaction: Does body appreciation protect women from negative effects?.

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.

"it's a comparison thing, isn't it?": Lesbian and bisexual women's accounts of how partner relationships shape their feelings about their body and appearance (2011)
Journal Article

Women's feelings about their body and their appearance are an important aspect of their lives, yet little is known about the ways in which partner relationships shape these feelings.There has been some debate about whether or not same-sex relationshi... Read More about "it's a comparison thing, isn't it?": Lesbian and bisexual women's accounts of how partner relationships shape their feelings about their body and appearance.

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.

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.

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.

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.