We are looking for women aged 16 and older who currently suffer from anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge-eating disorder, or body dysmorphic disorder. What all of these conditions have in common is that they significantly impair a person’s perception and evaluation of their own body. While people with anorexia nervosa typically severely restrict their food intake and have a strong fear of gaining weight, bulimia nervosa and binge-eating disorder are characterized by recurrent binge eating episodes. Unlike bulimia, however, these binge-eating episodes in binge-eating disorder are not regularly offset by measures such as self-induced vomiting or excessive exercise. In body dysmorphic disorder, on the other hand, the focus is not on eating behavior but on an intense preoccupation with perceived physical flaws.
Although the symptoms of these disorders differ, they share a common core: a distorted body image. Body image encompasses far more than simply satisfaction with one’s own appearance. It describes how people perceive their bodies, think about them, what feelings they develop toward them, and how they behave as a result of these perceptions. Particularly in the case of eating disorders and body dysmorphic disorder, body image is often significantly impaired and constitutes a central component of the condition.
“Previous studies suggest that body image is not formed solely by looking in the mirror. The way people perceive internal bodily signals and the extent to which they are influenced by external bodily stimuli also seem to play an important role,” explains study leader Luca-Leander Wolz from the Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy. “With our study, we aim to better understand how these different forms of body perception are related to various facets of body image.”
While such correlations have primarily been examined in healthy samples to date, this current study specifically targets, for the first time, individuals with various body image-related mental disorders. In the long term, the results are intended to contribute to a better understanding of the psychological mechanisms underlying body image disorders and to identify potential approaches for future treatments.
Participation takes place entirely online and involves completing several research questionnaires. Depending on how quickly you work through them, it takes about 35 to 45 minutes. All data is collected in pseudonymized form and processed with strict confidentiality. As a thank-you, participants will receive a gift certificate worth 10 euros.
The study is being conducted by Prof. Dr. Silja Vocks and Luca-Leander Wolz, M.Sc., in the Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy at the University of Osnabrück. Those interested can contact the study director, Luca-Leander Wolz, by email: kpp-sensingtheself@uni-osnabrueck.de
Additional information for the media:
Luca-Leander Wolz, M.Sc. Psych. University of Osnabrück
Prof. Dr. Silja Vocks, University of Osnabrück
Institute of Psychology, Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy
kpp-sensingtheself@uni-osnabrueck.de Instagram Clinical Psychology Osnabrück: koerperbildforschung
Link to the study: https://kpp-limesurvey.psy.uni-osnabrueck.de/index.php?r=survey/index&sid=396756&lang=de
