Sociocultural attitudes towards appearance in dieting disordered and nondieting disordered subjects

Differences between awareness and internalization of sociocultural attitudes towards appearance for dieting disordered groups and non-dieting disordered groups were investigated. This Australian sample consisted of female anorexic, bulimic, and Eating Disordered Not Otherwise Specified (EDNOS) patients and normal controls. Sociocultural attitudes towards appearance for the sample were measured with the recently developed scale, the Sociocultural Attitudes to Appearance Questionnaire (SATAQ) which has two subscales, Awareness (SATAQ-A) and Internalization (SATAQ-I). Significant differences were found between the control and bulimic groups as well as the control and EDNOS groups but not between the control and anorexic group on the SATAQ-A. Controls differed significantly from the three dieting disordered groups on the SATAQ-I. For dieting disordered subjects Awareness and Internalization were significantly and positively related to eating pathology measures such as Drive for Thinness, Body Dissatisfaction and Eating Attitudes but not to Bulimia or Perfectionism. For controls, Internalization was significantly and positively related to Drive for Thinness and Body Dissatisfaction measures but Awareness was not related to any of these measures. Dieting disordered patients internalized social attitudes to appearance significantly more than the nondieting disordered population. Both bulimic and EDNOS patients were also significantly more aware of these attitudes than the normal population. The study provided some evidence for the validity of the SATAQ and support for a sociocultural explanation of dieting disorders. The SATAQ may provide a useful inclusion for outcome studies in the prevention of dieting disorders.