Journal
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EATING DISORDERS
Volume 45, Issue 8, Pages 942-948Publisher
WILEY
DOI: 10.1002/eat.22056
Keywords
thin-ideal; internalization; body image; disordered eating; twin study; heritability; Tripartite Model
Funding
- National Institute of Mental Health [1-R01 MH0820-54, 5-R01 MH092377-02]
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Objective: Current research on the etiology of thin-ideal internalization focuses on psychosocial influences (e.g., media exposure). The possibility that genetic influences also account for variance in thin-ideal internalization has never been directly examined. This study used a twin design to estimate genetic effects on thin-ideal internalization and examine if environmental influences are primarily shared or nonshared in origin. Method: Participants were 343 postpubertal female twins (ages: 1222 years; M = 17.61) from the Michigan State University Twin Registry. Thin-ideal internalization was assessed using the Sociocultural Attitudes toward Appearance Questionnaire-3. Results: Twin modeling suggested significant additive genetic and nonshared environmental influences on thin-ideal internalization. Shared environmental influences were small and non-significant. Discussion: Although prior research focused on psychosocial factors, genetic influences on thin-ideal internalization were significant and moderate in magnitude. Research is needed to investigate possible interplay between genetic and nonshared environmental factors in the development of thin-ideal internalization. (c) 2012 by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available