Designing and Testing a Model of Thin Internalization, Self-objectification and Body Ddissatisfaction as Precedents of Eating Disorder Risk in Female University Students

Eating disorders are one of the most important psychological disorders in females. There are many causes of eating disorder, like thin internalization, and self-objectification. Therefore, the aim of this study was to design, and test a model of thin internalization, self-objectification and body dissatisfaction as precedents of eating disorder risk in female university students. The model was designed and tested in a sample of 302 female students in Shiraz University, Iran. Eating Attitude Test (EAT-26), Body Shape Questionnaire (BSQ-8), Self-objectification Questionnaire (SOQ) and revised Ideal-Body Stereotype (TBS) scale were used as measurement instruments. The proposed model was tested based on Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) using AMOS (18th edition) software. To test the mediating effects of the proposed model and determine their significance, Cohen & Cohen method was used. Due to the significant direct paths "thin internalization and self-objectification", "self-objectification and body dissatisfaction" and "body dissatisfaction and eating disorderrisk", the results suggest that the relation between thin internalization and the eating disorder risk was mediated by self-objectification and body dissatisfaction. Thin internalization was good precedent, and self-objectification and body dissatisfaction were good mediators for eating disorder risk in female students.