My Exposed Body: Psychometric Properties of the Italian Version of the Social Physique Anxiety Scale-7 among Women

Abstract: Background: Social Physique Anxiety (SPA) is the anxiety resulting from the prospect or presence of the interpersonal evaluation of one’s physique. It is a construct related to body image and body esteem. The Social Physique Anxiety Scale-7 (SPAS-7) is a self-report scale aimed at measuring the degree of anxiety that people experience when others evaluate their physique. Methods: This study aimed to investigate the factor structure (through Confirmatory Factor Analysis followed by multi-group confirmatory factorial analyses), reliability, and convergent validity of an Italian version of the SPAS-7 among a sample of women (N = 520; mean age = 33.5, SD = 10.5). Results: Confirmatory Factor Analysis attested the unidimensional factorial structure of the SPAS-7, which achieved full invariance across age groups. The strength of the inter-relationships between the SPAS-7 and measures of negative (i.e., body dissatisfaction) and positive body image (i.e., body appreciation and body compassion) provided evidence of good convergent validity. The Cronbach’s alpha was very good. Conclusion: According to our results, the Italian version of the SPAS-7 could be a valid and agile instrument for assessing self-presentational concerns associated with body image among Italian-speaking women across age

Predictors of Acceptance of Cosmetic Surgery: Instagram Images-Based Activities, Appearance Comparison and Body Dissatisfaction Among Women

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to test a model in which Instagram images-based activities related to self, friends, and celebrities were associated with acceptance of cosmetic surgery via Instagram appearance comparison and body dissatisfaction. We predicted that Instagram use for images-related activities involving celebrities and self (but not friends) was associated with acceptance of cosmetic surgery both directly and indirectly. METHODS: The study participants were 305 Italian women (mean age, 23 years). They completed a questionnaire containing the Instagram Image Activity Scale, the Instagram Appearance Comparison Scale, the Body Shape Questionnaire-14, the Acceptance of Cosmetic Surgery Scale. A path analysis was performed in which the Instagram images-based activities were posited as predictors of the Instagram appearance comparison, body dissatisfaction and acceptance of cosmetic surgery, respectively. RESULTS: We found that only image-based activities related to celebrities and self were significantly related to acceptance of cosmetic surgery, whereas friends’ Instagram-related activities were not significantly related to this criterion variable. Moreover, the indirect effect of both Instagram self- and celebrities-images activities on acceptance of cosmetic surgery through Instagram appearance comparison and body dissatisfaction was significant. Friends’ Instagram images-related activities were not associated with acceptance of cosmetic surgery. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, these findings provide information about the role that activities carried out on Instagram, appearance comparison and body dissatisfaction, play on the acceptance of surgery for aesthetic reasons among women. The study highlighted the importance for surgeons to consider some psychological aspects and the influence of sociocultural factors on the interest for cosmetic surgery. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE IV: This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266

Not All That Glitters Is Gold: Attractive Partners Provide Joys and Sorrows

Through a 2   2 experimental vignette design, we tested if partner perceived attractiveness in interaction with appearance-related comments from one’s partner might affect women and men’s body dissatisfaction, body shame, acceptance of cosmetic surgery, and perceived relationship quality. Participants were 154 women and 157 men living in Italy (mean age = 30.97; all of them were in a couple relationship), who read a vignette describing the purchase of a swimsuit, through which partner attractiveness (poor versus high) and partner commentary (negative versus positive) were manipulated. Some ANCOVAs were performed on women and men separately. For men, partner commentary affected body dissatisfaction with low body fat. Moreover, the main effect of partner attractiveness was found in their consideration of undergoing cosmetic procedures. Among women, a significant partner attractiveness X partner commentary interaction effect emerged on acceptance of cosmetic surgery for social reasons. As regards relationship quality, for women, there was a main effect of partner attractiveness on relational communication, while a marginally significant interaction effect between partner attractiveness and partner commentary emerged for men’s self-disclosure. Our findings suggest that partner attractiveness is generally beneficial, but when combined with negative feedback concerning the appearance, it might lose its advantages. These findings should be considered for planning interventions aimed at both preventing body dissatisfaction and acceptance of cosmetic surgical procedures for not medical reasons and promoting relationship satisfaction among women and men

Bystanders’ intentions to help in intimate partner violence and sexual assault situations: A cross-cultural study

Gender-based violence (GBV), particularly intimate partner violence (IPV) and non-partner sexual violence (NPSV), is a widespread and preventable problem. This issue affects not only individuals but also communities and entire societies. The bystander approach has shown promise as an intervention to prevent GBV by engaging community members. Using an ecological lens, this cross-cultural study sought to deepen our understanding of how different individual, relational, community, and societal factors may correlate with bystanders’ intentions to help a friend or stranger in situations of IPV and NPSV. The study involved 1,128 university students from Italy (n=333), Brazil (n=303), and Canada (n=492). Results show that Italian university students reported a lower intention to help a friend or stranger. Despite some differences, findings for each subgroup indicate that peer-helping norms, bystander self-efficacy in dealing with violence, and knowledge/training about GBV were crucial factors associated with intentions to help a friend (i.e., the first and second variables) or a stranger (i.e., the first and third variables). These data have important implications for bystander preventive programs. They should make individuals aware of the correlation between the peer-helping norms and their intentions to help in GBV situations to develop responsible and competent student communities toward GBV. This prevention strategy should also provide knowledge about GBV and build skills and self-efficacy for coping with violence suffered or perpetrated by a friend or stranger.

Containment measures against COVID-19 in Italy: the role of Protection Motivation and Values (Di Gesto et al., 2021)

Through this study we aimed to examine the role of both threat and coping appraisals (Protection Motivation Theory), together with personal values (Psychological Flexibility Model), in predicting the intention to follow anti-contagion measures against the spread of COVID-19 among Italian citizens