Thinness in the pursuit for social safeness: An integrative model of social rank mentality to explain eating psychopathology

Pinto-Gouveia, J., Ferreira, C., & Duarte, C. (2014). Thinness in the pursuit for social safeness: An integrative model of social rank mentality to explain eating psychopathology. Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, 21(2), 154-165. doi: 10.1002/cpp.1820.The current study tests a model based on social rank mentality investigating whether women who feel inferior and believe others see them negatively, and feel under pressure to compete to avoid social inferiority, present increased body dissatisfaction and drive for thinness; and whether these associations are mediated by distinct emotional regulation processes. The predictions from the model proposed were examined through path analyses, in a sample of 125 women from the general population and 102 patients with eating disorders. Results showed that the path model explained 51% of body dissatisfaction variance and 61% of drive for thinness and allowed us to confirm that social ranking variables increased drive for thinness through higher levels of self-criticism and lower levels of self-compassion. The findings suggest that the nuclear eating disorders’ features arise as a result of a more self-critical and less compassionate attitude with the self, in the context of a mentality focused on social ranking and competition

Drive for thinness as a women's strategy to avoid inferiority

Ferreira, C., Pinto-Gouveia, J., & Duarte, C. (2013). Drive for thinness as a women's strategy to avoid inferiority. International Journal of Psychology and Psychological Therapy, 13(1), 15-29. http://www.ijpsy.com/volumen13/num1/344.htmlThe emphasis on the need to achieve and be successful, and the contextual competitive dynamics in Western societies, may explain the increase of distinct forms of psychopathology. This study examined sex differences relative to the expression and consequences of feeling under pressure to compete to avoid a threatening social position. Also, we tested whether insecure striving moderates the impact of a low social rank on drive for thinness, in women. In this cross-sectional study self-report measures of insecure striving and secure non-striving, social comparison, depression, anxiety and stress, and eating disorders symptomatology were completed by a sample of 245 male and 429 female students. For both men and women, the need to strive is associated with general psychopathological symptoms (depression, anxiety and stress). Furthermore, insecure striving was a significant moderator between a low social rank and the endorsement of the importance of thinness and dieting behaviours in women. These findings support the hypothesis that drive for thinness arises as a competitive weapon to assure a secure place in the social world

Psychological distress, burnout and personality traits in Dutch anaesthesiologists

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Shame, Self-Criticism, Perfectionistic Self-Presentation and Depression in Eating Disorders

Costa, J., Marôco, J., Pinto-Gouveia, J., & Ferreira, C. (2016). Shame, Self-Criticism, Perfectionistic Self-Presentation and Depression in Eating Disorders. International Journal of Psychology and Psychological Therapy, 16(3), 317-328. http://www.ijpsy.com/volumen16/num3/449.htmlThe complexity of eating disorder (ED) manifestations has increased the interest in understanding the mechanisms underlying the eating psychopathology and it is now widely accepted that there are multiple risk pathways for both the development and maintenance of eating psychopathology. This study examined the association between external shame and depression. We also investigated the possible mediation effect of self-criticism in the relation between shame and depression. Further to that, the current cross-sectional study inspected whether this mediation exists for different conditional values of perfectionistic self-presentation. One hundred and twenty one women diagnosed with eating disorder according to the Eating Disorder Examination (EDE 16.0D) completed a battery of self-report questionnaires to assess external shame, self-criticism, perfectionistic self-presentation and depression. A mediated-moderation analysis was performed. Results showed that the path from external shame to self-criticism depends on the level of perfectionistic self-presentation whereas the effect of self-criticism on depression is constant. Thus, there is an interaction between external shame and perfectionistic self-presentation on self-criticism which, in turn, affects depression. The internalization of an ideal-self sets up a standard that once compared to the actual self, displays negative self-evaluations and feelings that individuals see as reflecting a bad, inferior and flawed self. In this context, a perfectionistic self-presentation is used to create positive images on the minds of others. Although this style of organization is an adaptive way to deal with specific social contexts once it functions as a buffer in the relationship between shame and self-criticism, perfectionistic self-presentation seems to be a useless strategy since it does not prevent them from depression. Implications for future research are discussed

A necessidade de competir para evitar a inferioridade: Estudos de validação da versão portuguesa da SAIS

Ferreira, C., Duarte, C., & Pinto-Gouveia, J. (2011). A necessidade de competir para evitar a inferioridade: Estudos de validação da versão portuguesa da SAIS. Psychologica, 54, 5 - 34. doi:10.14195/1647-8606_54_1A Striving to Avoid Inferiority Scale (SAIS; Gilbert et al., 2007) avalia as crenças acerca da necessidade de competir ou lutar/esforçar-se para evitar a inferioridade. Numa amostra de 2411 sujeitos da população geral, verificou-se uma estrutura de dois factores para a SAIS parte um – striving inseguro e non-striving seguro – e SAIS parte três –procura e evitamento de competição. Nas três partes encontraram-se valores elevados de consistência interna, e correlações item-total moderadas a altas. Comprovou-se a validade de constructo através da análise de correlações com medidas de ranking social, vinculação ao grupo social, perfeccionismo e sintomatologia ansiosa, depressiva e stress. Verificou-se uma boa estabilidade temporal. Esta é uma medida útil na avaliação da patologia do comportamento alimentar, discriminando entre uma amostra clínica de 91 doentes com perturbação alimentar e uma amostra de 102 participantes da população normal. Os resultados são discutidos considerando-se a literatura existente

Desenvolvimento de uma Escala de Comparação Social através da Aparência Física: Estudo exploratório da estrutura factorial e das propriedades psicométricas numa amostra feminina da população geral

Ferreira, C., Pinto-Gouveia, J., & Duarte, C. (2011). Desenvolvimento de uma Escala de Comparação Social através da Aparência Física: Estudo exploratório da estrutura factorial e das propriedades psicométricas numa amostra feminina da população geral. Psychologica, 54, 309-330. doi: 10.14195/1647-8606_54_1

BEfree : Contextualização e desenvolvimento de um programa de intervenção em grupo para a Ingestão Alimentar Compulsiva e Obesidade

Pinto-Gouveia, J., Ferreira, C., Matos, M., & Carvalho, S. (2014). BEfree: contextualização e desenvolvimento de um programa de intervenção em grupo para a Ingestão Alimentar Compulsiva e Obesidade. Revista Factores de Risco, 34(9), 94-100. http://www.spc.pt/spc/default.aspx?redir=http://www.spc.pt/SPC/AreaCientifica/publicacoes/rfr/rfr.asp