School of Psychology, University of Florence, 50137 Florence, Italy.
Department of Education, Languages, Intercultures, Literatures and Psychology, University of Florence, 50135 Florence, Italy.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Sep 3;18(17):9319. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18179319.
The purpose of the present study was to examine, through an experimental vignette design, the effects of appearance-related comments from one's partner on body image and the perceived quality of one's relationship. Body image was considered both in negative (body dissatisfaction) and positive (body compassion) terms.
Appearance-related commentary from one's partner was manipulated through a vignette describing the purchase of a swimsuit. The participants ( = 211) were women and men who were randomly assigned to one of the three experimental conditions (positive comment, negative comment, no comment).
A series of ANOVAs showed different findings for women and men. Being criticized for body weight and shape caused an increase in body dissatisfaction and a decrease in body compassion in men but not in women. Regarding couple satisfaction, women who imagined receiving a compliment about their body perceived being more accepted by their partner and were less afraid of being abandoned or rejected.
Our findings highlight the importance of appearance-based comments from one's partner on men's body image and on women's perception of their couple relationship. Therefore, appearance comments might be addressed by interventions aimed at enhancing positive body image, reducing body dissatisfaction, and fostering couple relationships, carefully considering sex differences.
本研究旨在通过实验案例设计，考察伴侣的外貌相关评论对身体意象和人际关系感知质量的影响。身体意象既包括负面的（身体不满），也包括正面的（身体同情）。
通过描述购买泳衣的案例，对外貌相关的评论进行了操纵。参与者（=211）为女性和男性，他们被随机分配到三个实验条件之一（积极评论、消极评论、无评论）。
一系列方差分析显示了女性和男性的不同发现。因体重和体型而受到批评会导致男性的身体不满增加，身体同情减少，但对女性没有影响。关于夫妻满意度，想象收到伴侣对自己身体的赞美会让女性感到自己更被伴侣接受，并且更少担心被抛弃或拒绝。
我们的研究结果强调了伴侣外貌相关评论对男性身体意象和女性对夫妻关系的感知的重要性。因此，在旨在增强积极身体意象、减少身体不满和促进夫妻关系的干预措施中，应该考虑到性别差异，仔细处理外貌评论。
