Sibling support exchange in late adulthood moderates the long-term impact of childhood neglect on psychological outcomes.

Objectives: Sibling relationships are often the longest-lasting and serve as a source of support and comfort for many older adults. The current study examined the moderating effect of sibling support exchange in the association between childhood maltreatment and mental health outcomes.Method: Using data from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study (WLS), we analyzed a sample of older adults whose selected sibling was alive across the three data collections (baseline N = 4,041). Longitudinal multilevel regression models were estimated.Results: Key results showed that a history of neglect was associated with decreased psychological well-being, and all three forms of childhood maltreatment were related to increased depressive symptoms. We also found that sibling support exchange mitigated the negative mental health effects of childhood neglect.Conclusion: Our findings suggest that siblings may be uniquely positioned to support older adults who grew up in a neglectful family environment. Older adults may be encouraged to promote resilience by strengthening their sibling relationships.

Religious Support Moderates the Long Reach of Adverse Childhood Events on Physical Health in Middle to Late Adulthood.

Adverse childhood experiences are associated with impaired physical health in adulthood. Using data from the Midlife in the United States survey (N = 4041), this study examined whether four dimensions of religiosity moderated the long-term detrimental effects of early adversity on three distinct aspects of adult physical health (self-rated health, functional limitations, and shortness of breath). Regression analyses showed that religious support buffered the effect of childhood adversity on physical health, but religious identification, private religious practice, or religious service attendance did not. Results imply that interventions aimed at increasing religious support can be effective decades after the adverse experiences took place.

Exploring the gratitude model of body appreciation and intuitive eating among Japanese women.

Culture is believed to play a central role in body image and eating problems, and for this reason, it is important to conduct cross-cultural investigations of relevant theoretical models. This study involves a non-Western replication of one of the few existing models of positive body image, the gratitude model of body appreciation, which was originally developed using American women. The model postulates that a grateful attitude is associated with body appreciation and intuitive eating via reduced contingent self-worth and social comparison. The current study aims to examine the applicability of the model to Japanese women. A sample of 648 Japanese women (age range = 15-69, M = 42.1, SD = 15.7) completed online measures of gratitude, contingent self-worth, social comparison, body appreciation, and intuitive eating. In general, all paths in the original model were replicated in the current model. However, two new paths were added to achieve good fit, including a path from basing one's self-worth on others' approval to body appreciation and another path from gratitude directly to intuitive eating. These differential pathways are discussed in the context of Japanese culture that emphasizes appreciation towards foods and self-definition based on social approval. In addition, implications for intervention are described.

Longitudinal Health Consequences of Childhood Adversity: The Mediating Role of Purpose in Life.

Early life adversity has long-term detrimental effects on physical health. Although biological, behavioral, and social factors have been explored as intermediate mechanisms, little research has explored psychosocial factors as potential mediators. This study examined whether purpose in life longitudinally mediates the relationship between childhood adversity and two measures of adult health. Data were obtained from 3,871 participants in the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) study. We tested a longitudinal mediation model from childhood adversity to adult health via purpose in life, controlling for baseline measures of health. Results indicated that childhood adversity is associated with poorer adult health through direct and mediated paths. Childhood adversity may restrict individuals' sense of purpose in life, and reduced purpose in life is subsequently associated with poorer subjective health and increased likelihood of functional limitations. The findings of this study can be used to inform the development of psychosocial and therapeutic intervention programs and services for adults with a history of childhood adversity.

Double disadvantage: Health impacts of parenting a child with a disability for parents with prior exposure to childhood maltreatment.

BACKGROUND: Parenting a child with a disability has been shown to take a toll on physical health in mid to late life. However, the additional impact of a history of childhood maltreatment has not been explored. OBJECTIVE: This study examined the moderating effect of exposure to childhood maltreatment on the longitudinal associations between parenting a child with a disability and physical health. We also examined whether this interaction was conditional on parent gender. METHODS: Data were obtained from 3178 participants in the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) study. We used linear mixed modeling to estimate the independent and interactive effects of a history of childhood maltreatment, parenting a child with a disability, and parent gender on physical health over three waves of assessment spanning nearly two decades. We used three distinct measures of health including a composite based on two self-rated health items, chronic conditions, and functional limitations. RESULTS: Key results showed that a history of childhood maltreatment exacerbated the adverse health effect of parenting a child with a disability for mothers, but not fathers. CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest that a history of early maltreatment may create a context that makes it more difficult to cope with the demands of caring for a child with a disability, and the accompanying stress has a detrimental effect on health.

Generativity and Well-Being of Midlife and Aging Parents With Children With Developmental or Mental Health Problems.

Parents who have a child with a developmental problem or mental disorder often provide support and assistance to their child throughout their lives, and the burden of caregiving can have an adverse impact on parents' mental and physical health. Using Erikson's theory as a framework, the present study investigated generativity as a moderator of the effects of parenting a child with a disability on parents' well-being during mid- to late life. Using data from the study of Midlife in the United States, we identified 220 parents who had a child with a disability and 3,784 parents whose children did not have a disability. Regression analyses showed that the effect of parenting a child with a disability on negative affect, positive affect, and physical health was conditional on both parental gender and generativity, with mothers experiencing greater adverse effects of parenting but showing a benefit from high levels of generativity.

Development and exploration of the gratitude model of body appreciation in women.

Although researchers and clinicians recognize the importance of positive body image for women's well-being, development of theoretical frameworks for understanding positive body image has not kept pace with research documenting its many benefits. The present study proposed and tested a comprehensive model linking gratitude, contingent self-worth, social comparison, body appreciation, and intuitive eating. Path analysis indicated that this model fit the data for a sample of college and online community women (N = 263). Gratitude was indirectly linked to body appreciation via lower investment in self-worth based on appearance and others' approval, and via lower engagement in eating and body comparison. Gratitude had a strong direct effect on body appreciation, and body appreciation accounted for a large portion (88%) of gratitude's relationship with intuitive eating. These results provide strong preliminary support for the model, revealing that gratitude, which can be improved via intervention, plays a key role in body appreciation.

Secure attachment and eudaimonic well-being in late adulthood: The mediating role of self-compassion.

OBJECTIVES: Attachment style refers to a systematic pattern of emotions, behaviors, and expectations that people have for how others will respond in relationships. Extensive evidence has documented the importance of attachment security in infants, children, adolescents, and adults, but the effects of attachment among exclusively older adult populations have received less attention. The present study explored the relationships between attachment style in late adulthood and eudaimonic well-being, which refers to a life replete with meaning, productive activity, and striving to reach one's potential. It also explored the mediating role of self-compassion, which can be described as a kind and forgiving attitude toward the self. METHOD: A sample of 126 community-dwelling older adults (mean age = 70.40 years) completed measures tapping adult attachment, self-compassion, and six theoretically derived markers of eudaimonic well-being. RESULTS: Attachment anxiety and avoidance were inversely related to self-acceptance, personal growth, interpersonal relationship quality, purpose in life, and environmental mastery. Mediation analyses showed that self-compassion mediated each of these relationships. CONCLUSION: Results support the importance of attachment orientation for psychological well-being in late life and indicate that secure attachment facilitates an attitude of kindness and acceptance toward the self.

Self-compassion and physical health: Exploring the roles of perceived stress and health-promoting behaviors.

Growing evidence indicates that self-compassion is associated with better physical health, but the pathways that mediate this relationship are not well understood. This study tested a serial mediation model that linked self-compassion, perceived stress, health behaviors, and a comprehensive index of physical health. A sample of 176 individuals completed an online survey posted on Amazon's Mechanical Turk. Self-compassion had an indirect effect on physical health via both mediators and through the sequential pathway, suggesting that taking a kind, accepting and mindful stance toward one's flaws and failures may have benefits for reducing stress and promoting health behaviors.

Factor structure and psychometric properties of a state version of the Body Appreciation Scale-2.

Body appreciation is an important construct in the growing area of positive body image. It is often assessed with the recently revised Body Appreciation Scale-2 (BAS-2; Tylka & Wood-Barcalow, 2015) and regarded as a trait-level variable. In light of the growing research interest in positive body image, there is a need for a validated measure of body appreciation that is sensitive to fluctuations in body appreciation; thus, the present study examined the factor structure and psychometric properties of a state version of the BAS-2 (SBAS-2). Similar to the BAS-2, the state version had a one-factor solution. It also had satisfactory convergent validity, incremental validity, and internal consistency. The measure was sensitive to situational contexts. The SBAS-2 will likely meet the needs of researchers interested in exploring the dynamic nature of body appreciation.

Exercise motives and positive body image in physically active college women and men: Exploring an expanded acceptance model of intuitive eating.

The acceptance model of intuitive eating posits that body acceptance by others facilitates body appreciation and internal body orientation, which contribute to intuitive eating. Two domains of exercise motives (functional and appearance) may also be linked to these variables, and thus were integrated into the model. The model fit the data well for 406 physically active U.S. college students, although some pathways were stronger for women. Body acceptance by others directly contributed to higher functional exercise motives and indirectly contributed to lower appearance exercise motives through higher internal body orientation. Functional exercise motives positively, and appearance exercise motives inversely, contributed to body appreciation. Whereas body appreciation positively, and appearance exercise motives inversely, contributed to intuitive eating for women, only the latter association was evident for men. To benefit positive body image and intuitive eating, efforts should encourage body acceptance by others and emphasize functional and de-emphasize appearance exercise motives.

Self-compassion moderates body comparison and appearance self-worth's inverse relationships with body appreciation.

Although research on positive body image has increased, little research has explored which variables protect body appreciation during body-related threats. Self-compassion may be one such variable. Individuals high in self-compassion are mindful, kind, and nurturing toward themselves during situations that threaten their adequacy, while recognizing that being imperfect is part of "being human." In this study, we investigated whether two body-related threats (i.e., body comparison and appearance contingent self-worth) were more weakly related to body appreciation when self-compassion was high among an online sample of 263 women (Mage=35.26, SD=12.42). Results indicated that self-compassion moderated the inverse relationships between body related threats and body appreciation. Specifically, when self-compassion was very high, body comparison and appearance contingent self-worth were unrelated to body appreciation. However, when self-compassion was low, these relationships were strong. Self-compassion, then, may help preserve women's body appreciation during body-related threats.

Gratitude buffers the adverse effect of viewing the thin ideal on body dissatisfaction.

Gratitude has robust associations with multiple aspects of well-being. However, little research has explored whether the psychological benefits of gratitude extend to body image. We used a repeated measures experimental design to test whether a brief period of grateful reflection would buffer the adverse effect of exposure to thin-ideal media. Female undergraduates (N=67) completed three sessions one week apart. The conditions were specifically designed to isolate (a) the effects of viewing thin models on body dissatisfaction and (b) the moderating effect of grateful contemplation. Results showed that body dissatisfaction scores were lower for women who engaged in a brief period of grateful contemplation before viewing photographs of thin models than for women who reflected upon life hassles before viewing the same photographs. The magnitude of this decrease depended on BMI. Gratitude offers an innovative direction for future research directed toward helping women to accept their bodies.

Appearance-based exercise motivation moderates the relationship between exercise frequency and positive body image.

Individuals with a positive body image appreciate their bodies, hold an internal perspective of their bodies, and are satisfied with the functionality of their bodies. Research shows that positive body image is more complex than the absence of body dissatisfaction. Although exercise reduces women's body dissatisfaction, very little research has explored how, or even whether, exercise is associated with positive body image. Therefore, we examined whether exercise frequency was positively related to three aspects of positive body image (body appreciation, internal body orientation, and functional body satisfaction) among 321 college women. Appearance-based exercise motivation (the extent exercise is pursued to influence weight or shape) was hypothesized to moderate these associations. Hierarchical moderated regression analyses showed that exercise frequency was related to higher positive body image, but high levels of appearance-based exercise motivation weakened these relationships. Thus, messages promoting exercise need to de-emphasize weight loss and appearance for positive body image.

Perceived relationship with God fosters positive body image in college women.

Positive body image is defined as healthy body-related attitudes that go beyond the absence of distressful symptoms. A warm and secure relationship with an important other person has been linked with attitudes of acceptance and appreciation toward one's body as well as adaptive eating patterns. This study tested whether a warm and secure relationship with God was similarly related to positive body image. Undergraduate women completed self-report measures of religiosity, life satisfaction, body appreciation, body acceptance by others, functional orientation, and intuitive eating. Multiple regression analyses showed that relationship with God contributed variance to most of the well-being variables.

The protective role of attachment to God against eating disorder risk factors: concurrent and prospective evidence.

This short-term longitudinal study explored whether a secure relationship with God would protect young women (N = 231, M = 19.2) from the impact of four risk factors for eating disturbance: pressure to be thin; thin-ideal internalization, body dissatisfaction; and dieting. Analyses showed that women with secure attachment to God experienced reduced levels of each risk factor. Prospective data showed that pressure to be thin and thin-ideal internalization predicted body dissatisfaction only for women with an anxious insecure attachment to God. The data indicate that women who feel loved and accepted by God are buffered from eating disorder risk factors.