The relationship between body mass index and food preoccupation in women: A moderated mediation of body-related self-conscious emotions and self-esteem.

OBJECTIVE: Individuals who are preoccupied with food are more likely to develop maladaptive eating behaviours and eating disorders. Thus, it is advisable to investigate the factors that increase vulnerability to food preoccupation (FP) to prevent its harmful impact on physical and mental health. Our objective in this study was to investigate the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and FP in Polish women (N = 407) and examine a possible pathway through body-related shame and body-related guilt and self-esteem. METHOD: Participants completed an abbreviated version of the Eating Attitudes Test-26, the Body and Appearance Self-Conscious Emotions Scale, and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. RESULTS: The findings demonstrated a positive indirect effect of BMI on FP through body-related shame and body-related guilt. However, this effect was moderated by self-esteem only for body-related shame; namely, in women with a low or average level of self-esteem, higher BMI was related to higher body-related shame, which, in turn, was associated with higher levels of FP. These associations were not observed in women with a high level of self-esteem. DISCUSSION: Body-related shame may help explain the relationship between BMI and FP. Moreover, self-esteem serves as a protective factor against body-related shame related to higher BMI and, as a result, against FP.

Power and Intimacy Motives in Narratives About Closeness Presented by People Staying in a Penitentiary Institution.

The world of people imprisoned in penitentiary institutions may never be understood by those who enjoy their freedom. The present study investigated the narratives about close relations, produced by inmates, with the analyses focusing specifically on the motive of power and the motive of intimacy, as described by McAdams. It was hypothesized that, depending on the length of prison sentence, the inmates would differ significantly regarding these motives and secondly that the motive of intimacy and the subjects' age would be significant predictors for the duration of the prison sentence. The study involved 356 male inmates (M = 28.80; SD = 10.91) who were asked to write stories about close relations with their partners. The findings show that individuals with longer prison sentence present a higher level of the power motive focused on building a stronger self, compared to the inmates sentenced to prison for a shorter duration. A multivariate regression analysis showed that the duration of imprisonment is positively predicted by the subjects' age and negatively by the motive of intimacy.