Stress exposure and generation: A conjoint longitudinal model of body dysmorphic symptoms, peer acceptance, popularity, and victimization.

This study examined the bidirectional (conjoint) longitudinal pathways linking adolescents' body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) symptoms with self- and peer-reported social functioning. Participants were 367 Australian students (45.5% boys, mean age=12.01 years) who participated in two waves of a longitudinal study with a 12-month lag between assessments. Participants self-reported their symptoms characteristic of BDD, and perception of peer acceptance. Classmates reported who was popular and victimized in their grade, and rated their liking (acceptance) of their classmates. In support of both stress exposure and stress generation models, T1 victimization was significantly associated with more symptoms characteristic of BDD at T2 relative to T1, and higher symptom level at T1 was associated with lower perceptions of peer acceptance at T2 relative to T1. These results support the hypothesized bidirectional model, whereby adverse social experiences negatively impact symptoms characteristic of BDD over time, and symptoms also exacerbate low perceptions of peer-acceptance.

A Longitudinal Study of Sexual Entitlement and Self-Efficacy among Young Women and Men: Gender Differences and Associations with Age and Sexual Experience.

Many scholars have called for an increased focus on positive aspects of sexual health and sexuality. Using a longitudinal design with two assessments, we investigated patterns of entitlement to sexual partner pleasure and self-efficacy to achieve sexual pleasure among 295 young men and women aged 17-25 years attending one Australian university. We also tested whether entitlement and efficacy differed by gender, and hypothesized that entitlement and efficacy would be higher in older participants and those with more sexual experience. A sense of entitlement to sexual partner pleasure increased significantly over the year of the study, whereas, on average, there was no change in self-efficacy over time. At Time 1 (T1), young women reported more entitlement than young men. Age was positively associated with T1 entitlement, and experience with a wider range of partnered sexual behaviors was concurrently associated with more entitlement and efficacy and was also associated with increased entitlement to partner pleasure and increased self-efficacy in achieving sexual pleasure at T2 relative to T1. A group with the least amount of sexual experience was particularly low in entitlement and efficacy when compared to groups with a history of coital experience. There was no evidence that any association differed between young men and young women. Limitations of the study include a sample of predominantly middle class, Caucasian students at one university and the possibility that students more interested in sex and relationships, and with more sexual experience, chose to participate.

Young Adolescents' Body Dysmorphic Symptoms: Associations with Same- and Cross-Sex Peer Teasing via Appearance-based Rejection Sensitivity.

In this study of young adolescents' (N = 188, M age = 11.93, 54.8% females) body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) symptoms, we examined a theoretically-derived model to determine if symptoms could be explained by appearance-related teasing, general peer victimization, and social anxiety. BDD symptoms were assessed as distressing preoccupation with perceived appearance defects, social avoidance, and repeated grooming and appearance checking. Associations were expected to occur via the social-perceptual bias known as appearance-based rejection sensitivity (appearance-RS). The source of appearance teasing was also considered (same-sex vs. cross-sex peers), and age and gender moderation were assessed. As predicted, in a structural equation model, BDD symptoms were higher when adolescents self-reported more appearance teasing and higher social anxiety. Moreover, it was appearance teasing by cross-sex peers, rather than same-sex peers, that was uniquely associated with elevated BDD symptoms. These associations were partially mediated by appearance-RS. Notably, peer-reported general victimization was not associated with BDD symptoms. There was no evidence for gender moderation, but some age moderation was found, with stronger associations usually found among older compared to younger adolescents. The findings suggest that appearance-related social adversity, particularly cross-sex teasing, is linked with greater concerns about rejection due to appearance and, in turn, heightened BDD symptoms. This has important implications for understanding the development and treatment of BDD. Continued research to identify the social experiences and interpretative biases that contribute to BDD symptomology is needed.

Comparing reports of peer rejection: associations with rejection sensitivity, victimization, aggression, and friendship.

Perceiving that one is rejected is an important correlate of emotional maladjustment. Yet, self-perceptions can substantially differ from classmate-reports of who is rejected. In this study, discrepancies between self- and classmate-reports of rejection were identified in 359 Australian adolescents (age 10-12 years). As expected, adolescents who overestimated rejection reported more rejection sensitivity and felt more victimized by their peers, but were not seen by peers as more victimized. Adolescents who underestimated rejection identified themselves as high in overt aggression, and their peers identified them as high in overt and relational aggression and low in prosocial behavior. Yet, underestimators' feelings of friendship satisfaction did not seem to suffer and they reported low rejection sensitivity. Results suggest that interventions to promote adolescent health should explicitly recognize the different needs of those who do and do not seem to perceive their high rejection, as well as adolescents who overestimate their rejection.