Self-Objectification and its Biological, Psychological and Social Predictors: A Cross-Cultural Study in Four European Countries and Iran

Authors

  • Silvia Gattino
    Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Turin, Italy
  • Kamila Czepczor-Bernat
    Institute of Psychology, University of Wrocław, Wroclaw, Poland
  • Angela Fedi
    Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Turin, Italy
  • Anna Brytek-Matera
    Institute of Psychology, University of Wrocław, Wroclaw, Poland
  • Mihaela Boza
    Department of Psychology, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iaşi, Iasi, Romania
  • Jérémy E. Lemoine
    School of Psychology, University of East London, London, United Kingdom; ESCP Business School, London, United Kingdom
  • Reza N. Sahlan
    Department of Clinical Psychology, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
  • Emma Wilson
    ESRC Centre for Society and Mental Health, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom; Health Service and Population Research, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, United Kingdom
  • Norma De Piccoli
    Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Turin, Italy
  • Chiara Rollero
    Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Turin, Italy

Abstract

Although scholars started investigating self-objectification more than twenty years ago, only a few studies focused on men and even fewer have taken into account the cross-cultural dimension. Our study focused on the antecedents of self-objectification paying attention to the role of biological and sociodemographic variables (gender, BMI), psychological characteristics (self-esteem, perfectionism) together with social and cultural factors (internalization of media standards, influence of family and friends). Self-objectification was operationalized as Body Shame and Body Surveillance. A self-reported questionnaire was administered to 2165 adults living in four European countries (UK, Italy, Poland and Romania) and Iran. Ten regression models were performed (2 per country) to analyse the correlates of self-objectification. Overall, self-objectification emerged as a process affected by factors entrenched in psychological, biological, social and cultural domains, partially different for Body Shame and Body Surveillance. Findings showed the key role of self-esteem as a protective factor against Body Shame across countries. On the other hand, the internalization of media standards emerged as risk factor for both Body Shame and Body Surveillance in the five countries. Taken together, these results underline the complexity of self-objectification and the need to deepen research on this topic among non-Western countries.