Body Image 10 (2013) 495–500

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Body Image
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/bodyimage

Self-concept clarity, thin-ideal internalization, and

appearance-related social comparison as predictors of body
dissatisfaction
Lenny R. Vartanian ∗ , Shanta Dey
School of Psychology, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: This study examined the associations among self-concept clarity, thin-ideal internalization, appearance-
Received 21 December 2012 related social comparison tendencies, and body dissatisfaction. Female university students (N = 278)
Received in revised form 18 May 2013 completed self-report measures of these constructs. Structural equation modeling revealed several key
Accepted 19 May 2013
findings: (a) thin-ideal internalization mediated the link between appearance-related social compari-
son tendencies and body dissatisfaction; (b) self-concept clarity was negatively associated with both
Keywords:
thin-ideal internalization and appearance-related social comparison tendencies; and (c) thin-ideal inter-
Self-concept clarity
nalization mediated the link between self-concept clarity and body dissatisfaction. These findings suggest
Thin-ideal internalization
Appearance-related social comparison
that low self-concept clarity might contribute to body image problems because it increases women’s
Body dissatisfaction vulnerability to thin-ideal internalization and appearance-related social comparison tendencies.
© 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Introduction Yamamiya, Brannick, & Thompson, 2005). The ultra-thin idealized

bodies that are frequently presented in the media are extremely dif-
Body image concerns are highly prevalent among university- ficult, if not impossible, for most women to achieve. Consequently,
aged women (Berg, Frazier, & Sherr, 2009; Mintz & Betz, 1988; women who aspire to (i.e., who have internalized) the thin ideal and
Neighbors & Sobal, 2007). Negative body image has been associated who fail to achieve this ideal will in turn experience negative feel-
with depression, stress, and low self-esteem (Johnson & Wardle, ings about their bodies. Numerous studies have demonstrated an
2005) and can be a maintenance factor for disordered eating (Stice, association between women’s internalization of the thin ideal and
2002). Given the range of problems associated with negative body their body dissatisfaction, including correlational (e.g., Vartanian,
image, researchers have been motivated to identify the factors 2009), prospective (e.g., Stice, 2001), and experimental studies (e.g.,
that contribute to women feeling dissatisfied with their bodies. Nouri, Hill, & Orelle-Valente, 2011). The robust nature of this asso-
One influential model—the Tripartite Influence Model—describes ciation is supported by recent meta-analyses (e.g., Cafri et al., 2005;
how social influence from media, parents, and peers can pre- Stice, 2002).
dict body image and eating disturbances. In particular, this model Another factor that can contribute to negative body image
suggests that these social influences are mediated by both internal- among women is the tendency to make appearance-related social
ization of the thin ideal and a tendency towards appearance-related comparisons. Women tend to evaluate their appearance against
social comparisons (e.g., Keery, van den Berg, & Thompson, 2004; women who they perceive to be superior to themselves (upward
Shroff & Thompson, 2006). The present study aims to extend comparisons; Leahey, Crowther, & Mickelson, 2007). It has been
this model by examining an important intrapersonal variable—the suggested that women might compare themselves to thinner
extent to which people have a clear and stable sense of their own women for inspiration (Mills, Polivy, Herman, & Tiggemann, 2002).
identity—that can predict individual differences in thin-ideal inter- However, these upward comparisons generally induce greater body
nalization and appearance-related social comparison tendencies. dissatisfaction (Bailey & Ricciardelli, 2010; Bessenoff, 2006; Leahey
Past research illustrates that women’s body image can be neg- et al., 2007). Indeed, meta-analyses have found that when women
atively affected by their internalization of the thin ideal (Cafri, compare themselves to thinner targets, they experience increased
dissatisfaction with their bodies (Groesz, Levine, & Murnen, 2002;
Myers & Crowther, 2009). There is also some evidence that expo-
∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +61 2 9385 8758; fax: +61 2 9385 3641. sure to less attractive others (i.e., downward comparisons) might
E-mail addresses: lvartanian@psy.unsw.edu.au, lenny.r.vartanian@gmail.com induce more positive self-evaluations (e.g., Leahey et al., 2007),
(L.R. Vartanian). but other research has found that a general tendency to make

1740-1445/$ – see front matter © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2013.05.004
496 L.R. Vartanian, S. Dey / Body Image 10 (2013) 495–500

appearance-based comparisons (both upward and downward) is psychology literature have suggested that these two constructs are
significantly associated with eating disturbance (O’Brien et al., related. Festinger’s (1954) social comparison theory proposes that
2009). Thus, a chronic tendency to make appearance-based social individuals uncertain of their sense of self will be highly motivated
comparisons may be associated with negative outcomes regardless to compare themselves to others so that they can better understand
of the direction of those comparisons. how and where they fit into society. Supporting that hypothesis,
Although there is clear evidence that thin-ideal internaliza- studies have found that individuals low in self-concept clarity are
tion and appearance-related social comparison tendencies can more inclined to engage in social comparisons compared to those
adversely impact body image, there is relatively little research high in self-concept clarity (Butzer & Kuiper, 2006; Stapel & Tesser,
examining the connection between those two risk factors, and there 20011 ). One might similarly expect that low self-concept clarity
is ambiguity in the joint role that these factors share in predict- would predict social comparisons in the body image domain. Fur-
ing body dissatisfaction. For example, research on the Tripartite thermore, just as internalization has been found to mediate the
Influence Model suggests that thin-ideal internalization mediates association between self-concept clarity and body image concerns,
the association between appearance-based social comparisons and one might also expect that appearance-related comparison tenden-
body dissatisfaction (e.g., Halliwell & Harvey, 2006; Keery et al., cies would mediate the association between self-concept clarity
2004; Rodgers, Chabrol, & Paxton, 2011; Shroff & Thompson, 2006). and body dissatisfaction.
Other research, however, has examined social comparison tenden-
cies as a mediator of the link between thin-ideal internalization and
The Present Study
body dissatisfaction and found mixed results. One study found that
the extent to which preadolescent girls compared their physical
The aim of this study was to investigate the associations among
appearance to others (partially) mediated the relationship between
self-concept clarity, thin-ideal internalization, and upward and
their thin-ideal internalization and body dissatisfaction (Blowers,
downward appearance comparison tendencies, and to determine
Loxton, Grady-Flesser, Occhipinti, & Dawe, 2003). Another study
how these factors may in turn predict body dissatisfaction among
testing university-aged women, however, failed to produce that
university-aged women. We tested two different models, one in
same effect (Fitzsimmons-Craft, Harney, Koehler, Danzi, Riddell, &
which thin-ideal internalization served as the mediator between
Bardone-Cone, 2012), which the authors suggest may have been
appearance-based social comparison tendencies and body dissatis-
due to the fact that upward and downward comparisons were not
faction, and a second in which appearance-based social comparison
differentiated in their study. Thus, the joint role of appearance-
tendencies served as the mediator between thin-ideal internal-
based social comparison tendencies and thin-ideal internalization
ization and body dissatisfaction, to clarify the nature of these
in predicting body dissatisfaction needs to be clarified.
associations due to mixed findings in the literature. We also tested
In order to develop a better understanding of the factors that
the hypothesis that self-concept clarity would be related to thin-
contribute to negative body image, it is also important to identify
ideal internalization and appearance-related social comparison
the factors that predict thin-ideal internalization and appearance-
tendencies, which in turn would mediate the association between
related social comparison tendencies. In addition to the social
self-concept clarity and body dissatisfaction. The findings of the
factors that form part of the Tripartite Influence Model (media,
present study may facilitate earlier identification of women who
parents, and peers), it can be important to examine personal-
are vulnerable to body image concerns.
ity characteristics and other individual-difference variables. One
individual-difference variable that might hold promise in this
regard is self-concept clarity. Self-concept clarity is defined as “the Method
extent to which the contents of an individual’s self-concept (e.g.,
perceived personal attributes) are clearly and confidently defined, Participants
internally consistent, and temporally stable” (Campbell, Trapnell,
Heine, Katz, Lavallee, & Lehman, 1996, p. 141). Because individuals Participants were 278 undergraduate female students from
who are low in self-concept clarity lack a clear sense of their own a first-year psychology course at a large public university. One
identity, they might seek out and become vulnerable to the influ- participant was excluded because she failed to complete the major-
ence of external sources that can help define the self; in contrast, ity of the questionnaires. Participants’ mean age was 19.7 years
individuals high in self-concept clarity should be less influenced by (range = 17–552 ), and their mean body mass index (BMI; based
external guides because they have a strong sense of their own per- on self-reported height and weight) was 21.4 (range = 14–38). Of
sonal identity. For women, societal standards of attractiveness can those who reported their ethnicity, 115 (41.7%) were White, 119
be a highly accessible external source used to define the self. Con- (43.1%) were Asian, 1 (0.4%) was Aboriginal/Torres Strait Islander,
sequently, women low in self-concept clarity may be more likely and 41 (14.9%) identified as “other.” All participants were given
to internalize the thin ideal and may be more likely to engage in course credit for their participation. This study was approved by
appearance-related social comparison. the university’s ethics committee.
An early theoretical perspective suggested that identity dis-
turbance might lead to internalization of societal standards of Measures and Procedure
attractiveness (Stice, 1994). To date, however, only two studies
have provided empirical support for this suggestion. Cahill and Participants signed up for a study that was described as an inves-
Mussap (2007) reported that low self-concept clarity was associ- tigation of students’ adjustment to university life. After providing
ated with a greater degree of thin-ideal internalization. Vartanian written consent, each participant completed a series of question-
(2009) replicated that finding and further demonstrated that thin- naires on a lab computer. These measures included:
ideal internalization mediated the relation between self-concept
clarity and body image concerns. Thus, there is some preliminary
evidence implicating self-concept clarity as a predictor of internal-
1
ization of the thin ideal and body image concerns. The Levelt Committee found no evidence of scientific fraud in this paper.
2
Twelve participants were older than 24 years of age, and therefore outside of the
No study in the body image literature has examined the con- range of the typical university student. Restricting the sample to those individuals
nection between self-concept clarity and appearance-related social who were 24 years or younger did not change the results. Thus, we retained the full
comparison tendencies, although a few studies from the social sample in our analyses.
 L.R. Vartanian, S. Dey / Body Image 10 (2013) 495–500 497

Self-concept clarity. The Self-Concept Clarity Scale (SCCS; Table 1

Bivariate correlations, means, and standard deviations for demographic variables
Campbell et al., 1996) assesses the extent to which individuals have
and all variables included in the structural equation model.
a well-defined, coherent, and stable sense of self. Sample items
include “I seldom experience conflict between the different aspects 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
of my personality” and “In general, I have a clear sense of who I am 1. Age –
and what I am.” The scale consisted of 12 items, each of which was 2. BMI .13* –
rated on a 7-point scale (1 = Strongly disagree, 7 = Strongly agree). 3. SCCS .12* .003 –
4. INT-G −.17** .10 −.25*** –
Items were summed, with higher scores indicating a greater degree
5. UPACS −.22*** .05 −.37*** .66*** –
of self-concept clarity. In previous studies with university samples, 6. DACS −.13* .16** −.35*** .41*** .51*** –
this measure has demonstrated evidence of internal consistency 7. EDI-BD −.004 .47*** −.27*** .45*** .36*** .23*** –
(e.g., Vartanian, 2009) and criterion validity (Campbell et al., 1996). M 19.73 21.43 52.80 27.29 3.23 2.33 3.79
For the current study, Cronbach’s alpha was .87. SD 3.70 3.31 12.97 8.69 1.02 1.02 1.10
Internalization of the thin ideal. The Sociocultural Attitudes
Note. BMI: body mass index; SCCS: Self-Concept Clarity Scale; INT-G:
Toward Appearance Questionnaire-3 (SATAQ-3; Thompson, van Internalization-General subscale; UPACS: Upward Appearance Comparison
den Berg, Roehrig, Guarda, & Heinberg, 2004) is a 30-item scale that Scale; DACS: Downward Appearance Comparison Scale; EDI-BD: Eating Disorder
assesses the degree to which people are aware of and have endorsed Inventory-Body Dissatisfaction.
*
the thin-body ideal. For the present study, only the nine items of p < .05.
**
p < .01.
the internalization-general subscale were included. Each item was ***
p < .001.
rated on a 5-point scale (1 = Definitely disagree, 5 = Definitely agree).
Items were summed, with higher scores indicating a greater degree
of thin-ideal internalization. This subscale has demonstrated evi- treated as a latent factor. Indices of model fit included 2 (although
dence of construct validity (Thompson et al., 2004) and internal non-significant values indicate an adequate-fitting model, signifi-
consistency (e.g., Llorente, Warren, Perez de Eulate, & Gleaves, cant values are common for large sample sizes); Comparative Fit
2013; Swami, 2009) in previous studies testing university women. Index (CFI; values above .95 indicate good fit); Normed Fit Index
Cronbach’s alpha was .92 for the present study. (NFI; values above .95 indicate good fit); and Root Mean Square
Upward and downward appearance comparison. The Upward Error of Approximation (RMSEA; values less than .05 indicate good
and Downward Appearance Comparison Scale (UDACS; O’Brien fit and values less than .08 indicate adequate fit; Kline, 2005). Indi-
et al., 2009) assesses the tendency to engage in upward and rect effects were tested with bootstrapping analyses (Shrout &
downward appearance-focused comparisons. A sample item from Bolger, 2002). In cases of multiple mediation, the individual indirect
the Upward Appearance Comparison Scale (UPACS) is, “I tend effects were examined using the SPSS macro provided by Preacher
to compare my own physical attractiveness to that of magazine and Hayes (2008).
models.” A sample item from the Downward Comparison Scale
(DACS) is, “At parties I often compare my looks to the looks of Results
unattractive people.” For both subscales, each item was rated on
a 5-point scale (1 = Strongly disagree, 5 = Strongly agree), and items Correlational Analyses
were averaged with higher scores indicating a greater tendency
to engage in appearance-related comparisons. These scales have Table 1 presents the bivariate correlations among all of the
yielded evidence of internal consistency and construct validity variables in this study. Of particular note, thin-ideal internaliza-
among undergraduate women (O’Brien et al., 2009). In the current tion, upward appearance comparisons, and downward appearance
study, Cronbach’s alpha was .93 for UPACS and .95 for DACS. comparisons were positively correlated with body dissatisfaction.
Body dissatisfaction. Participants completed the Body Dissat- Thin-ideal internalization was positively correlated with upward
isfaction subscale of the Eating Disorder Inventory (EDI; Garner, and downward appearance comparisons. Finally, self-concept
Olmstead, & Polivy, 1983). Items were rated on a 6-point scale clarity was negatively correlated with thin-ideal internalization,
(with Never was coded as 1 and Always was coded as 6), and higher upward appearance comparisons, downward appearance compar-
mean scores indicated greater body dissatisfaction. This subscale isons, and body dissatisfaction.
has established evidence of criterion validity (Garner et al., 1983)
and internal consistency in studies with university women (e.g., Structural Equation Modeling Analyses
Hund & Espelage, 2006; Vartanian & Hopkinson, 2010). In the cur-
rent study, Cronbach’s alpha was .89. Model 1. This first model tested the hypothesis that thin-
Demographics. Finally, participants reported their age, ethnic- ideal internalization would mediate the connection between
ity, height and weight. BMI was calculated as kg/m2 . appearance-related social comparison tendencies and body
dissatisfaction, and that thin-ideal internalization and appearance-
Statistical Analyses related social comparison tendencies would mediate the associa-
tion between self-concept clarity and body dissatisfaction (Fig. 1).
Prior to conducting the primary analyses, data were screened The overall model fit was good, 2 (81; N = 277) = 2.07, p < .001,
for missing data and for univariate and multivariate outliers. No NFI = .96, CFI = .98, RMSEA = .06, and explained 25% of the variance
univariate outliers were identified, and omitting two multivariate in body dissatisfaction. Parcel factor loadings were all significant
outliers did not affect the results. For multi-item scales, missing (ps < .001), and ranged from .80 to .89 for self-concept clarity, .89
values were replaced with the series mean (0.2% of all cases). to .95 for thin-ideal internalization, .91 to .96 for upward compar-
Correlational analyses were conducted to examine the bivariate isons, .91 to .95 for downward comparisons, and .75 to .94 for body
associations among all of the study variables. Structural equa- dissatisfaction.
tion modeling was used to simultaneously model the associations We next explored the hypothesized mediation paths (indi-
among the variables, using AMOS (Version 21.0). For each of the rect effects). Thin-ideal internalization mediated the association
variables included in the model, we followed the recommenda- between upward social comparisons and body dissatisfaction (95%
tions outlined by Russell, Kahn, Spoth, and Altmaier (1998) to create CI = .17 to .48), but the indirect effect for downward social com-
three parcels of measured indicators so that each variable could be parisons was not statistically significant (95% CI = −.01 to .12). The
498 L.R. Vartanian, S. Dey / Body Image 10 (2013) 495–500

-.15* mediated the association between self-concept clarity and body

dissatisfaction. Similarly, neither upward appearance comparisons
(95% CI = −.01 to .02) nor downward appearance comparisons (95%
Upward
comparison CI = −.01 to .01) mediated the association between thin-ideal inter-
tendency
nalization and body dissatisfaction.
.03 ns
-.42*** .69***

.03
ns
.42***
Discussion
Self-concept Thin-ideal Body
clarity internalization dissatisfaction
The purpose of the present study was to further understand
the predictors of body dissatisfaction. In particular, we exam-
-.40*** .10* -.04 ns ined the nature of the associations among self-concept clarity,
Downward
thin-ideal internalization, appearance-related social comparison
comparison tendencies, and body dissatisfaction. First, although both of the
tendency
models we tested fit the data well, our results most strongly support
Fig. 1. Structural equation model predicting body dissatisfaction with thin-ideal the view that thin-ideal internalization mediates the association
internalization as the mediator between self-concept clarity and body dissatis- between appearance comparison tendencies and body dissatis-
faction (Model 1). Solid lines represent significant paths; dashed lines represent faction (Halliwell & Harvey, 2006; Keery et al., 2004; Rodgers
non-significant paths. Values represent standardized path coefficients. * p < .05 and et al., 2011; Shroff & Thompson, 2006). These findings suggest that
***
p < .001.
repeatedly comparing one’s appearance to that of others (particu-
larly upward comparisons) may facilitate thin-ideal internalization,
total indirect path from self-concept clarity to body dissatisfac- which in turn contributes to body dissatisfaction. Although one
tion was significant (95% CI = −.21 to −.04). However, follow-up study (Blowers et al., 2003) did find that appearance-related
analyses indicated that thin-ideal internalization was a significant comparisons mediated the association between thin-ideal inter-
mediator (95% CI = −.01 to −.003), but that upward comparisons nalization and body dissatisfaction, another study failed to find
(95% CI = −.01 to .003) and downward comparisons (95% CI = −.004 that same effect (Fitzsimmons-Craft et al., 2012). The authors of
to .004) were not. Upward comparison tendencies were a signifi- the latter study suggested that the absence of a mediation effect
cant mediator of the association between self-concept clarity and in their study may have been due to the fact that the measure
thin-ideal internalization (95% CIs = −.21 to −.10), but the indirect of social comparison that they used did not differentiate upward
effect for downward comparisons was not statistically significant and downward comparisons. However, we failed to find mediation
(95% CI = −.06 to .003). through appearance comparisons despite assessing both types of
Model 2. In this second model, we examined whether comparisons separately.
appearance-related social comparison tendencies mediated the Thin-ideal internalization and social comparison tendencies are
connection between thin-ideal internalization and body dissat- both well-established risk factors of body dissatisfaction (Keery
isfaction (Fig. 2). This model also fit the data well, 2 (81; et al., 2004; Shroff & Thompson, 2006), and the present study
N = 277) = 1.63, p < .001, NFI = .97, CFI = .99, RMSEA = .05, and examined a factor that may help explain individual differences in
explained 25% of the variance in body dissatisfaction. Unlike Model thin-ideal internalization and social comparison tendencies. The-
1, in this model, self-concept clarity had a significant direct effect oretically, individuals with low self-concept clarity should have
on thin-ideal internalization. Thin-ideal internalization, in turn, a propensity to search for external sources that may help define
was a significant mediator of the connection between self-concept their sense of identity. Consequently, women who are low in
clarity and upward appearance comparisons (95% CI = −.24 to self-concept clarity might be more likely to engage in appearance-
−.05), downward appearance comparisons (95% CI = −.15 to −.10), related comparisons and more likely to have internalized the
and body dissatisfaction (95% CI = −.19 to −.04). However, nei- thin ideal. Our results are consistent with this hypothesis. We
ther upward appearance comparisons (95% CI = −.005 to .002) found that self-concept clarity was negatively correlated with
nor downward appearance comparisons (95% CI = −.003 to.003) appearance comparison tendencies and thin-ideal internalization.
Furthermore, we showed that thin-ideal internalization mediated
the association between self-concept clarity and body dissatis-
-.15* faction, and that upward comparison tendencies (and to a lesser
extent downward comparison tendencies) mediated the associ-
ation between self-concept clarity and thin-ideal internalization.
Upward
comparison The negative association between self-concept clarity and thin-
tendency ns ideal internalization is consistent with the findings of two previous
-.22*** .03
studies that have tested this association (Cahill & Mussap, 2007;
.67*** Vartanian, 2009). Furthermore, the mediational role of thin-ideal
-.28*** .44*** internalization between self-concept clarity and body dissatisfac-
Self-concept Thin-ideal Body
clarity internalization dissatisfaction tion replicates the findings of Vartanian (2009). The present study
extends these findings by suggesting that appearance comparison
.37*** tendencies can account for the association between self-concept
-.28*** -.05
ns clarity and thin-ideal internalization. The negative correlation
Downward found between self-concept clarity and social comparison ten-
comparison
tendency dencies is consistent with Festinger’s (1954) social comparison
theory and with a few studies from the social psychology litera-
Fig. 2. Structural equation model predicting body dissatisfaction with appearance- ture (Butzer & Kuiper, 2006; Stapel & Tesser, 2001). The present
related social comparisons as mediators between self-concept clarity and body
study, however, is the first to illustrate this association specifi-
dissatisfaction (Model 2). Solid lines represent significant paths; dashed lines repre-
sent non-significant paths. Values represent standardized path coefficients. * p < .05 cally in the context of appearance-related social comparisons, and
and *** p < .001. the first to demonstrate that appearance-related social comparison
 L.R. Vartanian, S. Dey / Body Image 10 (2013) 495–500 499

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