Abstract:
This study investigates the relationship between body dissatisfaction and the irrational evaluative beliefs of awfulizing, other-directed shoulds, self-directed shoulds, low frustration tolerance, and self-worth postulated by rational-emotive behaviour therapy. Participants were an eating disorders group, a high body dissatisfaction group without a diagnosis of eating disorders and a low body dissatisfaction control group. Results showed that body dissatisfaction correlated significantly with the irrational beliefs of demandingness and negative self-worth in the high body dissatisfaction group, but no correlations were found between body dissatisfaction and irrational beliefs in the eating disorders or low body dissatisfaction groups. The high body dissatisfaction and eating disorders group tended to have irrational beliefs of awfulizing, low frustration tolerance and negative self-worth. In the eating disorders group, bulimia and ineffectiveness correlated significantly with self-directed shoulds. A significant correlation was also found between low frustration tolerance and ineffectiveness. For the high body dissatisfaction group, drive for thinness correlated significantly with negative self-worth and awfulizing. In this group, a significant correlation was also found between other-directed shoulds and ineffectiveness, as well as between self-directed shoulds and maturity fears. In the low body dissatisfaction group, bulimia was positively correlated with awfulizing and self-directed shoulds, whereas low frustration tolerance negatively correlated with drive for thinness. Other-directed shoulds and ineffectiveness was positively correlated in the low body dissatisfaction group. In summary, the results offer tentative support for a relationship between body dissatisfaction and irrational evaluative beliefs in the high body dissatisfaction group, but not in the eating disorders and control group.
