Objectification Theory: Applicability in a Sample of Rio Grande do Sul/Brazil

Abstract

The applicability of objectification theory on undergraduate female students from Rio Grande do Sul was analyzed, examining if the constructs of self-objectification, self-surveillance, appearance anxiety and body shame worked to predict disordered eating and depressive symptomatology. Participants were female undergraduate students from Rio Grande do Sul. Two quantitative, cross-sectional studies were conducted. On the first one (n = 622), the psychometric characteristics of the adapted instruments (English-Portuguese) were evaluated. On the second one, only data provided by Psychology students (n = 371) was used to test the framework using the innovative method of Bayesian Networks. Results indicate that the tested variables predict outcomes related to depression and eating disorders, partially explaining the gender disparity in the development of these pathologies. Objectification theory is useful to understand how the phenomenon can affect the mental health of Brazilian women.

Keywords:
anorexia; bulimia; depression; women; gender