Body Image from Adolescence to Adulthood (1 CE)

Number of Credits: 1

This course is for:  Clinical psychologists, Counselors, School Psychologists, and LMFTs

Course By: Michael Parent, PhD

Content By: Wang, S. B., Haynos, A. F., Wall, M. W., Chen, C., Eisenberg, M. E., & Neumark-Sztainer, D. (2019). Fifteen-year prevalence, trajectories, and predictors of body dissatisfaction from adolescence to middle adulthood. Clinical Psychological Science, 7, 1403-1415. doi: 10.1177/2167702619859331

Course Description: Body dissatisfaction is linked to other mental and physical health problems. In the present study, researchers used 15 years of longitudinal data to examine risk and protective factors for body dissatisfaction over time. The authors found that body dissatisfaction increased over time for males and females and identified four categories of trajectories for changes in body image. The results suggest that body dissatisfaction problems begin early in life and that interventions to improve body image should also occur early. Future research may use data collection from multiple sources, such as parents, to examine more contributors to body dissatisfaction.

Learning Objectives:

• Distinguish the prevalence of body dissatisfaction between girls/women and boys/men
• Explain the results of the present study with regard to changes in body dissatisfaction over time
• Explain the results of the present study with regard to predictors of differences in body dissatisfaction trajectories

Course Outline:

1. Read and understand Fifteen-year prevalence, trajectories, and predictors of body dissatisfaction from adolescence to middle adulthood.
2. Review the Course Description and Learning Objectives.
3. Review the findings of the study with regard to changes in body dissatisfaction over time.
4. Complete the post-test questions. Recall that answers should be based on the referenced article.
5. Return to the referenced article for any missed questions and/or to understand changes in body dissatisfaction over time.

Implicit biases incorporate an association that occurs outside of conscious awareness that may resultantly lead to a negative patient evaluation derived from irrelevant characteristics; i.e. gender and/or race. A systematic review of the literature was conducted. Thirty-five studies identified the existence of implicit bias in healthcare professionals; all correlational studies evidenced a significant positive relationship between implicit bias levels and lower quality of care (FitzGerald & Hurst, 2017). Continued research in health care settings, combined with greater method homogeneity, should be employed to examine the occurrence and prevalence of implicit biases in healthcare settings as a strategic approach for mitigating related disparities (FitzGerald & Hurst, 2017).

Reference:

FitzGerald, C., Hurst, S. (2017). Implicit bias in healthcare professionals: a systematic review. BMC Med Ethics 18, 19. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12910-017-0179-8