Acta Psychol (Amst). 2025 Aug 18;259:105415. doi: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2025.105415. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Eating disorder symptoms are a major global mental health concern and are often associated with body image concerns. This study explores the relationship between body image and eating disorder symptoms in Chinese female university students, highlighting the parallel mediating roles of core self-evaluations and negative emotions.
METHODS: A random sample of 668 female university students completed an online survey using the Body Image State Scale (BISS), Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-QS), Core Self-Evaluations Scale (CSES), and Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS-21). SPSS Statistics 26 was used for reliability, validity, descriptive statistics, and correlation analysis, while mediation analysis was conducted using Model 4 in PROCESS 4.0.
RESULTS: The study found that body image was significantly associated with eating disorder symptoms both directly (β = -0.108, p < 0.01) and indirectly through the parallel mediating roles of core self-evaluations (β = -0.092, 95 % CI [-0.137, -0.052]) and negative emotions (β = -0.058, 95 % CI [-0.091, -0.028]). Core self-evaluations accounted for 35.7 % and negative emotions for 22.5 % of the total effect (β = -0.258, 95 % CI [-0.332, -0.185]).
CONCLUSION: Core self-evaluations and negative emotions play essential roles in the associations between body image and eating disorder symptoms. These findings provide theoretical insights for psychological interventions and practical recommendations for mental health education programs in universities. However, the results should be interpreted cautiously, as they are generalizable only to female participants within the Chinese context. Future research could extend this work to female populations from different cultural backgrounds to examine the cross-cultural applicability of the findings.
PMID:40829192 | DOI:10.1016/j.actpsy.2025.105415
