The influence of gender and body satisfaction on attentional bias among young adults in Hong Kong: An eye-tracking study

Rochelle, Tina ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8809-128X and Huang, Xiuyan (2024) The influence of gender and body satisfaction on attentional bias among young adults in Hong Kong: An eye-tracking study. Journal of Health Psychology. ISSN 1461-7277

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Abstract

The present study examined gender differences in attentional bias of body images. Using an experimental design, 58 young adults aged 18–29 years ( Mage = 20.53) completed self-report measures of body satisfaction, eating pathology and trait appearance comparison before viewing whole body images of thin/muscular and large men/women through an eye tracker. After viewing the images, participants completed self-report measures of body satisfaction and state appearance comparison, BMI was also recorded. Results revealed that higher BMI was associated with reduced body satisfaction. Problematic eating attitudes were associated with greater engagement in appearance comparison, which was linked to lower levels of body satisfaction. Exposure to idealised body images negatively impacted individuals with lower body satisfaction leading to lower levels of body satisfaction post-experiment. Findings provide support for the positive association between body dissatisfaction and attentional bias to idealised bodies in both women and men in a Chinese context.