The study explored how body image dissatisfaction affects the coping methods that young adult females with Polycystic Ovarian Disease (PCOD) use to handle their problems. PCOD is a chronic endocrine condition that leads to weight gain and acne and hirsutism as its main physical symptoms. The condition causes people psychological distress which results in negative body image problems. The study investigated how people with body image dissatisfaction problems cope with their condition because the condition creates major psychosocial difficulties. The researchers used a quantitative correlational research design to conduct their study. The study recruited 120 PCOD participants who were diagnosed with the condition through purposive sampling. Data collection involved using the Body Shape Questionnaire (BSQ-16B) to measure body image dissatisfaction and the Brief COPE Inventory to assess coping mechanisms. The researchers created a single composite coping score which combined all coping items into one variable that showed total coping frequency. The participants showed moderate levels of body image dissatisfaction and coping abilities according to the descriptive statistics results. Pearson product-moment correlation analysis showed that body image dissatisfaction resulted in people using coping mechanisms at a higher rate. The results show that people with high body dissatisfaction use coping methods more often. The study shows that body image dissatisfaction creates psychological stress which needs coping methods to handle it but total coping scores fail to differentiate between effective and ineffective coping methods. The research demonstrates how body image issues need to be resolved through training programs that teach people with PCOD to handle their mental health needs. The research adds to the existing body of literature which has limited research on the topic.
P et al. (Thu,) studied this question.