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College females, using a set of nine figure drawings reflecting very thin to very heavy figures, rated their current figure (based on how they thought they looked versus how they felt), ideal figure, how they appeared to others, and the figure they deemed most attractive to men. A subsample of the 123 subjects also completed measures of body satisfaction, depression, eating disturbance, teasing, and noted the age of menarche. The results replicated and extended the findings of Fallon and Rozin (1985), who found that ideal figures were smaller than ratings of current size. Additionally, there was a significant difference between the two protocols for current size, indicating that subjects rated their size as larger when asked to rate based on affective instructions. Figure ratings based on cognitive/rational instructions did not differ from those based on how they conceptualized others' views of their bodies. Significant correlations were observed among figure ratings, body satisfaction, eating disturbance, depression, and teasing. The need to focus on etiological mechanisms of disturbed body image and eating behavior is addressed, and the role of teasing as a possible precipitant is examined.
Thompson et al. (Tue,) studied this question.