Establishing a useful distinction between current and anticipated bodily shame in eating disorders

Previous research has suggested a role for bodily shame in the development of bulimia. The purpose of the present study was to extend this research by exploring a temporal perspective on bodily shame and eating pathology. Specifically, we were interested in whether bodily shame associated with the possibility of future weight gain was important in determining eating disorder symptoms independently of any association with bodily shame associated with current body size. A brief questionnaire designed to measure bodily shame was developed for the purposes of this study and administered to four samples (total n=428) of eating disordered and non-eating disordered women who also completed a number of measures of eating pathology. Factor analysis of the bodily shame scale identified three sub-scales, two measuring feelings of bodily shame (one measuring shame associated with current body size and one measuring shame that is anticipated should the individual gain weight) and a third measuring the perceived unattractiveness of being overweight. Anticipated bodily shame made a significant additional contribution to predicting eating disorder symptoms over and above that made by current bodily shame. A focus on feelings of bodily shame as they are currently experienced may limit the usefulness of this construct in eating disorder research. Since shame can be both punishing and prohibitive, consideration of the anticipation of shame as a consequence of weight gain may be a useful addition to understanding eating disordered behaviours, particularly in relation to symptoms concerning the prevention of weight gain rather than just the achievement of weight loss.