The thin-ideal across two cultural contexts: the role of body image inflexibility and the fear of negative evaluation

It is well-established that the thin-ideal standard of female beauty adversely influences body satisfaction among women in Western societies, yet comparatively little attention has been given to this effect across different cultural contexts. The present study investigated the impact of exposure to the thin-ideal on women in Turkey and the UK, and whether body image inflexibility or fear of negative evaluation may contribute to any cross-cultural differences. Participants (N=262) completed scales of body dissatisfaction, body image inflexibility and fear of negative evaluation before being randomly assigned to view either thin-ideal images or neutral images, after which they completed the body dissatisfaction scale again. Results revealed that participants from both countries experienced decreases in body satisfaction following exposure to the thin-ideal, with this effect most pronounced in the UK sample. Furthermore, body image inflexibility, more so than fear of negative evaluation, predicted greater decreases in body satisfaction. Strategies to improve body image flexibility may thus mitigate the harmful impact of thin-ideal exposure.