Award Date

8-1-2013

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Psychology

First Committee Member

Cortney S. Warren

Second Committee Member

Murray G. Millar

Third Committee Member

Marta Meana

Fourth Committee Member

Lynn Comella

Number of Pages

97

Abstract

Objectification theory is a social constructivist framework that aims to explain how sociocultural and intrapersonal variables impact women's mental health. To date, however, few studies have used an objectification framework to examine the relationship between body image and sexual functioning in ethnically diverse samples of women. Consequently, the present study used the tenets of objectification theory to examine body image and sexuality in women. Specifically, this study investigated the relationships between body surveillance, body shame, body self-consciousness during sexual activities, and sexual satisfaction in American female college students. Participants completed self-report measures of demographic information, body shame, body surveillance, body self-consciousness during sexual activity, and sexual satisfaction. Bivariate correlations suggested that body surveillance, body shame, and body self-consciousness during sexual activity were negatively correlated with sexual satisfaction. Additionally, path analysis indicated that body surveillance predicted increased body self-consciousness during sexual activity, which was partially mediated by body shame. Body self-consciousness, in turn, predicted decreased sexual satisfaction. Overall, study findings suggest that it is important to assess for and address body surveillance, body shame, and body concerns during sexual activity in clinical contexts with women presenting with sexual dissatisfaction.

Keywords

Body image; Objectification theory; Self-consciousness (Sensitivity); Sex (Psychology); Sexual satisfaction

Disciplines

Gender and Sexuality | Psychology

File Format

pdf

Degree Grantor

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Language

English

Rights

IN COPYRIGHT. For more information about this rights statement, please visit http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

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