BiPS
Body And Emotions Study
The BiPS Body and Emotions Project is a longitudinal study currently being conducted by Isabella Muscolino in the School of Applied Psychology under the supervision of Dr. Samantha Dockray.
The study aims to examine how pubertal changes, in combination with processes of psychosocial development, emotion regulation and experience, influence body dissatisfaction and individual’s behaviour.
Recruitment in Progress
Study Details
The study will use a cross-sequential design following 90 children and adolescents from Ireland (90) and Italy (90) aged 11 to 13. Each person will provide measures of psychosocial as well as bodily development at two time points (6 month intervals), over an 12 month period. The multiple measures provide a rich dataset for examination and testing body dissatisfaction as an outcome of the interaction of the biological, psychological and social context.
The study adopts a mixed methods approach, and interviews with the adolescent-parent dyad will be completed in addition to standard psychometric measures. The project examines the direct effects of pubertal changes on thoughts, somatic complaints and behaviours and how this is related to emotion regulation and body dissatisfaction, as well as social effects, including the
peer context and the cultural representations of the body ideal. The project draws upon the diatheses stress model of adolescent vulnerability to examine the biospychosocial dimensions of body dissatisfaction in adolescence.