Body Image 32 (2020) 145–149 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Body Image journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/bodyimage Brief research report Physical appearance comparisons and symptoms of disordered eating: The mediating role of social physique anxiety in Spanish adolescents Manuel Alcaraz-Ibá ˜ nez ∗ , Álvaro Sicilia, David M. Díez-Fernández, Adrian Paterna Department of Education and Health Research Centre, University of Almería, Spain a r t i c l e i n f o Article history: Received 18 January 2019 Received in revised form 21 December 2019 Accepted 21 December 2019 Keywords: Physical appearance Psychopathology Adolescence Eating pathology Social comparison a b s t r a c t Physical appearance comparisons (PAC) and social physique anxiety (SPA) have been independently related to disordered eating (DE). However, the extent to which these variables may be concurrently associated with DE in the adolescent population remains largely unknown. This study was aimed at addressing a twofold objective: firstly, to examine whether SPA may moderate or mediate the relationship between PAC and DE in a sample of Spanish adolescents of both sexes; secondly, to examine whether these mechanisms may differ according to sex. A total of 738 adolescents (50 % girls) ranging from 12 to 17 years of age (M = 14.45, SD = 1.50) were recruited from nine secondary schools. Participants completed a self-reported questionnaire covering the variables of interest. After controlling for the effects of sex, age, standardized body mass index (z-BMI), and depressive symptoms, the results from bootstrapping cross- sectional regression analyses supported the mediating effect of SPA on the relationship between PAC and DE, but not the moderating one. Sex was not found to moderate either the mediated or moderated relationships. Prevention/intervention efforts targeted towards decreasing DE among adolescents may benefit from minimizing the social relevance of the body inherent in the cognitive and affective processes underlying both SPA and PAC. © 2019 Published by Elsevier Ltd. 1. Introduction Eating disorders are a serious mental health problem that, despite their low prevalence, exert a substantial socioeconomic burden (Crow, 2014; Smink, Van Hoeken, & Hoek, 2012). In con- trast, less severe forms of eating disorders (i.e., disordered eating, DE) are fairly common amongst adolescents (Herpertz-Dahlmann, Dempfle, Konrad, Klasen, & Ravens-Sieberer, 2015). This is espe- cially worrisome considering that DE is defined according to a continuum (i.e., from normal eating to full syndrome), so those exhibiting more symptoms (e.g., skipping meals, following extreme diets or losing control over food intake) would be at greater risk of developing a clinical disorder (Franko & Omori, 1999). Con- sequently, examining the mechanisms leading to increased DE symptoms is important from a prevention point-of-view. Cognitive-behavioural models of body image conceptualize DE as a maladaptive coping strategy in response to two groups of proximal influencing factors: (a) the cognitive processes acti- ∗ Corresponding author at: Universidad de Almería, Facultad de Ciencias de la Educación, Carretera de Sacramento s/n, 04120 La Ca˜ nada de San Urbano Almería, Spain. E-mail address: m.alcaraz@ual.es (M. Alcaraz-Ibá ˜ nez). vated by daily body–related experiences and (b) the emotional reactions emerging from those cognitive processes (Cash, 2012). Consistent with these theoretical tenets, both a body-related cog- nitive process such as physical appearance comparisons (PAC) and a body-related emotion such as social physique anxiety (SPA; defined as the uneasy feelings derived from anticipating possible unfavourable social evaluations of the body; Hart, Leary, & Rejeski, 1989) have been consistently associated with DE (Alcaraz-Ibá ˜ nez, 2017; Fitzsimmons-Craft, Harney, Brownstone, Higgins, & Bardone- Cone, 2012; Lanfranchi, Maïano, Morin, & Therme, 2015; Walker et al., 2015). At least two possibilities may be considered for explaining how PAC and SPA would lead to the emergence of DE. On the one hand, PAC and SPA may exert a synergistic effect on DE (Fitzsimmons- Craft et al., 2012). Thus, the positive relationship between one of these variables (i.e., PAC or SPA) and DE may be strengthened in the presence of high levels of the other. This possibility has received preliminary empirical support in a sample of female university students (Fitzsimmons-Craft et al., 2012). Conversely, PAC may be associated with DE via SPA. Specifically, because engaging in PAC may increase anxiety and discomfort related to worries about unfavourable body evaluations by others, which may increase DE. This possibility seems plausible according to the tenets of cognitive- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2019.12.005 1740-1445/© 2019 Published by Elsevier Ltd.