Nevertheless, the Q’eqchi’ women also showed the greatest distortion in their own body perception, estimating their physique to be slimmer than it actually was. It is thought this could be due to a lack of access to body monitoring tools such as mirrors, scales, technology, and clothing choices, but in this instance, body distortion does not seem to influence body satisfaction. This has also been shown in groups of lower-income African American women, where the acceptance of larger bodies is not necessarily equivalent to positive body image.Similar studies have noted a high prevalence of BDD in East Asian societies, where facial dissatisfaction is especially common, indicating that this is not just a Western phenomenon. Diagnosis
Estimates of prevalence and gender distribution have varied widely via discrepancies in diagnosis and reporting. In American psychiatry, BDD gained diagnostic criteria in the DSM-IV, having been historically unrecognized, only making its first appearance in the DSM in 1987, but clinicians knowledge of it, especially among general practitioners, is constricted. Meanwhile, shame about having the bodily concern, and fear of the stigma of vanity, makes many hide even having the concern.Via shared symptoms, BDD is commonly misdiagnosed as social anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, major depressive disorder, or social phobia. Social anxiety disorder and BDD are highly comorbid (within those with BDD, 12–68.8% also have SAD; within those with SAD, 4.8-12% also have BDD), developing similarly in patients -BDD is even classified as a subset of SAD by some researchers.
The study had several limitations; results were severely confounded by inherent differences between compliant and non-compliant women. == References ==