The roles of appearance-based rejection sensitivity and race-based rejection sensitivity in Body Dysmorphic Symptoms

ABSTRACT

Rejection sensitivity (RS) is linked to Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD), possibly explaining the connection between past trauma and BDD symptoms (BDS). Most literature excludes the effects of specific forms of RS on BDS, and focuses on Western contexts. This study investigates appearance-based RS (RS-appearance) and race-based RS (RS-race) with relation to BDS in 267 Singaporean university students . RS-race was novelly investigated in its relationship with BDS. Indian and Malay minorities reported higher RS-race than Chinese participants. Both RS-appearance and RS-race were positively associated with BDS. RS-appearance predicted BDS when controlling for depressive symptoms, ethnicity, and RS-race. RS-race also predicted BDS when controlling for depressive symptoms, ethnicity, gender, and RS-appearance. These findings highlight potential roles of RS in BDD development.

KEYWORDS:

• Body Dysmorphic Disorder Symptoms
• appearance-based rejection sensitivity
• race-based rejection sensitivity
• racial minority
• racial majority

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/21507686.2024.2363784

Additional information

Funding

The work was supported by the National University of Singapore, Department of Psychology.

Notes on contributors

Monika Balaya

Monika Balaya graduated from the National University of Singapore with a Bachelor’s Degree (Honours) in Psychology. Her interest in carrying out research to better understand factors contributing to the development of Body Dysmorphic Disorder inspired her to carry out this study as a part of her dissertation. Monika is currently working as a Research Assistant at the National Institute of Education, where she assists with a longitudinal research project on understanding adolescent development.

Oliver Sündermann

Oliver Suendermann is a Clinical Psychologist with a special interest and expertise in treating and researching Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). Oliver holds a Ph.D. and a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology, both from the Institute of Psychiatry at the Maudsley, King’s College London. He is currently the Vice President, Clinical, at Intellect, a mental-health company based in Singapore, and is also adjunct assistant professor at the National University of Singapore (NUS) in the Department of Psychology.