"Mirror, mirror, on the wall, without you, I will fall": investigation into body dysmorphic disorder from an attachment perspective.

Liang Zhang, Xinze Liu, Yichao Lv, Xinyuan Zou, Yanqiang Tao, Xiangping Liu, Shujian Wang

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Article in Frontiers in psychiatry, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Liang ZhangNortheast Agricultural University, Harbin, China.

Xinze LiuBeijing Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology, National Demonstration Center for Experimental Psychology Education, Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.

Yichao LvBeijing Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology, National Demonstration Center for Experimental Psychology Education, Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.

Xinyuan ZouBeijing Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology, National Demonstration Center for Experimental Psychology Education, Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.

Yanqiang TaoEast China Normal University, Shanghai, China.

Xiangping LiuBeijing Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology, National Demonstration Center for Experimental Psychology Education, Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.

Shujian WangBeijing Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology, National Demonstration Center for Experimental Psychology Education, Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Objective: Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) is a prevalent concern among young adults. However, the underlying mechanisms of BDD development remain elusive. This study aims to investigate the intricate relationship between attachment styles and BDD symptoms, with appearance-based rejection sensitivity (ARS) as a mediating factor and gender as a moderator. Methods: A total of 815 young adults participated, completing a battery of questionnaires including the Revised Adult Attachment Scale (RAAS), Appearance-Based Rejection Sensitivity Scale (ARSS), and Scale of Body Image (SBI). Results: Data indicated a positive association between attachment anxiety and BDD symptoms, with ARS found to mediate this link. Furthermore, gender differences were observed to moderate the relationship between ARS and BDD symptoms. Conclusion: This study sheds light on the foundational mechanisms of BDD, tracing its origins to early caregiver-infant bonds and highlighting the enduring impact of ambivalent care on body image perceptions. Additionally, the identification of ARS as a specific contributing factor to BDD onset underscores its significance in understanding and addressing this disorder. By considering the influence of social norms and cultural context, gender differences in the association between ARS and BDD symptoms are elucidated.

Indexed as

appearance-based rejection sensitivityattachment anxietybody dysmorphic disordercross-sectional studygender differences

Identifiers

PMID42490962

DOI10.3389/fpsyt.2026.1846717

PMCPMC13375621

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