In this article, we report two studies that examined the dynamics between interpersonal sexual objectification, self-objectification, and individuals’ attachment in romantic relationships. Study 1 was based on data from 392 college students (Mage = 21.42 years, 66.8% women). Results showed positive associations between interpersonal sexual objectification, self-objectification, attachment anxiety, and attachment avoidance among women. For men, significant and positive associations were only observed between interpersonal sexual objectification and self-objectification and between self-objectification and attachment anxiety. Study 2 was a 6-month longitudinal study where we recruited participants through CloudResearch (n = 638, Mage = 24.26 years, 55.8% women at Time 1; n = 283, Mage = 24.43 years, 56.9% women at Time 2; return rate = 44.36%). Results from longitudinal analyses showed that women reported stronger stability in self-objectification than men, and for both women and men, their attachment anxiety predicted increased self-objectification. Additionally, in both studies, women reported higher levels of interpersonal sexual objectification, self-objectification, and attachment anxiety than men. Overall, the findings suggest that high-quality relationships may help buffer the negative effects engendered by an objectifying culture. Based on our results, we recommend that clinicians and parents work to foster secure and healthy relationships as a means of reducing the extensive negative repercussions of objectification.
ArroyoA.SegrinC.HarwoodJ. (2014). Appearance-related communication mediates the link between self-objectification and health and well-being outcomes. Human Communication Research, 40(4), 463–482. https://doi.org/10.1111/hcre.12036
2.
AubreyJ. S. (2006). Effects of sexually objectifying media on self-objectification and body surveillance in undergraduates: Results of a 2-year panel study. Journal of Communication, 56(2), 366–386. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-2466.2006.00024.x
BowlbyJ. (1973). Attachment and loss: Vol. 2. Separation: Anxiety and anger. Basic Books.
5.
Bowlby, J. (1980). Attachment and loss: Vol. 3. Sadness and depression. Basic Books.
6.
BrassardA.Perron-LaplanteJ.LachapelleÉde PierrepontC.PéloquinK. (2018). Oversexualization among emerging adults: Preliminary associations with romantic attachment and intimacy. The Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality, 27(3), 235–247. https://doi.org/10.3138/cjhs.2017-0031
7.
BrennanK. A.ClarkC. L.ShaverP. R. (1998). Self-report measurement of adult attachment: An integrative overview. In J. A. Simpson & W. S. Rholes (Eds.), Attachment theory and close relationships (pp. 46–76). Guilford.
8.
CalogeroR. M. (2004). A test of objectification theory: The effect of the male gaze on appearance concerns in college women. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 28(1), 16–21. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-6402.2004.00118.x
9.
CalogeroR. M.Tantleff-DunnS.ThompsonJ. K. (2011). Self-objectification in women: Causes, consequences, and counteractions. American Psychological Association.
10.
CalogeroR. M.TylkaT. L.SiegelJ. A.PinaA.RobertsT.-A. (2021). Smile pretty and watch your back: Personal safety anxiety and vigilance in objectification theory. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 121(6), 1195–1222. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspi0000344
11.
CandelO.-S.TurliucM. N. (2019). Insecure attachment and relationship satisfaction: A meta-analysis of actor and partner associations. Personality and Individual Differences, 147, 190–199. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2019.04.037
12.
ChenF. F. (2007). Sensitivity of goodness of fit indices to lack of measurement invariance. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 14(3), 464–504. https://doi.org/10.1080/10705510701301834
13.
CheungG. W.RensvoldR. B. (2002). Evaluating goodness-of-fit indexes for testing measurement invariance. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 9(2), 233–255. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15328007SEM0902_5
14.
ChomaB.VisserL.PozzebonB.BogaertA.BusseriJ.SadavaA. (2010). Self-objectification, self-esteem, and gender: Testing a moderated mediation model. Sex Roles, 63(9–10), 645–656. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-010-9829-8
15.
DavidsonM. M.GervaisS. J.CanivezG. L.ColeB. P. (2013). A psychometric examination of the Interpersonal Sexual Objectification Scale among college men. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 60(2), 239–250. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0032075
16.
DeVilleD. C.EllmoF. I.HortonW. A.ErchullM. J. (2015). The role of romantic attachment in women’s experiences of body surveillance and body shame. Gender Issues, 32(2), 111–120. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12147-015-9136-3
17.
FairchildK.RudmanL. A. (2008). Everyday stranger harassment and women’s objectification. Social Justice Research, 21(3), 338–357. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11211-008-0073-0
18.
FraleyR. C.ShaverP. R. (2000). Adult romantic attachment: Theoretical developments, emerging controversies, and unanswered questions. Review of General Psychology, 4(2), 132–154. https://doi.org/10.1037/1089-2680.4.2.132
19.
FraleyR. C.VicaryA. M.BrumbaughC. C.RoismanG. I. (2011). Patterns of stability in adult attachment: An empirical test of two models of continuity and change. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 101(5), 974–992. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0024150
20.
FredricksonB. L.HarrisonK. (2005). Throwing like a girl: Self-objectification predicts adolescent girls’ motor performance. Journal of Sport and Social Issues, 29(1), 79–101. https://doi.org/10.1177/0193723504269878
21.
FredricksonB. L.RobertsT.-A. (1997). Objectification theory: Toward understanding women’s lived experience and mental health risks. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 21(2), 173–206. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-6402.1997.tb00108.x
22.
FredricksonB. L.RobertsT.-A.NollS. M.QuinnD. M.TwengeJ. M. (1998). That swimsuit becomes you: Sex differences in self-objectification, restrained eating, and math performance. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 75(1), 269–284. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.75.1.269
23.
GarciaR. L.EarnshawV. A.QuinnD. M. (2016). Objectification in action: Self-and other-objectification in mixed-sex interpersonal interactions. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 40(2), 213–228. https://doi.org/10.1177/0361684315614966
24.
GervaisS. J.VescioT. K.AllenJ. (2011). When what you see is what you get: The consequences of the objectifying gaze for women and men. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 35(1), 5–17. https://doi.org/10.1177/0361684310386121
25.
GillathO.HartJ.NoftleE. E.StockdaleG. D. (2009). Development and validation of a state adult attachment measure (SAAM). Journal of Research in Personality, 43(3), 362–373. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2008.12.009
26.
GillathO.KarantzasG. C.FraleyR. C. (2016). Adult attachment: A concise introduction to theory and research. Academic Press.
27.
GuoQ.WangY.WuM. (2022). The relationship between different types of objectification, sexual pressure, and relationship satisfaction in Chinese heterosexual dating relationships. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 39(2), 245–263. https://doi.org/10.1177/02654075211035183
28.
GuoQ.WuM. (2021). The relationship between self-objectification and social avoidance among Chinese middle adolescent girls: The mediating role of appearance comparison and self-esteem. Current Psychology, https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-021-01705-8
29.
HazanC.ShaverP. (1987). Romantic love conceptualized as an attachment process. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52(3), 511–524. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.52.3.511
30.
HollandE.KovalP.StratemeyerM.ThomsonF.HaslamN. (2017). Sexual objectification in women’s daily lives: A smartphone ecological momentary assessment study. British Journal of Social Psychology, 56(2), 314–333. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjso.12152
31.
JonesJ. D.SternJ. A.FitterM. H.MikulincerM.ShaverP. R.CassidyJ. (2022). Attachment and attitudes toward children: Effects of security priming in parents and non-parents. Attachment & Human Development, 24(2), 147–168. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616734.2021.1881983
32.
KarsayK.KnollJ.MatthesJ. (2018). Sexualizing media use and self-objectification: A meta-analysis. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 42(1), 9–28. https://doi.org/10.1177/0361684317743019
KozeeH. B.TylkaT. L.Augustus-HorvathC. L.DenchikA. (2007). Development and psychometric evaluation of the Interpersonal Sexual Objectification Scale. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 31(2), 176–189. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-6402.2007.00351.x
35.
LindnerD.Tantleff-DunnS. (2017). The development and psychometric evaluation of the Self-Objectification Beliefs and Behaviors Scale. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 41(2), 254–272. https://doi.org/10.1177/0361684317692109
36.
LitmanL.RobinsonJ.AbberbockT. (2017). TurkPrime.com: A versatile crowdsourcing data acquisition platform for the behavioral sciences. Behavior Research Methods, 49(2), 433–442. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13428-016-0727-z
37.
LittleT. D. (2013). Longitudinal structural equation modeling. Guilford.
38.
MaharE. A.WebsterG. D.MarkeyP. M. (2020). Partner-objectification in romantic relationships: A dyadic approach. Personal Relationships, 27(1), 4–26. https://doi.org/10.1111/pere.12303
39.
McKinleyN. M.RandaL. A. (2005). Adult attachment and body satisfaction: An exploration of general and specific relationship differences. Body Image, 2(3), 209–218. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2005.04.003
40.
MeltzerA. L. (2020). Women can benefit from sexual and physical valuation in the context of a romantic relationship. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 46(2), 243–257. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167219854443
41.
MeltzerA. L.McNultyJ. K. (2014). “Tell me I’m sexy, … and otherwise valuable”: Body valuation and relationship satisfaction. Personal Relationships, 21(1), 68–87. https://doi.org/10.1111/pere.12018
42.
Miner-RubinoK.TwengeJ. M.FredricksonB. L. (2002). Trait self-objectification in women: Affective and personality correlates. Journal of Research in Personality, 36(2), 147–172. https://doi.org/10.1006/jrpe.2001.2343
43.
MoradiB.HuangY. P. (2008). Objectification theory and psychology of women: A decade of advances and future directions. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 32(4), 377–398. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-6402.2008.00452.x
44.
MorrisonT. G.MorrisonM. A.HopkinsC. (2003). Striving for bodily perfection? An exploration of the drive for muscularity in Canadian men. Psychology of Men & Masculinity, 4(2), 111–120. https://doi.org/10.1037/1524-9220.4.2.111
45.
OehlhofM. E. W.Musher-EizenmanD. R.NeufeldJ. M.HauserJ. C. (2009). Self-objectification and ideal body shape for men and women. Body Image, 6(4), 308–310. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2009.05.002
46.
PeatC. M.MuehlenkampJ. J. (2011). Self-objectification, disordered eating, and depression: A test of mediational pathways. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 35(3), 441–450. https://doi.org/10.1177/0361684311400389
47.
PinquartM.FeußnerC.AhnertL. (2013). Meta-analytic evidence for stability in attachments from infancy to early adulthood. Attachment & Human Development, 15(2), 189–218. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616734.2013.746257
48.
QuinnD. M.KallenR. W.TwengeJ. M.FredricksonB. L. (2006). The disruptive effect of self-objectification on performance. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 30(1), 59–64. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-6402.2006.00262.x
49.
R Core Team. (2020). R: A language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing. https://www.R-project.org/
50.
RamseyL. R.MarottaJ. A.HoytT. (2017). Sexualized, objectified, but not satisfied: Enjoying sexualization relates to lower relationship satisfaction through perceived partner-objectification. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 34(2), 258–278. https://doi.org/10.1177/0265407516631157
51.
RobertsT.-A.CalogeroR. M.GervaisS. J. (2018). Objectification theory: Continuing contributions to feminist psychology. In C. B. Travis, J. W. White, A. Rutherford, W. S. Williams, S. L. Cook & K. F. Wyche (Eds.), APA handbook of the psychology of women: History, theory, and battlegrounds (Vol. 1, pp. 249–271). American Psychological Association.
52.
SaguyT.QuinnD. M.DovidioJ. F.PrattoF. (2010). Interacting like a body: Objectification can lead women to narrow their presence in social interactions. Psychological Science, 21(2), 178–182. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797609357751
53.
SanchezD. T.BroccoliT. L. (2008). The romance of self-objectification: Does priming romantic relationships induce states of self-objectification among women?Sex Roles, 59(7–8), 545–554. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-008-9451-1
54.
SáezG.RiemerA. R.BrockR. L.GervaisS. J. (2019). Objectification in heterosexual romantic relationships: Examining relationship satisfaction of women objectification recipients and male objectifying perpetrators. Sex Roles, 81(5–6), 370–384. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-018-0990-9
55.
SáezG.RiemerA. R.Valor-SeguraI.ExpósitoF. (2021). “I’ll stop talking now”: Decreased interaction length in mixed-sex interpersonal interactions as response to objectification. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 38(1), 180–188. https://doi.org/10.1177/0265407520958474
56.
SchaeferL. M.BurkeN. L.CalogeroR. M.MenzelJ. E.KrawczykR.ThompsonJ. K. (2018). Self-objectification, body shame, and disordered eating: Testing a core mediational model of objectification theory among White, Black, and Hispanic women. Body Image, 24, 5–12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2017.10.005
57.
SchaeferL. M.ThompsonJ. K. (2018). Self-objectification and disordered eating: A meta-analysis. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 51(6), 483–502. https://doi.org/10.1002/eat.22854
58.
ShaverP. R.MikulincerM. (2011). An attachment-theory framework for conceptualizing interpersonal behavior. In L. M. Horowitz & S. Strack (Eds.), Handbook of interpersonal psychology: Theory, research, assessment, and therapeutic interventions (pp. 17–35). John Wiley & Sons.
59.
SiegelJ. T.NavarroM. (2019). A conceptual replication examining the risk of overtly listing eligibility criteria on Amazon’s Mechanical Turk. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 49(4), 239–248. https://doi.org/10.1111/jasp.12580
60.
StarrC. R.ZurbriggenE. L. (2019). Self-sexualization in preadolescent girls: Associations with self-objectification, weight concerns, and parent’s academic expectations. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 43(6), 515–522. https://doi.org//10.1177/0165025419873036
61.
SteerA.TiggemannM. (2008). The role of self-objectification in women’s sexual functioning. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 27(3), 205–225. https://doi.org/10.1521/jscp.2008.27.3.205
62.
StrelanP.HargreavesD. (2005). Reasons for exercise and body esteem: Men’s responses to self-objectification. Sex Roles, 53(7–8), 495–503. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-005-7137-5
63.
StrelanP.PagoudisS. (2018). Birds of a feather flock together? The interpersonal process of objectification within intimate heterosexual relationships. Sex Roles, 79(1–2), 72–82. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-017-0851-y
64.
TengF.GaoW.HuangX.PoonK. T. (2019). Body surveillance predicts men’s and women’s perceived loneliness: A serial mediation model. Sex Roles, 81(1-2), 97–108. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-018-0977-6
65.
TeránL.JiaoJ.AubreyJ. S. (2021). The relational burden of objectification: Exploring how past experiences of interpersonal sexual objectification are related to relationship competencies. Sex Roles, 84(9–10), 610–625. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-020-01188-0
66.
TiggemannM.SlaterA. (2015). The role of self-objectification in the mental health of early adolescent girls: Predictors and consequences. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 40(7), 704–711. http://doi.org/10.1093/jpepsy/jsv021
67.
TolmanD. L.ImpettE. A.TracyA. J.MichaelA. (2006). Looking good, sounding good: Femininity ideology and adolescent girls’ mental health. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 30(1), 85–95. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-6402.2006.00265.x
68.
VeldhuisJ.AllevaJ. M.Bij de VaateAJD(N)KeijerM.KonijnE. A. (2020). Me, my selfie, and I: The relations between selfie behaviors, body image, self-objectification, and self-esteem in young women. Psychology of Popular Media, 9(1), 3–13. https://doi.org/10.1037/ppm0000206
69.
VelezB. L.BreslowA. S.BrewsterM. E.CoxR.JrFosterA. B. (2016). Building a pantheoretical model of dehumanization with transgender men: Integrating objectification and minority stress theories. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 63(5), 497–508. https://doi.org/10.1037/cou0000136
WatsonL. B.GrotewielM.FarrellM.MarshikJ.SchneiderM. (2015). Experiences of sexual objectification, minority stress, and disordered eating among sexual minority women. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 39(4), 458–470. https://doi.org/10.1177/0361684315575024
72.
WeiM.RussellD. W.MallinckrodtB.VogelD. L. (2007). The Experiences in Close Relationship Scale (ECR)-short form: Reliability, validity, and factor structure. Journal of Personality Assessment, 88(2), 187–204. https://doi.org/10.1080/00223890701268041
73.
WeissR. S. (1982). Attachment in adult life. In C. M. Parkes & J. Stevenson-Hinde (Eds.), The place of attachment in human behavior (pp. 171–184). Basic Books.
74.
WestS. G.TaylorA. B.WuW. (2012). Model fit and model selection in structural equation modeling. In R. H. Hoyle (Ed.), Handbook of structural equation modeling (pp. 209–231). Guilford.
75.
WisemanM. C.MoradiB. (2010). Body image and eating disorder symptoms in sexual minority men: A test and extension of objectification theory. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 57(2), 154–166. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0018937
76.
YoonM.MillsapR. E. (2007). Detecting violations of factorial invariance using data-based specification searches: A Monte Carlo study. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 14(3), 435–463. https://doi.org/10.1080/10705510701301677
77.
ZhangF.Labouvie-ViefG. (2004). Stability and fluctuation in adult attachment style over a 6-year period. Attachment & Human Development, 6(4), 419–437. https://doi.org/10.1080/1461673042000303127
78.
ZurbriggenE. L.RamseyL. R.JaworskiB. K. (2011). Self-and partner-objectification in romantic relationships: Associations with media consumption and relationship satisfaction. Sex Roles, 64(7–8), 449–462. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-011-9933-4
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
