Appearance concerns comparisons among persons with body dysmorphic disorder and nonclinical controls with and without aesthetic training.

Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) concerns may be on a continuum with normal appearance concerns, differing only quantitatively. As emerging evidence suggests that an increased aesthetic sensitivity plays a role in BDD, individuals with BDD (n=50) were compared with a control group of individuals with an education or employment in art and design related fields (n=50) and a control group of individuals without aesthetic training (n=50). Participants completed a demographic questionnaire and a series of measures for depression, BDD symptomatology, and body image.

The role of aesthetic sensitivity in body dysmorphic disorder.

Individuals with a higher aesthetic sensitivity may be more vulnerable to developing body dysmorphic disorder (BDD). Aesthetic sensitivity has 3 components: (a) perceptual, (b) emotional, and (c) evaluative. Individuals with BDD (n = 50) were compared with a control group of individuals with an education or employment in art and design related fields (n = 50) and a control group of individuals without aesthetic training (n = 50).

The importance of aesthetics in body dysmorphic disorder.

It is hypothesized that body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) patients are firstly more "aesthetical," an attribute much like being musical, which varies between different individuals. This results in a greater emotional response to more attractive individuals and placing greater value on the importance of appearance in their identity compared with healthy individuals. Some BDD patients may have greater aesthetic perceptual skills.

Self-discrepancy in body dysmorphic disorder.

Objectives: According to self-discrepancy theory (SDT), depression, social anxiety, eating disorders and paranoia result from different types of conflicting self-beliefs. Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) consists of a preoccupation with imagined or slight defects in one's appearance, which is often associated with a depressed mood and social anxiety. SDT was therefore applied to BDD patients to further understand their beliefs about their appearance.

Possible association of body dysmorphic disorder with an occupation or education in art and design.

Objective: The authors hypothesized that because patients with body dysmorphic disorder are preoccupied with their appearance and aesthetics, they are more likely to have an occupation or education in art and design than patients with other psychiatric disorders.

Method: Information on occupation and higher education or training was extracted from the case notes of 100 consecutive patients with body dysmorphic disorder and compared with the same information for 100 patients with a major depressive episode, 100 with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and 100 with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Results: Twenty percent of the patients with body dysmorphic disorder had an occupation or education in art or design, compared with 4% of the patients with major depressive episode, 3% of those with OCD, and 0% of those with PTSD.