The Impact of the Out of Body Illusion on Body Dissatisfaction in Anorexia Nervosa

Abstract

Objective. Body image distortions are a core element of anorexia nervosa (AN) and often lead to body dissatisfaction. Body dissatisfaction increases the chances of relapse and the treatment of it is difficult. Treatment often entails cognitive and affective techniques. The aim of the current study is to investigate the following hypotheses: 1) whether the out of body illusion (OBI) task, a virtual reality task rooted in experimental psychology, decreases the amount of body dissatisfaction in patients with AN and 2) whether the effect of the illusion is related to the change in body dissatisfaction. It is also examined whether 3) the levels of embodiment, the degree to which participants identify with the virtual body, play a role in the amount of change in body dissatisfaction when the OBI was induced. Method. Fifteen AN patients completed the Body Satisfaction Scale (BSS), the OBI task, and a self-constructed questionnaire called the Embodiment Questionnaire (EQ). Results. A certain trend towards significance was found for the first hypothesis, suggesting a decrease in body dissatisfaction after the OBI task was conducted. No significant effects were found for the second and third hypotheses. Discussion. The trend towards significance suggesting a decrease in body dissatisfaction calls for further research. Future research should mainly aim to recruit larger samples and to validate the used measures. Furthermore, it would be interesting to explore whether multiple sessions prove to be more effective. Current study offers a good starting point and new directions to a better understanding of body image distortions and of how tasks rooted in experimental psychology might aid in reducing those distortions.