Body dissatisfaction, ideals, and identity in the development of disordered eating among adolescent ballet dancers

Little is known about how female adolescent ballet dancers—a group at high-risk for the development of body dissatisfaction and eating disorders—construct body ideals, and how their social identities interact with body ideals to confer risk for disordered eating. Using a novel body figure behavioral task, this study investigated (1) whether degree and valence of body dissatisfaction corresponded to severity of disordered eating thoughts and behaviors, and (2) how ballet identity corresponded with ideal body figure size among adolescent ballet dancers. Participants were 188 female ballet dancers ages 13–18 years who completed self-report measures of study constructs and the behavioral task. Piecewise linear models indicated that there were significant differences in disordered eating thoughts and behaviors between those whose ideal body figures were smaller, larger, or the same as their current perceived body figures (p<.001), with individuals desiring smaller bodies endorsing significantly more binge eating (p=.01) and purging (p=.002), and less muscle building (p<.001), than those desiring larger bodies. We also found that identifying more strongly as a ballet dancer was correlated with having a smaller ideal body size (p=.017). Findings from this study suggest desire to achieve smaller body sizes is correlated with more severe disordered eating endorsement and stronger ballet identity. Instructors and clinicians may consider assessing the extent to which individuals identify as a ballet dancer as a risk factor for disordered eating and encourage adolescent dancers to build and nurture other identities beyond ballet.