The Mediating Emotion Dysregulation in Relationship between Mindfulness and Body Image Concern among Female Students

Introduction: Body image concern has ever prevailed among female students. It has affected their satisfaction with life and induced psychological disorders. Thus, the present study aimed to investigate the mediating role of emotion dysregulation in the relationship between body image concern and mindfulness in the target population. Method: The present descriptive and correlational study lay within the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) framework. A sample of 509 subjects were selected in a convenience method. Online surveys were used to collect the required data from all female university students in Mashhad. The instruments were Gratz and Roemer’s Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (2004), Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (2003) and Littleton’s Body Image Concern Inventory (2005). The statistical procedures were run in SPSS26 and AMOS24. Results: The results showed a statistically significant direct and negative correlation between mindfulness and body image concern. Besides, a significant direct and positive correlation was found between emotion dysregulation and body image concern. The effect of mindfulness on body image concern was mediated by emotion dysregulation. The significance level of interpreting the findings was <0.05. Conclusion: Changes in body image concern can be directly explained based on mindfulness and indirectly based on emotion regulation in female students. Therefore, the use of mindfulness interventions and teaching emotion regulation strategies for this issue is recommended to psychotherapists.