Body image inflexibility mediates the relationship between body image evaluation and maladaptive body image coping strategies

• Body image inflexibility (BII) was related to negative body image coping behaviours.
• BII mediated the association between appearance evaluation and appearance-fixing.
• BII mediated the association between appearance evaluation and experiential avoidance.
• Findings support acceptance-based interventions to treat negative body image.

Body image inflexibility, the unwillingness to experience negative appearance-related thoughts and emotions, is associated with negative body image and eating disorder symptoms. The present study investigated whether body image inflexibility mediated the relationship between body image evaluation and maladaptive body image coping strategies (appearance-fixing and experiential avoidance) in a college and community sample comprising 156 females aged 18–51 years (M = 22.76, SD = 6.96). Controlling for recruitment source (college vs. community), body image inflexibility fully mediated the relationship between body image evaluation and maladaptive body image coping strategies. Results indicated that an unwillingness to experience negative appearance-related thoughts and emotions is likely responsible for negative body image evaluation's relationship to appearance-fixing behaviours and experiential avoidance. Findings support extant evidence that interventions that explicitly target body image inflexibility, such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, may have utility in treating body dissatisfaction in nonclinical populations.