Dimensions of internalization relevant to the identity disruption model of body dissatisfaction

The Identity Disruption Model posits that negative early life experiences are associated with disrupted personal identity, which in turn increases the risk of internalizing societal standards of attractiveness and body dissatisfaction. Although internalization plays a central role in this model, it is unclear which aspect(s) of internalization (awareness, endorsement, or internalization) are most relevant to the Identity Disruption Model. To address this issue, female participants (N = 278) completed measures of the following constructs: early adversity; self-concept clarity; awareness, endorsement, and internalization of societal standards of attractiveness; and body dissatisfaction. Self-concept clarity was negatively correlated with internalization (r = −.45, p <  .001), but was not significantly correlated with awareness (r = −.05) or endorsement (r = −.11). Furthermore, structural equational modeling showed that there was a significant indirect path from early adversity to self-concept clarity to internalization to body dissatisfaction (unstandardized b = .015, SEboot = .004, p <  .001). The indirect paths through awareness and endorsement were not significant. These findings help clarify the Identity Disruption Model by indicating that lower self-concept clarity is specifically associated with taking on societal standards as personally meaningful beliefs, rather than with mere awareness of, or agreement with, those standards.