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Adult Depression

The Relationship between Body Dysmorphic Symptoms, Depressive Symptoms and Suicidality – A Mediation Analysis

(PS3-38) The Relationship Between Body Dysmorphic Symptoms, Depressive Symptoms and Suicidality – a Mediation Analysis

Friday, November 15, 2024
11:30 AM – 12:30 PM EST
Location: Franklin Hall, Level 4, Marriott Downtown
Abstract Text: Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) involves an excessive preoccupation with perceived appearance flaws, accompanied by repetitive behaviors such as frequent mirror checking. It is associated with severe occupational and social impairment, depression as well as high levels of suicidality including suicide attempts and completed suicide. Given these high levels of suicidality, this study aimed to examine whether there is a direct link between BDD and suicidality, independent of depression. We conducted a mediation analysis to untangle the intricate relationships between body dysmorphic symptoms, depression, and suicidality. By scrutinizing both direct and indirect effects, it aims to uncover underlying mechanisms, offering vital insights for intervention and therapy development. Cross-sectional data encompassing body dysmorphic symptoms, treatment history, eating disorder symptoms, aesthetic surgeries, depression and suicidality was gathered through an online self-test for BDD. 1,256 participants (aged 18 – 71; 72% females) met DSM-5 criteria for self-reported BDD. Structural Equation Models (SEM) were employed to comprehensively analyze relationships between latent variables, factoring in measurement errors in observed variables. Four SEMs were constructed to evaluate different operationalizations of suicidality as the dependent variable, providing insights into the mediating role of depressive symptoms. The effects were assessed using the Weighted Least Square Mean and Variance method, with bootstrap confidence intervals ensuring robust estimations. In all SEMs, there were both direct effects of body dysmorphic symptoms on the dependent variable and indirect effects through depressive symptoms on the dependent variable. The indirect effect consisted of the direct effects of body dysmorphic symptoms on depressive symptoms and depressive symptoms on the dependent variable, all of which were statistically significant at an α = .01 significance level, as none of the bootstrap-derived confidence intervals enclosed the value of zero. The findings revealed a direct association between body dysmorphic symptoms and suicidality. Furthermore, as expected, depression partially mediated the relationship between body dysmorphic symptoms, highlighting the importance to carefully screen for suicidality irrespective of comorbid depression. In addition to carefully assessing suicidality in BDD, suicide prevention techniques should be incorporated into its treatment.