Self-Objectification, Intimate Partner Violence Victimization, Sexting and Mental Health in Spanish Women

The aim of this cross-sectional study was to examine the associations of self-objectification with intimate partner violence victimization and sexting, assessing the contribution of these variables to women’s mental health across the life course. The study included 6124 Spanish women aged 16 to 85, who were assessed using self-report measures of self-objectification, mental distress, well-being, intimate partner violence victimization, sexting and self-esteem. The results showed that self-objectification decreased with age. However, no differences were found between adolescent and emerging adult women. Self-objectification was positively associated with sexting and intimate partner violence victimization, though the effect sizes of the associations were larger for sexting. Some differences in the effect sizes were also found depending on the self-objectification dimension and life cycle stage. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses showed that greater importance attributed to physical attractiveness was associated with higher mental distress and lower well-being. However, among adolescents and women in emerging adulthood, its association with well-being was no longer statistically significant after self-esteem was entered into the regression model. Intimate partner violence victimization was also associated with higher mental distress and lower well-being, though the association with well-being was no longer statistically significant among adolescents after self-esteem was entered into the regression model. These findings suggest that greater importance attributed to physical attractiveness and intimate partner violence victimization represent risk factors for women’s mental health.