Practicing psychologists’ understanding of the athletic-body ideal internalisation: Implications for classification and treatment

Abstract

This study explored how practicing psychologists make sense of the athletic-body ideal when internalised by their clients. Utilising a grounded theory approach, we interviewed a purposive sample of nine psychologists to explore their understanding of the athletic-body ideal, with a specific focus on diagnostic classification and treatment. Following grounded theory analysis, results indicated the psychologists tended to associate the athletic-body ideal pursuit with positive psychological and physical benefits when it encompasses balance and flexibility. They also perceived healthy or protective factors inherent in the pursuit of the athletic-body ideal. However, the psychologists perceived that when the pursuit is obsessive-compulsive and rigid, functioning will be compromised. Moreover, the psychologists associated eating disorders (such as restrictive eating) and compulsive exercise with pathological athletic-body ideal pursuits. These findings suggest complexity in athletic-body ideal presentation across the languishing and flourishing continuum.