Mentalization skills as a mediating process in the relationship between body image disorder and Interpersonal influence relationships among a sample of obese females in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

The current study aimed to investigated the relationships between Mentalization skills and each of body image disorder and interpersonal influence relationships among a sample of obese females in Saudi Arabia; It also aimed to investigated the mediating role of the variable of Mentalization skills in the relationship between body image disorder and interpersonal influence relationships in a sample of obese females in Saudi Arabia. The study Method the descriptive correlational approach, the study sample consisted of (120) obese girls and women in Saudi Arabia, whose weight exceeded (100) kilograms. whose ages ranged from (16-53) years, with an average age of (34.97), and a standard deviation of (7.54). A battery of psychological measures and tools was applied (translated by the researcher) consisting of a scale of Mentalization skills by Dimitrijevic, et, al. (2018); a battery of difficulties of interpersonal influence relationships by Akyunus & Gencoz (2016), and a body image scale by Jalali-Farahani, et al. (2022); This is in addition to the initial interview data form. The data were analyzed statistically through simple Pearson correlation coefficients, and a structural equation modeling method using (AMOS 20) program. The results of the study indicated that there is(1) a direct, negative and statistically significant effect at the level of 0.01 between body image disorder and Mentalization skills.(2) And there is a direct, negative and statistically significant effect at the level of 0.05 between Mentalization skills and interpersonal influence relationships.(3) There is a positive and statistically significant direct and indirect effect at the level of 0.05 between body image disorder and interpersonal effect relationships. This empirically supports the emergence of a partial mediating role through the indirect and direct influence of Mentalization skills in the relationship between body image disorder and interpersonal influence relationships in obese females. The results of the study were discussed according to the theoretical and applied indications of psychological intellectual production in the field.