The Role of Spirituality in the Relationship Between Body Satisfaction and Mental Well-Being in Women and Men : A Moderated Moderation Analysis

Fredrickson and Roberts' objectification theory posits that low body satisfaction, stemming from unrealistic societal beauty standards, negatively impacts mental well-being. Research suggests that spirituality could mitigate this relationship by providing an alternative outlook on the body, and sources of self-esteem and coping. This implies the potential for a modera-tion effect by spirituality, with gender-based distinctions potentially affecting the hypothe-sized model. Employing regression analysis via the Hayes PROCESS Macro for SPSS, this study conducted a secondary analysis using data from a Dutch population-based, cross-sectional online survey, the Longitudinal Internet Studies from the Social Sciences Panel. The data was obtained from three separate studies and encompassed 363 participants. Con-trary to expectations, the results revealed non-significant relationships for the hypothesized moderation model, irrespective of gender. This lack of significance may be attributed to the use of one-item, non-verified measurements for spirituality and body satisfaction, along with a high, right skewness in the average age of the sample. The study contributes to the ongoing discourse on the relationship between spirituality, body satisfaction, and well-being, signal-ing opportunities for future research to explore additional factors and dimensions that could elucidate the understanding of the complex interplay among these three variables.