Status and Correlates of Body Dysmorphic Disorder symptoms among School-Aged female adolescents in Jordan

Background : Adolescence is a phase characterized by different changes in the brain, hormones, mind, and social environment. Half of all mental illnesses, including body dysmorphic disorder, begin around the age of 14 and are often preceded by nonspecific psychosocial problems that could probably progress to any major mental illness. Body dysmorphic disorder is one of the mental illnesses that might have negative consequences on school-age female adolescents’ academic, social, and psychological functioning. Purposes : The purpose of this study is to examine the status and correlates of Body Dysmorphic Disorder symptoms among school-aged female adolescents in Jordan. Methods : A cross-sectional, descriptive-correlational design was employed using convenience sampling techniques of 402 school-aged female adolescents from the north, center, and southern regions of Jordan. The ages of the students ranged from 12 to 18 years. BDD symptoms were measured using the Body Dysmorphic Disorder-Symptoms scale. Results : The analysis revealed that female adolescents had a low level of BDD symptoms, however; the the highest severity was observed in the “grooming group” with a mean of 3.3 (SD = 2.6), while the lowest severity was in the weight and shape group with a mean of 1.8 (SD = 2.3). The results showed that (10.4%) of the female adolescent had weight/shape BBD symptoms, dermatological/surgical (17.3%), avoidance (26.2%), cognition related to BDD (27.5%), skin picking/hair pulling (32.9%), checking (38.6%), and grooming (52.9%). The most frequent symptoms of BDD were “changing clothes,” from the “grooming group,” expressed by 94.8% of the female adolescents. Significant differences were found in BDD symptom severity in relation to congenital problems/deformities (t = -6.8, p < 0.001; t = -5.9, p < 0.001, respectively), and health problems (t = -2.4, p = 0.016). Conclusion : The findings of this study revealed BDD symptoms impact individuals in various aspects of life, including sleep, academics, appetite, and social life, which requires an organized mental health monitoring and screening for such mental disturbances in schools.