The Association of Sexual Victimization with Dysmorphic Appearance Concern among Emerging Adult Women

Sexual exploitation is an umbrella term encompassing sexual experiences where one is taken advantage of by another. Sexual exploitation experiences are common during adolescence and emerging adulthood. As sexual exploitation involves having one’s body sexually objectified, it is unsurprising that sexual exploitation is associated with negative body-related outcomes. However, no research has evaluated the association of sexual exploitation with dysmorphic appearance concern, defined as a preoccupation with perceived flaws in one’s appearance. The current study addressed this gap by evaluating sexual exploitation history as a predictor of dysmorphic appearance concern among a sample of emerging adult women (ages 19–25) with sexual exploitation histories (N = 330). Overall, survivors reported high levels of dysmorphic appearance concern, with 28.5