Exercise adherence and body dysmorphic disorder: Chain mediating effect of appearance-based rejection sensitivity and social anxiety

We explored the relationship between exercise adherence and body dysmorphic disorder with a convenience sample of 964 Chinese college students. Participants completed the Scale of Exercise Adherence, the Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale, the Appearance-Based Rejection Sensitivity Scale, and the Body Dysmorphic Disorder Examination Self-Report Scale. Exercise adherence was negatively correlated with body dysmorphic disorder. Appearance-based rejection sensitivity and social anxiety had both independent and chain mediating effects on the relationship between exercise adherence and body dysmorphic disorder. The results have revealed the mechanism of the relationship between exercise adherence and body dysmorphic disorder, and they provide a preliminary basis for studying the causal relationship of these variables. Our findings also provide a theoretical basis for the intervention and treatment of body dysmorphic disorder.