{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,10]],"date-time":"2025-10-10T01:34:42Z","timestamp":1760060082583,"version":"build-2065373602"},"reference-count":42,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"8","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,29]],"date-time":"2025-07-29T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1753747200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Behavioral Sciences"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Attentional biases seem to play an important role in anorexia nervosa (AN). The objective of this study was to measure visual attention patterns toward female bodies in adolescents and adults with and without AN in order to explore developmental and disease-specific aspects. Female adult and adolescent patients with AN (n = 38) and control participants (n = 39) viewed standardized photographic stimuli showing women\u2019s bodies from five BMI categories. The fixation times on the bodies and specific body parts were analyzed. Differences between participants with and without AN did not emerge: All participants showed increased attention toward the body, while adolescents displayed shorter fixation times on specific areas of the body than adults. Increased visual attention toward areas indicative of weight (e.g., hips, thighs, abdomen, buttocks) and a shorter fixation time on unclothed body parts were observed in all participants. There is evidence for the developmental effect of differential viewing patterns when looking at women\u2019s bodies. The attention behavior of patients with AN seems to be similar to that of the control groups, which is partly consistent with, and partly contradictory to, previous studies.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/bs15081027","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,29]],"date-time":"2025-07-29T09:31:45Z","timestamp":1753781505000},"page":"1027","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Visual Attention Patterns Toward Female Bodies in Anorexia Nervosa\u2014An Eye-Tracking Study with Adolescents and Adults"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9921-0865","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Valeska","family":"Stonawski","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Child and Adolescent Mental Health, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, 91054 Erlangen, Germany"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Oliver","family":"Kratz","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Child and Adolescent Mental Health, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, 91054 Erlangen, Germany"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Gunther H.","family":"Moll","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Child and Adolescent Mental Health, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, 91054 Erlangen, Germany"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Holmer","family":"Graap","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, 91054 Erlangen, Germany"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Stefanie","family":"Horndasch","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Child and Adolescent Mental Health, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, 91054 Erlangen, Germany"},{"name":"Medical School, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Bielefeld University, University Medical Center OWL, Protestant Hospital of Bethel Foundation, 33617 Bielefeld, Germany"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,29]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"244","DOI":"10.5964\/ejop.6443","article-title":"The role of social appearance comparison in body dissatisfaction of adolescent boys and girls","volume":"19","author":"Barbierik","year":"2023","journal-title":"Europe\u2019s Journal of Psychology"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1205","DOI":"10.1002\/eat.22771","article-title":"Visual processing of one\u2019s own body over the course of time: Evidence for the vigilance-avoidance theory in adolescents with anorexia nervosa?","volume":"50","author":"Bauer","year":"2017","journal-title":"International Journal of Eating Disorders"},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"907","DOI":"10.1097\/PSY.0b013e3181b4434d","article-title":"Social comparison and its relation to body dissatisfaction in bulimia nervosa: Evidence from eye movements","volume":"71","author":"Blechert","year":"2009","journal-title":"Psychosomatic Medicine"},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"23","DOI":"10.1186\/s40337-021-00372-1","article-title":"Physiological, emotional and neural responses to visual stimuli in eating disorders: A review","volume":"9","author":"Burmester","year":"2021","journal-title":"Journal of Eating Disorders"},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"295","DOI":"10.1007\/s42761-024-00240-6","article-title":"Adolescents\u2019 social comparison on social media: Links with momentary self-evaluations","volume":"5","author":"Burnell","year":"2024","journal-title":"Affective Science"},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"101851","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cpr.2020.101851","article-title":"Exposure therapy for eating disorders: A systematic review","volume":"78","author":"Butler","year":"2020","journal-title":"Clinical Psychology Review"},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2001","DOI":"10.1177\/0300060517726440","article-title":"Body size and shape misperception and visual adaptation: An overview of an emerging research paradigm","volume":"45","author":"Challinor","year":"2017","journal-title":"Journal of International Medical Research"},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"50","DOI":"10.1089\/cyber.2012.0223","article-title":"Identifying attentional bias and emotional response after appearance-related stimuli exposure","volume":"16","author":"Cho","year":"2013","journal-title":"Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking"},{"key":"ref_9","unstructured":"D\u00f6pfner, M., Berner, W., and Flechtner, H. 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