The experience of body image in people with psychosis and psychotic‐like experiences: A co‐produced mixed‐methods systematic review and narrative synthesis

Journal article : Review

Purpose: Body image is a transdiagnostic construct that seems poorly understood in psychosis. Poor body image is associated with paranoia, which makes it a theoretically meaningful treatment target in psychosis. We systematically reviewed associations between body image and psychosis symptoms in both the ‘general’ population and people living with psychotic disorders, synthesised known correlates of negative body image in people living with psychotic disorders and performed a meta‐synthesis to understand the lived experience of body image in people with psychosis. Methods: Ovid MEDLINE, OVID Embase, OVID APA PsycINFO, EBSCOhost Cinahl and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials were searched in January 2024. The methodological quality and risk of bias were assessed using the mixed‐methods appraisal tool. Results: 20,565 participants were included from 31 studies, of which 2127 (10.3%) were living with psychotic conditions, 18,294 from the general population, 129 people with other conditions being compared to psychosis (such as bipolar disorder) and 15 carers. There were 25 quantitative studies (24 cross‐sectional, 1 prospective), 5 qualitative studies and 1 mixed‐methods study. Cross‐sectional evidence suggests associations between negative body image and psychotic symptoms, especially paranoia, as well as wider mental and physical health outcomes. Potential factors contributing to the persistence of poor body image include psychotic symptoms, worries about appearance‐related judgements, negative self‐concept, body ambivalence, appearance‐related safety‐seeking behaviours and traumatic memories. Conclusions: Negative body image is relevant to the lives of people with psychosis spectrum conditions. Recommendations to guide and improve future research are reported.

Authors: McAllister, J; Allan, SM; Phiri, A; Keddie, K; McKee, T

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Wiley
• Journal: Psychology and Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice
• Publication date: 2025-11-17
• Acceptance date: 2025-10-14
• DOI: 10.1111/papt.70021
• EISSN: 2044-8341
• ISSN: 1476-0835
• Language: English
• Keywords: psychosis; schizophrenia; body dysmorphic disorder
• Subtype: Review