Body image in secondary amenorrhea

Body image and personality traits are described in women suffering from secondary amenorrhea. Data gathered, in 21 consecutive female patients, from the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI), Body Cathexis Scale, Image Marking Method and Distorting Television Image Method, were examined and compared with those collected in a control group. No significant differences were found in terms of body perception and body dissatisfaction. The evaluation of MMPI profiles, on the contrary, suggested differences between amenorrheic subjects and controls for what concerned personality traits, these last being significantly, but differently, related to body dissatisfaction and wish for thinness in both groups.