Ambivalent Sexism, Social Roles, and Body Compassion: A Cross-Cultural Study in Albanian and Italian Women

This study investigated the relationships between ambivalent sexism, social roles, and body compassion in Albanian and Italian women. The participants were 251 Albanian and 280 Italian women who completed validated measures assessing hostile and benevolent sexism, social roles transcendence and link to social roles, and three subdimensions of body compassion (defusion, common humanity, and acceptance). Path analyses indicated excellent model fit across samples. In Albanian women, hostile sexism negatively predicted social roles transcendence and positively predicted a link to social roles, both of which were associated with lower body compassion. Benevolent sexism was positively associated with social roles transcendence, which in turn was related to higher body compassion. In contrast, Italian women showed a different pattern: benevolent sexism positively predicted a link to social roles, while social roles transcendence and link to social roles were both negatively related to defusion. Age positively predicted defusion and acceptance, highlighting a possible protective effect. Explained variance was higher in the Italian sample, particularly for the link to social roles. Overall, findings suggest that sexist attitudes and adherence to stereotyped social roles influence women’s body compassion differently across cultural contexts, revealing ambivalent and sometimes contradictory associations. The study highlights the need for culturally sensitive approaches in promoting positive body image.