Body Image: A Handbook of Science, Practice, and Prevention 2nd Edition

“This volume offers the most comprehensive review to date of knowledge about body image. Whether you are a professional or student interested in body image, you should keep this book close at hand. The second edition maintains the high standards of its predecessor while incorporating the latest research. Highlights include more information about the neuroscientific bases of body image and expanded coverage of prevention.”–Sabine Wilhelm, PhD, Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School; Chief of Psychology, Massachusetts General Hospital

“The first edition of this book was great, and this one is even better. It captures the significant advances that have occurred in the field over the past decade. This is the definitive work on all matters pertaining to body image.”–Kelly D. Brownell, PhD, Robert L. Flowers Professor of Public Policy and Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke University

“Cash, Smolak, and their contributing authors summarize most of what is currently known about body image. They cover the full range of relevant topics in 53 concise chapters. This terrific volume is the standard work on body image for clinicians, researchers, teachers, and students across disciplines.”–Carlos M. Grilo, PhD, Director, Yale Program for Obesity, Weight, and Eating Research, Yale University School of Medicine

“Cash and Smolak are world-renowned researchers who provide extensive information on all aspects of body image disturbance. This book is ‘must’ reading for anyone entering the field of mental health, as well as those already practicing. It discusses everything from developmental aspects of body image, to the normal range of appearance-related concerns, to assessment and treatment of body image disorders. There is no comparable book on the market today.”–Fugen Neziroglu, PhD, ABBP, Director, Bio-Behavioral Institute, Great Neck, New York-

“This volume offers the most comprehensive review to date of knowledge about body image. Whether you are a professional or student interested in body image, you should keep this book close at hand. The second edition maintains the high standards of its predecessor while incorporating the latest research. Highlights include more information about the neuroscientific bases of body image and expanded coverage of prevention.”–Sabine Wilhelm, PhD, Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School; Chief of Psychology, Massachusetts General Hospital

“The first edition of this book was great, and this one is even better. It captures the significant advances that have occurred in the field over the past decade. This is the definitive work on all matters pertaining to body image.”–Kelly D. Brownell, PhD, Robert L. Flowers Professor of Public Policy and Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke University

“Cash, Smolak, and their contributing authors summarize most of what is currently known about body image. They cover the full range of relevant topics in 53 concise chapters. This terrific volume is the standard work on body image for clinicians, researchers, teachers, and students across disciplines.”–Carlos M. Grilo, PhD, Director, Yale Program for Obesity, Weight, and Eating Research, Yale University School of Medicine

“Cash and Smolak are world-renowned researchers who provide extensive information on all aspects of body image disturbance. This book is ‘must’ reading for anyone entering the field of mental health, as well as those already practicing. It discusses everything from developmental aspects of body image, to the normal range of appearance-related concerns, to assessment and treatment of body image disorders. There is no comparable book on the market today.”–Fugen Neziroglu, PhD, ABBP, Director, Bio-Behavioral Institute, Great Neck, New York –

Thomas F. Cash, PhD, until his death in 2025, was Professor Emeritus of Psychology at Old Dominion University. His research focused on influences of physical appearance and body image on psychosocial functioning, including such topics as body image development, assessment, and treatment; obesity; eating disorders; cosmetic surgery; appearance-altering conditions; and appearance stereotyping and discrimination. He authored or edited eight books and over 200 journal articles and book chapters. Dr. Cash developed an empirically supported cognitive-behavioral program for body image improvement, as well as over a dozen validated assessments of dimensions of body image. He was Founding Editor of Body Image: An International Journal of Research and an elected Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science.

Linda Smolak, PhD, is Professor Emerita at Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio. Her research focuses on the development of body image and disordered eating, including such topics as media and familial influences on children’s body image; child sexual abuse and body image; muscle building among adolescent boys; eating disorder prevention programs; athletic participation and body image; and gender roles and body image. She has been involved in the development of several body image-related scales. Dr. Smolak is author or editor of seven books and dozens of journal articles and book chapters. She is an Associate Editor of Body Image: An International Journal of Research and serves on the editorial board for Eating Disorders: A Journal of Treatment and Prevention.