Body image disturbance and associated eating disorder and body dysmorphic disorder pathology in gay and heterosexual men: A systematic analyses of cognitive, affective, behavioral und perceptual aspects

This study contributes to the quantitatively large, yet narrow in scope research on body image in gay men by assessing whether gay and heterosexual men systematically differ on various dimensions of body image disturbance and associated pathology, i.e., eating disorder and body dysmorphic disorder symptoms. Moreover, we examined the influence of general everyday discrimination experiences and involvement with the gay community on body image. MethodN = 216 men (n = 112 gay men,n = 104 heterosexual men) participated in an online survey measuring the discrepancy between self-rated current and ideal body fat/ muscularity; drive for leanness, muscularity, and thinness; body satisfaction; body-related avoidance and checking; appearance fixing; overall body image disturbance; eating disorder and body dysmorphic disorder pathology; general everyday discrimination experiences; and involvement with the gay community. ResultsGay men showed a greater discrepancy between self-rated current and ideal body fat; higher drive for thinness, body-related avoidance, appearance fixing, overall body image disturbance, eating disorder and body dysmorphic disorder pathology; and lower body appreciation than heterosexual men (allp≤ .05). Contrary to expectation, everyday discrimination experiences were more strongly associated with body image disturbance and eating disorder/ body dysmorphic disorder pathology in heterosexual men than in gay men (allp≤ .05). Gay community involvement was not assoc...
Source: PLoS One - Category: Biomedical Science Authors: Source Type: research