Body appreciation in British men: Correlates and variation across sexual orientation

Alleva, Jessica M.; Paraskeva, Nicole; Craddock, Nadia; Diedrichs, Phillippa C.

Abstract

© 2018 Elsevier Ltd Investigations of positive body image among men and across various social identities are lacking, and could contribute to a more complete understanding of the construct, including how positive body image can be improved. This study addressed this gap by investigating correlates of body appreciation – a key facet of positive body image – in men, and testing whether levels of body appreciation vary across sexual orientation. Data from a British community sample of 439 men (Mage = 39.13) showed that body appreciation inversely correlated with conformity to masculine norms and upward appearance-based social comparisons, and positively correlated with physical activity. Body appreciation was lower among sexual minority compared to heterosexual men, and athletic appearance-ideal internalisation and upward appearance-based social comparisons mediated this relationship. Replicating prior research among men, body appreciation positively correlated with body satisfaction, and inversely correlated with perceived appearance pressures from media and eating pathology. These findings have implications for interventions addressing body image among men.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Sep 24, 2018
• Online Publication Date: Oct 4, 2018
• Publication Date: Dec 1, 2018
• Deposit Date: Oct 16, 2018
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 5, 2020
• Journal: Body Image
• Print ISSN: 1740-1445
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 27
• Pages: 169-178
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2018.09.004
• Keywords: positive body image, men, male body image, sexual orientation, social comparison, appearance-ideal internalisation, body image
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/855131
• Publisher URL: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2018.09.004
• Related Public URLs: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1740144518302547
• Additional Information: Additional Information : This is the author's accepted manuscript. The final published version is available here: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2018.09.004.
• Contract Date: Oct 16, 2018