Male Body Image Dissatisfaction in High Risk Populations

University Of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles CA

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Abstract

[unreadable] DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The average male "feels like Clark Kent but longs to be like Superman" states Olivardia. Until recently, however, men were believed to be highly satisfied with their bodies and relatively immune from severe cultural pressures to modify their bodies. The belief was derived primarily from an over-reliance on silhouette based forms that present males with a continuum of men ranging from very thin to very fat. Such forms did not permit the identification of men's preoccupation with attaining a larger body through the addition of muscle mass while simultaneously achieving leanness. This neglect of several important areas of research necessitates the investigation of several aspects of men's experience of body image dissatisfaction, including: the relationship between men's self-ideal discrepancies and mental health, the psychometric properties of silhouette based body image measures for men, and the daily experiences of body image dissatisfaction in men in high-risk populations. The overarching aim of this research is to identify the prevalence and magnitude of male body image dissatisfaction, especially concerns with muscularity, and its relationship to mental health outcomes. [unreadable] [unreadable]