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Body Dissatisfaction Among Sexual Minority Men: Psychological and Sexual Health Outcomes

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Abstract

Body dissatisfaction is common among sexual minority (i.e., gay and bisexual) men; however, few studies have investigated the relationship between body dissatisfaction and psychosexual health variables among this population. The data that do exist are exclusively cross-sectional, casting uncertainty regarding temporal associations. Thus, the aims of the current study were to assess the prospective relationship between body dissatisfaction and psychological and sexual health outcomes. Participants were 131 gay and bisexual men who completed a battery of self-report measures across two time points (baseline and 3-month follow-up), including assessment of body dissatisfaction, depressive symptoms, and sexual health variables (sexual self-efficacy and sexual anxiety). Generalized linear modeling was employed to assess the prospective relationship between body dissatisfaction and outcomes variables, accounting for non-normal distributions. Body dissatisfaction significantly predicted elevated depressive symptoms (B = .21, p = .01), lower sexual self-efficacy (B = −.22, p = .04), and elevated sexual anxiety (B = .05, p = .03). Elevated body dissatisfaction is prospectively associated with negative psychological and sexual health outcomes. Given the high prevalence of body image concerns in sexual minority men, depression and/or HIV/STI prevention programs may benefit from routinely assessing for body dissatisfaction among this population, and addressing those who report concerns.

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Acknowledgments

Author time was supported by Grant K23MH096647 (Blashill), K24MH094214 (Safren). This study was supported by NIH grant P01 AI074415, an unrestricted research grant from the Harvard University Center for AIDS Research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, San Diego State University, 6363 Alvarado Court, Suite 103, San Diego, CA, 92120, USA

    Aaron J. Blashill

  2. SDSU/UCSD Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology, San Diego, CA, USA

    Aaron J. Blashill

  3. California State University, Sacramento, Sacramento, CA, USA

    Julia Tomassilli

  4. The Fenway Institute, Boston, MA, USA

    Katie Biello, Conall O’Cleirigh & Kenneth H. Mayer

  5. Department of Behavioral & Social Sciences, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA

    Katie Biello

  6. Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA

    Conall O’Cleirigh

  7. Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Conall O’Cleirigh & Kenneth H. Mayer

  8. Department of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA

    Kenneth H. Mayer

  9. Department of Psychology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, USA

    Steven A. Safren

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  1. Aaron J. Blashill
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  2. Julia Tomassilli
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  6. Kenneth H. Mayer
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Correspondence to Aaron J. Blashill.

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Blashill, A.J., Tomassilli, J., Biello, K. et al. Body Dissatisfaction Among Sexual Minority Men: Psychological and Sexual Health Outcomes. Arch Sex Behav 45, 1241–1247 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-015-0683-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-015-0683-1

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