Muscles and the Media: A Natural Experiment Across Cultures in Men's Body Image

Prevalence and Correlates of Anabolic-Androgenic Steroid Use in Australian Adolescents

BACKGROUND

Within recent years, there has been a notable lack of research examining the factors associated with adolescent use of anabolic-androgenic steroids (AASs) in Australia, meaning information regarding risk factors of Australian adolescent AAS use is outdated and potentially inaccurate.

METHODS

To address this omission, the present study examined the prevalence and correlates of adolescent (aged 11 to 19 years) AAS use within the EveryBODY study, a large-scale representative survey of adolescents' disordered eating behaviours and body image concerns, involving 5071 adolescents across thirteen schools within the Sydney and Newcastle/Hunter region of New South Wales, Australia.

RESULTS

A total of 1.1% of adolescents reported lifetime use of AAS to increase muscularity. In univariate analyses, increased prevalence of AAS use was associated with male sex (OR = 5.67), identifying as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander (OR = 3.80), identifying as same-sex or questioning sexual attraction (OR = 3.17), higher drive for muscularity (OR = 2.19) and weight/shape concerns in the past month (OR = 1.28), and higher frequency of purging (OR = 1.11) and binge eating (OR = 1.09) in the past month. In multivariate analysis, only drive for muscularity (OR = 2.44) and purging behaviours (OR = 1.10) remained as significant correlates. Finally, adolescents who reported lifetime AAS use also reported feeling significantly higher levels of distress and physical and psychosocial impairment compared to adolescents who reported never having used AAS to increase muscularity.

CONCLUSIONS

Positive correlations between disordered eating and weight and shape concerns with AAS use suggests that adolescent AAS use may be conceptualised within the spectra of disordered eating among youth. These findings provide clinicians, carers, and educators with prototypical factors that should assist in the screening of adolescent AAS use to facilitate early intervention.

The Body Image Virtual Reality Assessment (BIVRA): Measuring the body representation through virtual reality

Our physical and psychological well-being is significantly influenced by how we perceive our body, in addition to our thoughts and emotions associated with it. Dysfunctional body perceptions and attitudes play a key role in the development and maintenance of severe conditions such as eating disorders in both males and females. Given its relevance, some attempts have been made to improve body image assessment methods in terms of perceptual accuracy and body satisfaction taking advantage of technological advances such as virtual reality. However, existing applications have mainly focused on women and clinical conditions. In this study, we presented the Body Image Virtual Reality Assessment (BIVRA), a virtual reality figure rating scale to assess body image in both male and female subjects. We tested BIVRA's ability to measure perceptual accuracy and compared its results with a standardized body satisfaction questionnaire. Additionally, we investigated gender differences. BIVRA was found to be effective in assessing body image. We observed that a perceptually based task successfully captured both low and high levels of body representations, shedding light on the significant gender differences. The association between BIVRA and the body satisfaction questionnaires was moderated by gender, with a stronger association for women. While further validation of BIVRA is needed to fully exploit its potential, our results suggest that the integration of virtual reality into the assessment of body image and related disorders may significantly enhance our understanding of individuals struggling with body image issues and has the potential to advance current methods and techniques.

Death and beauty: mortality salience and creatureliness increase self-objectification not only in females but also in males

Background

Self-objectification, the tendency to perceive oneself as an object subject to external evaluation, negatively impacts wellbeing, contributing to issues such as anxiety and eating disorders. While objectification theory outlines its societal underpinnings, it provides limited insight into the psychological mechanisms that sustain its prevalence. Terror Management Theory (TMT) posits that self-objectification functions as a defense against death anxiety, operating through two pathways: cultural worldview compliance (adherence to objectifying societal norms) and suppressing the awareness of creatureliness (avoiding awareness of humans' biological vulnerability and animalistic nature). This research explores these mechanisms and their gender-specific dynamics under mortality salience (MS).

Methods

This study includes three experimental studies. The study 1 examined baseline gender differences in perceived creatureliness and adherence to objectification culture. Study 2 used a 2 (MS/control) × 2 (gender: male/female) design to investigate the effects of MS and gender on self-objectification with cultural worldview compliance as a continuous moderator. Study 3 employed a 2 (MS/control) × 2 (creatureliness: heightened/reduced) × 2 (gender: male/female) design to assess the effects of creatureliness salience on self-objectification.

Results

Study 1 revealed that women were more culturally objectified, whereas men exhibited higher perceived creatureliness. However, Study 2 and Study 3 found no significant gender-related interactions in self-objectification. Study 2 showed that MS increased self-objectification across genders, with women displaying higher self-objectification due to stronger adherence to objectification cultural norms. Study 3 demonstrated that heightened creatureliness salience amplified self-objectification under MS for both genders, highlighting the universal role of creatureliness suppression in existential defenses.

Conclusion

These findings provide evidence for dual pathways-cultural worldview compliance and creatureliness suppression-underlying self-objectification as a defense against death anxiety. However, while cultural compliance explains gender differences in self-objectification at baseline, creatureliness suppression appears to function universally across genders. This study clarifies the boundaries of gender differences, emphasizing that the observed gender differences were limited to perceptions of objectification and creatureliness, rather than self-objectification itself. These insights contribute to interventions targeting the maladaptive effects of self-objectification, advocating for gender-sensitive approaches to enhance psychological wellbeing.

Relationships between media influence, body image and sociocultural appearance ideals in Latin America: A systematic literature review

The rapidly growing body of research investigating media influence on body image in Latin America has not been previously comprehensively synthesised. We systematically reviewed studies of the relationships between media use/influence, body image, and sociocultural appearance ideals in Latin America (CRD42021254607). We searched PsycINFO/Medline, Pubmed, Web of Science, ERIC, Scopus, ProQuest Dissertations, SciElo, and LILACS for quantitative and qualitative peer-reviewed articles and doctoral theses in English, Spanish, and Portuguese. Research conducted in Latin America, published 1991-2023, measuring a) media use/influence, and b) body image or appearance ideals was included. 68 articles met inclusion criteria, and quality appraisal concluded that most were of medium/high quality. A narrative review found consistent quantitative relationships, stronger in women than men, between media use/internalisation of media ideals and both body dissatisfaction and thinner appearance ideals. In contrast, participants in qualitative studies acknowledged media influence on their body image, but perceived greater influence from family and peers. Limitations included a predominance of cross-sectional research from Brazil and Mexico with adolescents and young adults. Additional longitudinal, experimental, and interventional work from elsewhere in Latin America is needed, recruiting more diverse samples and assessing more culturally salient appearance aspects (e.g., skin tone and hair texture).

Men and Muscles: Self-esteem and body dissatisfaction in the drive for muscularity among Jamaican weight lifters

This study examined a model of the associations among self-esteem, body dissatisfaction, and the drive for muscularity among Jamaican male weight lifters, and compared model relationships between weight lifters from rural and urban areas of residence. Using a purposive sampling approach, cross-sectional data were collected from 225 male weight lifters, ages 18-67 years (M = 28.16, SD = 9.52), from gyms in rural and urban areas of Jamaica. Participants completed the Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale (RSE), the Body Areas Satisfaction Scale (BASS), and the Drive for Muscularity Scale (DMS). Results from path analysis indicated that self-esteem exerted a negative direct effect on body dissatisfaction (β = -0.32, p < .001). The direct effect of self-esteem on the drive for muscularity was negative and non-significant (β= -0.10, p = .172), however, body dissatisfaction exerted a positive direct effect on the drive for muscularity (β = 0.27, p = .001). Self-esteem exerted a negative indirect effect on the drive for muscularity through body dissatisfaction (β = -0.09, 95% CI [-0.16, -0.03]). Model relationships remained similar across both rural and urban weight lifting subgroups. These results highlight self-esteem and body dissatisfaction as contributors to the drive for muscularity among Jamaican male weight lifters, with the role of self-esteem being primarily indirect by way of body dissatisfaction.

Associations between dieting practices and eating disorder attitudes and behaviors: Results from the Canadian study of adolescent health behaviors

This study aimed to describe the frequency of dieting practices among adolescents and young adults in Canada, as well as determine the association between dieting and eating disorder attitudes and behaviors. Data from 2762 Canadian adolescents and young adults from the Canadian Study of Adolescent Health Behaviors were analyzed. Frequencies were used to determine the prevalence of 11 different diets among the sample, and chi-square tests were used to assess gender differences. Multiple modified Poisson and linear regression analyses were conducted to determine the associations between any dieting and eating disorder attitudes and behaviors. Among the sample, 15.7 % of girls and women, 10.4 % of boys and men, and 13.0 % of transgender/gender expansive (TGE) participants reported any dieting in the past 12 months, with the Ketogenic diet being most common among all genders. Results from regression analyses showed that engaging in any dieting in the past 12 months was associated with greater eating disorder psychopathology among girls, women, boys, and men, but not TGE participants. There were varying trends in association between specific types of dieting practices and eating disorder behaviors among girls, women, boys, and men. Dieting is relatively common among a national sample of Canadian adolescents and young adults, and engagement is associated with greater eating disorder psychopathology and behaviors. Healthcare and public health professionals should consider screening for eating disorders among adolescents and young adults who report engaging in dieting practices.

Pubertal status and body image: An inquiry into experiences of adolescents in Ghana and Kenya

The current study uses a mixed method design to investigate Kenyan and Ghanaian adolescents' experiences of puberty, and the relations between gender, country of origin, pubertal status, and body image appraisals (N = 86; Ghana = 46, Kenya = 40, 52.9% female aged 13 and 14). Qualitative results revealed seven major themes; puberty means a universal period of growth and transition into adulthood but also evokes negative emotions of shame, anxiety, and embarrassment, being in sync with peers during puberty is important and knowing that others in their lives similarly experience puberty is reassuring. Quantitative results revealed significant gender and country differences in pubertal status and body image. Ghanaian adolescents had more advanced pubertal status and more positive body image appraisals compared to Kenyan adolescents. Moderation analysis results revealed that for the Kenyan sample, post-pubertal males had less favorable body image appraisals than their counterparts who were still pre pubertal whilst for females, post-pubertal girls had more favorable body images than their counterparts. No such effects were observed with the Ghanaian sample. The findings highlight the need for context considerations in understanding body image during the pubertal transition to help identify relevant protective factors for possible interventions. The results affirm the importance of positive body image promotions for adolescents within the African context and suggest the need for much more comprehensive sex education with gender-specific components to help allay fears about puberty, thus preventing the development of possible adaptation problems.

How effective are psychosocial interventions at improving body image and reducing disordered eating in adult men? A systematic review

Disordered eating and body image concerns significantly impact a growing number of men. This systematic review assessed the evidence of the effectiveness of psychosocial interventions to improve body image and eating pathology in men. Searches were conducted in December 2022 in 13 databases (PsycINFO, MEDLINE, CINAHL Plus, AMED, PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane, EMBASE, ASSIA, British Nursing Index, Wiley and OpenGrey). Studies that quantitatively evaluated psychosocial interventions and reported pre-post body image or disordered eating outcomes in men aged 18 years and over were eligible. Articles including boys, uncontrolled designs, or not in English were excluded. Findings were narratively synthesised and presented according to intervention approach. Quality was assessed using EPHPP. Eight studies including six RCTs were reviewed. Five were assessed as being moderate quality and three as weak. Evidence from moderate quality studies suggested that dissonance-based interventions showed promising improvements in body image and disordered eating for up to six months post-intervention in men with and without body dissatisfaction. Evidence for media literacy and psychoeducational interventions was limited. Findings were limited by heterogeneity in outcome measures and homogeneity of participants preventing generalisability. Robust research with longer follow-ups is needed to confirm effectiveness.

Health Consequences of Familial Negative Weight Talk Across the Spectrum of Gender Diversity

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

To synthesize differences in familial negative weight talk and health-related correlates across gender identities and to highlight gaps relevant to the unique experiences and health correlates of boys and transgender and gender diverse youth.

RECENT FINDINGS

Most of the studies included in this review observed no difference by gender in familial negative weight talk health correlates. Gender biases in existing measures, however, may have contributed to underreporting of health correlates in boys. Moreover, transgender and gender diverse youth are severely underrepresented in this research. Future research should consistently examine effect modification across gender identities and include measures that are specific to the weight-based concerns and experiences of boys and transgender and gender diverse youth.

Exploring risk factors of drive for muscularity and muscle dysmorphia in male adolescents from a resource-limited setting in Burkina Faso

In low-income countries, Muscle Dysmorphia (MD) has only been investigated in adult south African amateur-bodybuilders. To date, there is no epidemic study about MD or its cardinal symptom "drive for muscularity" (DFM) and its impact on young men's lives in African low-income settings. We analyzed a population-representative cross-sectional study of 838 adolescent males aged 12-20 in the rural northwestern Burkina Faso. Participants were assessed for MD with the research criteria of Pope and its cardinal symptom DFM based on the DFM scale (DMS). Since DFM has not been studied in a comparable sample so far, all possible influencing variables were examined exploratively in a linear regression model. Many respondents were underweight (41.5%) and few overweight (1.3%). No-one met standard clinical MD criteria. While 60.1% of 837 wished to be more muscular, only 8.7% of 824 desired a lower body-fat percentage. Regression analysis revealed that higher DMS scores were associated with greater internalization of the muscular body ideal, going to school, living in a rural area, older age, and a history of having faced sexual harassment or assault, but not with media exposure. Our results show that levels of DMS in Burkinabe adolescents were elevated. Risk factors for DFM in environmental circumstances where undernutrition and poverty are common are discussed.

Innovative Reports on the Effects of Anabolic Androgenic Steroid Abuse-How to Lose Your Mind for the Love of Sport

Anabolic-androgenic steroids (anabolic-androgenic steroids, AAS) are testosterone-derived compounds whose popularity and use are constantly growing. Chronic use of AAS leads to many hormonal and metabolic disorders in the human body, which often lead to permanent health damage. Changes affect the following systems: cardiovascular, musculoskeletal, reproductive, digestive, and nervous. We decided to collect the existing knowledge in the literature and enrich it with the latest research reports in the field of degenerative effects of AAS on the nervous system. The work aimed to increase public awareness of the dangers and consequences of AAS use and improve it with the latest research on the neurodegenerative effects of AAS. We hope that our work will contribute to raising public awareness and reducing the use of AAS.

Tendencies Toward Supernormality/Subnormality in Generating Attractive and Unattractive Female and Male Avatars: Gender Differences

In the present study, we investigated the differences in the experience of attractiveness and unattractiveness of human bodies. A total of 101 participants (55 females) were asked to create the most attractive and the most unattractive female and male figures using a computer animation. They performed this task by adjusting the size of six body parts: shoulders, breasts/chest, waist, hips, buttocks, and legs. Analyses indicated that attractive body parts were distributed normally with the peak shifted to moderately supernormal sizes, while unattractive body parts had mostly U-shaped or skewed distributions with extremes in super-supernormal and/or subnormal sizes. Generally, both male and female attractive bodies had prominent "sporty" look: supernormally wide shoulders and long legs. Gender differences showed that men prefer more supernomal masculine and feminine sizes, while women show an ambivalence toward both groups of traits. Principal components analysis revealed gender differences on the multitrait level: males focus on prominent masculine and feminine traits, while women focus on traits that make both male and female bodies more elongated and slender. Gender differences were in line with specific male and female positions in the partner selection process, while a certain tendency toward masculinization of the female body required the inclusion of social factors, such as the influence of the culture of a sporty and fit look.

Internalisation of stereotyped body appearance standards and body dissatisfaction in adolescent boys: Moderating role of sports participation

The aim of this study was to test the moderating role of sport participation in the mediation model of media pressures, internalisation of appearance ideals and body dissatisfaction in adolescent boys. Five hundred and seventy adolescent boys (mean age 17.2 ± 0.45; range 15-19 years) participated in the cross-sectional study. Adolescents completed a questionnaire consisting of measures of attitudes towards sociocultural pressures on appearance, body dissatisfaction and sport participation (participation in achievement sport, leisure exercising and non-participation in any sports). Sports participation moderated the associations between the internalisation of stereotyped appearance ideals and body dissatisfaction. In athletes, the effect of internalisation of thin body ideals on body dissatisfaction was not significant, while the effect of internalisation of muscular/athletic body ideals was negative. In leisure exercisers, the effect of internalisation of muscular body ideals on body dissatisfaction was not significant, yet internalisation of thin body ideals had a significant effect on body dissatisfaction. The strongest associations between appearance ideals internalisation and body dissatisfaction were found in adolescent boys who reported no participation in sports. Sports participation might be an effective tool in decreasing the negative effect of internalisation of stereotyped appearance ideals on adolescent boys' body image.

Body image as a global mental health concern

Body image concerns related to weight or other dimensions of appearance are now prevalent on a global scale. This paper reviews the theoretical frameworks that account for the global similarities and regional differences in rates and presentation of body image concerns, as well as reviewing the extant data. Given the harmful consequences of body image concerns in terms of mental and physical health, their global burden is high. Interventions to mitigate these concerns at the individual and systemic level are warranted.

Rural-urban differences in body appreciation and associations with life satisfaction in adults from Sabah, Malaysia

Studies of body appreciation have typically focused on measurement of the construct in urban populations and there remains very little research on body appreciation in rural communities. To fill this gap, the present study examined rural-urban differences in body appreciation in an adult Kadazan-Dusun sample from the state of Sabah in Malaysia. Participants from rural (n = 215) and urban (n = 219) locales in the West Coast administrative district of Sabah were asked to complete Malay versions of the Body Appreciation Scale-2 (BAS-2) and the Satisfaction With Life Scale, and to provide their demographic details. Multi-group confirmatory factor analysis evidenced both partial metric invariance (by allowing loadings for three items to vary) and partial scalar invariance (by freeing the intercept for one item) on the BAS-2. Between-group analyses indicated that rural participants had significantly greater body appreciation than urban participants overall. Additionally, urban men had significantly greater body appreciation than urban women, but there was no gender difference in the rural subsample. Finally, correlational analyses indicated that body appreciation was significantly associated with life satisfaction in both the rural and urban subsamples. The present results highlight the importance of further considering the phenomenology of body appreciation in rural communities.

Changes in the perceived size of the body following exposure to distorted self-body images

Inaccurate perceptions, such as under- or over-estimation of body size are often found in clinical eating disorder populations but have recently been shown also in healthy people. However, it is not yet clear how body size perception may be affected when the internal body representation is manipulated. In this study, visual adaptation was used to investigate whether exposure to distorted visual feedback alters the representation of body size and how long any such effects might last. Participants were exposed for five minutes to a distorted life-size image of themselves that was either 20% wider or 20% narrower than their normal size. Accuracy was measured using our novel psychophysical method that taps into the implicit body representation. The accuracy of the representation was assessed at 6, 12 and 18 min following exposure to adaptation. Altered visual feedback caused changes in participants' judgements of their body size: adapting to a wider body resulted in size overestimation whereas underestimations occurred after adapting to a narrower body. These distortions lasted throughout testing and did not fully return back to normal within 18 min. The results are discussed in terms of the emerging literature indicating that the internal representation of the body is dynamic and flexible.

Testing Mate Choice Hypotheses in a Transitional Small Scale Population

Objective

Tests of theories of mate choice often rely on data gathered in White, industrialised samples and this is especially the case for studies of facial attraction. Our understanding of preferences for sexual dimorphism is currently in flux and a number of hypotheses require testing in more diverse participant samples. The current study uses opportunistically gathered facial dimorphism preference data from 271 participants in rural Nicaragua, and 40 from the national capital Managua. We assess pre-registered hypotheses drawn from sexual selection theory, and from more recent approaches which consider the impacts of economic development and cultural ‘modernisation’ on mate preferences.

Methods

Participants verbally reported demographic data, and indicated preferences for five male and five female pairs of faces manipulated to differ in sexually dimorphic facial structure based on a sample of Salvadoran individuals.

Results

While urban participants showed a preference for more feminine female faces, this preference was not evident in the rural participants. Neither urban nor rural participants showed any directional preference for masculinised/feminised male faces. Furthermore, there was no support for any other pre-registered hypothesis.

Conclusions

Our results are consistent with previous studies showing no interest in facial dimorphism in less globally-acculturated, or market integrated, populations. Together, this suggests that while facial dimorphism may be subject to systematically varying preferences amongst some low-fertility, industrialised populations, it is not a feature which is likely to have been important in ancestral populations. We call for further work attempting to replicate well known mate choice phenomena in more diverse samples.