The development and validation of a multidimensional measure of male body dissatisfaction and its preliminary use in exploring the relationship between body dissatisfaction and exercise

Abstract

Historically, research has focused predominately on female experience of body dissatisfaction (BD). More recently there has been an increased focus upon BD in men. The current literature review indicates that research in BD in men is its infancy compared to BD in females and the review highlights the differences between the experience of BD in men and women and the difficulties in applying evidence that has been found in female samples to males. In line with this, tools used to assess females may not be appropriate to assess males. It is therefore important to develop an instrument that accurately assesses BD in males to identify those who may be at risk. The literature review also pays attention to the coping strategies that men may engage in with a particular focus on exercise and its potential role as both a protective and risk factor.

The purpose of the empirical paper was to explore the structure of a new measure: The Male Body Dissatisfaction Inventory (M-BoDI). A Principal Components Analysis revealed a four-component structure. The study provided evidence of concurrent validity for the M-BoDI and good internal reliability and the scores on the M-BoDI were stable over a 4-week period. A significant relationship was found between negative reasons for exercising and BD as measured by the M-BoDI, and negative reasons for exercising were also linked to core excessive exercise features. Implications of the current findings and ideas for further research are discussed.

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ORCID for Catherine Brignell: orcid.org/0000-0001-7768-6272

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