Links Between Psychosocial Variables and Body Dissatisfaction in Homosexual Men: Differential Relations with the Drive for Muscularity and the Drive for Thinness

Abstract

Homosexuality has been found to be a risk factor for body dissatisfaction in men. An online sample of 64 homosexual men was used to examine the relationship between psychosocial variables hypothesised to play a role in this link (connection to gay community, rejection sensitivity, self-esteem, stigma consciousness, and internalised homophobia) and two aspects of body dissatisfaction (drive for thinness and drive for muscularity). Results from multiple linear regression analyses suggest that drive for thinness and drive for muscularity have distinct profiles, with drive for thinness correlated with low self-esteem, and drive for muscularity correlated with increased involvement with the gay community. Future research should continue to examine drive for thinness and drive for muscularity as distinct aspects of body dissatisfaction.