title: The relationships between sense of belonging to the gay community, body image dissatisfaction, and self-esteem among Australian gay men.
abstract: Body image dissatisfaction has been linked to belonging to the gay community and poor self-esteem among gay men. This study was designed to explore the applicability of a moderation model and a mediation model in explaining the relations between sense of belonging to the gay community, body image dissatisfaction and self-esteem among 90 self-identified Australian gay men. Participants completed the psychological subscale of the Sense of Belonging Instrument, the Body Satisfaction Scale, and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. Results supported the moderation model; the relation between body image dissatisfaction and self-esteem was found to be statistically significant only at average and high levels of belonging to the gay community. The mediation model was also supported; body image dissatisfaction partially mediated the sense of belonging-self-esteem relation. Educating gay men and health professionals about the possible negative outcomes of "belonging" to an appearance-oriented community is important.
authors.affiliation: School of Health Sciences, University of Ballarat, Mt. Helen, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: Pantea
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kousari-Rad
authors.forename: Suzanne
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: McLaren
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001315:Australia; D001828:Body Image / Q000523:psychology*; D018451:Homosexuality, Male / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011581:Psychological Tests; D012649:Self Concept; D012933:Social Identification; D055815:Young Adult