title: Body Dissatisfaction in a Diverse Sample of Young Men Who Have Sex With Men: The P18 Cohort Study.
abstract: Young men who have sex with men (YMSM) may be at greater risk for body dissatisfaction, compared to their heterosexual peers. However, differences within YMSM populations are understudied, precluding the identification of YMSM who are at greatest risk. This study examined body dissatisfaction in a racially/ethnically diverse sample of YMSM ages 18-19 in New York City. Using cross-sectional data from the baseline visit of a longitudinal cohort study of YMSM (N = 591), body dissatisfaction was assessed using the Male Body Attitudes Scale. Three outcomes were modeled using linear regression: (1) overall body dissatisfaction, (2) muscularity dissatisfaction, and (3) body fat dissatisfaction. Covariates in the models included race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, BMI, gay community affiliation, and internalized homonegativity. White YMSM experienced greater body dissatisfaction across the three models. Internalized homonegativity was a statistically significant predictor of dissatisfaction across the three models, though its association with body dissatisfaction was relatively small. The findings point to future avenues of research, particularly qualitative research to explore demographic and cultural nuances in body attitudes among YMSM.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health, Behavior & Society, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Daniel E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Siconolfi
authors.affiliation: Center for Health, Identity, Behavior and Prevention Studies, New York University, New York, NY, USA.|NYU Global Institute of Public Heath, 41 East 11th Street, 7th Floor, New York, NY, 10003, USA.
authors.forename: Farzana
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Kapadia
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT, USA.
authors.forename: Robert W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Moeller
authors.affiliation: Center for Health, Identity, Behavior and Prevention Studies, New York University, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Jessica A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Eddy
authors.affiliation: Center for Health, Identity, Behavior and Prevention Studies, New York University, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Sandra A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Kupprat
authors.affiliation: Center for Health, Identity, Behavior and Prevention Studies, New York University, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Molly J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Kingdon
authors.affiliation: Center for Health, Identity, Behavior and Prevention Studies, New York University, New York, NY, USA. pnh1@nyu.edu.|NYU Global Institute of Public Heath, 41 East 11th Street, 7th Floor, New York, NY, 10003, USA. pnh1@nyu.edu.|Langone School of Medicine, New York University, New York, NY, USA. pnh1@nyu.edu.
authors.forename: Perry N
authors.initials: PN
authors.lastname: Halkitis
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001828:Body Image / Q000523:psychology*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D018451:Homosexuality, Male / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009519:New York City / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Bisexual; Body dissatisfaction; Body image; Gay; Internalized homonegativity; MSM; Sexual orientation