Male body dissatisfaction : developing measures and investigating attentional biases toward male bodies

Abstract

Body dissatisfaction can be defined as negative subjective evaluation of one's own body as a whole, or specific aspects, such as body shape, size, muscle tone, or weight. A large proportion of past research has neglected the notion of body dissatisfaction in males, and predominantly focused on these constructs in female populations. As a result, and despite high prevalence estimates, male body dissatisfaction has largely been neglected. This neglect extends to many areas, including (1) the development of effective tools to measure male body dissatisfaction, and (2) examination of the underlying cognitive mechanisms that may play a role in precipitating and maintaining male body dissatisfaction. Research and clinical efforts to address body image-related disorders require validated instruments that effectively capture the experience of body dissatisfaction. A common tool used for detecting body dissatisfaction is a figural rating scale. However, these scales have not been well developed for men. All existing male figural rating scales hold significant limitations in terms of image quality, and many return poor psychometric properties. The aim of the first study was to develop and examine the validity and reliability for the Visual Body Scale for Men-Body Fat (VBSM-BF) and -Muscularity (VBSM-M), new uni-dimensional male figural rating scales that address the limitations of past scales. The aim of the second study was to develop and examine the validity and reliability for the New Somatomorphic Matrix-Male (NSM-M), a new bi-dimensional figural rating scale adapted from the Somatomorphic Matrix. The aim of the third study was to develop The Body Categorisation Task, a new figural tool based on the psychophysical Method of Constant Stimuli (MOCS) to measure body dissatisfaction in males. The aim of the fourth study was to examine male visual attentional bias toward muscular and obese male bodies using the compound visual search paradigm. In sum, two male figural rating scales that overcame the majority of limitations of past scales were developed and validated. Additionally, a novel figural tool that utilised the MOCS paradigm was developed and compared to an existing figural rating scale. Evidence for the relationship between body dissatisfaction, eating disorder symptoms, and attentional bias toward male body types was found.

Date of Award	2019
Original language	English