University of Macau / Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities / Department of Psychology

The goal of the current study was to examine the relationship between critical comments that men can recall others making about their bodies and their current level of Muscle Dysmorphia (MD) symptomotology. Participants (N = 118) were recruited via study board from a mid-Western university with a population of 20,674 students. The hypothesis of the current study was that men who can recall critical comments about their bodies will report more MD symptomotology than those who remembered no such comments. In addition, it was expected that out of those who recall critical comments, the more severe or threatening they remember the comment being, the more MD symptomotology they will report. In this study it was also expected that men who associate more negative emotions with the comment will have higher levels of reported MD symptomotology. To evaluate the first hypothesis, an independent samples (-test was used. Results did not support this hypothesis, and no significant differences were found on MD symptoms between participants who recalled comments about their bodies and those who did not recall such comments. These results are not consistent with previous research that was conducted on women with eating disorders which found that female athletes with disordered eating habits were more likely to recall critical comments made about their bodies than women without disordered eating habits. Results supported the second and third hypotheses. Correlational analyses were conducted to determine if there was a relationship between how threatened a participant reported being from the critical comment made about his body and his current level of MD symptomotology. A significant correlation was found. A correlational analysis revealed that there was a significant relationship between associating negative emotions with the critical comment and having higher levels of MD symptomotology. The participants in the study were asked to name who made the comment about their bodies. The most commonly named person was a friend, followed by a coach, and then a girlfriend. Additional tests showed that there was no significant correlation between how long ago the comment occurred and participants' levels of MD symptoms. However, there was a significant relationship between how well a person remembered the comment and his current level of MD symptomotology. Results from this study extend on what is known about MD and the effects of criticism. Although there was no significant relationship between one's ability to recall critical comments made about his body and his current level of MD symptomotology, there was a significant relationship between finding the comment threatening and associating negative emotions with the comment, if one was reported, and one's current level of MD symptomotology. One limitation of the study is that all of the data was gathered via self-report measures. Data may have been affected by poor recall by the participants as well as denial of symptoms. Also, all of the participants attended Western Kentucky University. There was little diversity in regards to age and race.

The goal of the current study was to examine the relationship between muscle magazine consumption and body dissatisfaction. The study also examined the relationship between muscle magazine consumption and the amount of disparity between ideal and real body shape. Participants (N = 108) were recruited via study board, and also on a volunteer basis, from a mid-Western university with a population of 20,674 students. The first hypothesis stated that men with greater exposure to muscle magazines would indicate that their actual body shape falls further away from their ideal body shape, in terms of both muscularity and fat level, than men who read fewer magazines that focus on muscle building. The second hypothesis stated that men with greater exposure to muscle magazines would indicate higher levels of body dissatisfaction than men who read fewer magazines focused on muscle building. To evaluate the first hypothesis, a linear regression analysis was conducted to determine whether magazine consumption would predict the distance between real and ideal body shape, in terms of both fat and muscle content. Results did not support the first hypothesis and are not consistent with prior research that showed higher levels of muscle and fitness magazine consumption correlating positively with a greater drive for thinness and a greater drive for muscularity. Results did not support the second hypothesis: greater exposure to muscle magazines did not lead to greater levels of body dissatisfaction. Regression analysis found that there was no predictive relationship between muscle magazine consumption and body dissatisfaction or muscle magazine consumption and greater distance between ideal and real body shapes. Additional t-test analysis found that men who read muscle magazines actually indicated significantly lower levels of dissatisfaction with their bodies than men who did not read muscle magazines; however, that result is restricted to collegiate athletes only. Results from this study are important in that they indicate, in men, there are other factors involved in determining how individuals end up with increased levels of body dissatisfaction. Prior findings also concluded that men’s concerns with body shape thrive as a combination of multiple constructs involving social, personal, and mass media factors. Although magazine literature has some bearing on body image concern, particularly with women, it is unclear as to whether magazine consumption contributes to its effect on men. One limitation of this study is that participants reported on the degree to which they were dissatisfied with their bodies. Some individuals may not have acknowledged their level of dissatisfaction with their own bodies. Information based upon self-reporting measures may have been inaccurate due to under or over reporting in surveys. Another limitation of this study, particularly when using the results as a comparison tool toward previous studies, is that the measures used to determine levels of body dissatisfaction differ. Researchers abroad have used different measures to arrive at what would be considered similar conclusions regarding body dissatisfaction. There are multiple measures that can be used to determine a person’s level of satisfaction and drive for muscularity. Some measures are better than others at capturing variable characteristics. Another important limitation is that muscle magazines only represent one form of media consumption. A study that incorporated other forms of media may be more fruitful in its findings. Therefore, results should be interpreted with caution. However, with everexpanding information technology capabilities, society is increasingly bombarded with information more so than ever before. This study provides additional insight into the question of whether or not more is better. It also identifies a gender difference in the predicting power of magazine consumption and body dissatisfaction.

Socio-cultural constructions of the way in which individuals perceive their own bodies are a fundamental aspect of personal identity, and how people view and pursue their relations with others, and how they determine their position and role in society. Contemporary South African consumer culture, facilitated by globalisation, has promoted increasingly homogenous, unrealistic norms regarding what constitutes a “desirable” person. The aim of this study is to explore young men’s accounts of ideal masculine body-image and discuss the implications that these constructions have on their identities. It aims to provide an account of the discourses participants use when discussing their own and other male bodies, explore the ways in which consumerism and the media facilitate certain constructions of body-image amongst young South African men and forefront particular practices, and to highlight the social dynamics which facilitate emphasis on some discourses around the desirable ideal male body and the silencing of others. This study uses a qualitative research design and a social constructionist theoretical framework. Data was collected using semi-structured, individual interviews with 12 young men between the ages of 18 and 26 from Durban, South Africa and the data collected was analysed using discourse analysis. The results discussed six main discourses evident amongst the texts, namely, the natural body, functionality over form, the necessity of progression, the body for self and others, the body is secondary and the homosexual aversion. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal-Durban, 2013.

HNC incidence and mortality is greater in men and is associated with high risk behaviours and social deprivation. HNC is frequently diagnosed at advanced stages requiring multi-modality treatment which can have a significant impact on appearance and function. Gender can influence health behaviours yet research into male experiences of cancer has primarily focussed on prostate cancer and HNC is an area which is under investigated. The aim of this study was to explore how men with HNC experience appearance and functional change in the first 12 months following diagnosis. Grounded theory methodology (GT) was chosen as the overall purpose of GT is the generation of theory from the data which has explanatory power and advances the understanding of social and psychological phenomena. Retrospective semi-structured interviews were performed with 12 men who were 12 to 24 months post-diagnosis. Key components of GT practice used were simultaneous data collection and analysis, constructing analytic categories from the data, constant comparison, memo-writing and theoretical sampling. Three categories emerged from the data which were inter-related: normalising change; “under siege”: getting through treatment; and reclaiming self. The core category was reconciling change; a new normal which reflects the social and psychological processes involved in accommodating and assimilating change in appearance and function for men with HNC. The substantive theory provides insight into how men with HNC prioritise function and actively distance themselves from concerns regarding appearance. Furthermore, it identifies men who are at risk of social anxiety and isolation due to multiple changes or body incompetence. This study builds on theories of masculinity, body image and disfigurement. The substantive theory developed provides health and social care professionals with new knowledge to support clinical practice and improve care provision.

Despite growing evidence of their prevalence, clinical and subclinical disordered eating behaviors among men continue to be understudied phenomena. When compared to females, predictors of male disordered eating vary across ethnic groups, suggesting cultural influences on disordered eating. Moreover, gay and bisexual men experience pronounced levels of body dissatisfaction, sensitivity to societal body image standards, and subsequent disordered eating when compared to straight men and gay women. This study investigated possible differences in prediction of disordered eating among intersections of male ethnicity and sexuality. We approached this question through a transtheoretical lens that integrated intersectionality and minority stress theories. Archival data from a sample of African American, Latino, and White college men were analyzed using hierarchical multiple regression. Predictors of emotional and binge eating behaviors differed across ethnicity, in that body dissatisfaction and media internalization for African American and Latino males exhibit the strongest unique associations with emotional and binge eating behaviors, while the strongest unique predictors of emotional and binge eating behaviors among White males are depressive symptoms and low self-esteem. Moreover, African American sexual identity and depressive symptoms interact, as gay or bisexual men report stronger unique associations between depression symptoms and emotional and binge eating. All predictors (i.e., body dissatisfaction, depression symptoms, low self-esteem, media internalization, and sexual minority identity) were unable to explain sufficient variance in over exercise behaviors in African American men. Results suggest ethnicity and sexual orientation are meaningful to the experience of disordered eating in men, and that underlying mechanisms may exhibit differing associative patterns across ethnic identity. Clinicians working with ethnically and sexually diverse male disordered eating populations may use the results to better inform treatment interventions and conceptualization. These findings also support the value of intersectional quantitative methodology and the limits of relying on single-axis identity as a predictive element.

Submitted by Filipe dos Santos (fsantos@pucsp.br) on 2018-08-01T11:33:22Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Júlio Carlos de Oliveira Moreira.pdf: 30136547 bytes, checksum: 347bd6ba131e4f99564827ee92f6bfce (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-01T11:33:22Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Júlio Carlos de Oliveira Moreira.pdf: 30136547 bytes, checksum: 347bd6ba131e4f99564827ee92f6bfce (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-06-15 / Societies can be studied by analyzing various aspects. How individuals organize themselves politically; how they eat; how they treat the environment; how they have sex. I have chosen to analyze what the body of man can say about society. I seek to analyze throughout history, relevant aspects that characterized the importance of the man’s body. A trajectory of facts and opinions that guided the Western world. When one speaks about man’s body, even today, it is a term that is synonymous of the human body. Despite its privileged position in relationship to women for centuries, this modern man lives the extremes of society. It occupies the highest political and economic positions on the globe, but at the same time, also represents the largest contingent of prisoners in jails. The contemporary man is a being who lives social pressures due to the new roles assumed by the woman since the second half of the last century, besides other challenges imposed by the modern life. He tries to locate his position in this new society. A society of performance linked to the logic of consumption as Bauman and Byung-Chul teach us. As a social voyeur I gaze at the body of man to understand the logic that guides our behavior in the second half of the 21st century, where concepts like privacy change with the rising of social networks. A new society of exhibition, where the body becomes a commodity to be worked on to create an intended identity of the individual. And that generates dissatisfaction for those who do not reach the models idealized by that society. But also anxiety among those who have reached valued standards and do not wish to lose them / As sociedades podem ser estudadas analisando vários de seus aspectos. Como os indivíduos se organizam politicamente; como comem; como tratam o meio ambiente; como fazem sexo. Eu escolhi analisar o que o corpo do homem pode falar sobre a sociedade. Busco analisar ao longo da história, aspectos relevantes que caracterizaram a importância do corpo do homem. Uma trajetória de fatos e opiniões que nortearam o mundo ocidental. Quando se fala no corpo do homem, ainda hoje, ele é um termo sinônimo do corpo humano. Apesar de sua posição privilegiada em relação à mulher durante séculos, esse homem moderno vive os extremos da hierarquia social. Ocupa ao mesmo tempo os maiores cargos políticos e econômicos pelo globo, mas também representa o maior contingente de presos nas prisões. O homem atual é um ser que vive pressões sociais devido aos novos papéis assumidos pela mulher desde a segunda metade do século passado e desafios impostos pela vida moderna. Ele tenta localizar qual a sua posição nessa nova sociedade. Uma sociedade do desempenho atrelado à lógica do consumo como nos ensinam Bauman e Byung-Chul. Como um voyeur social miro o corpo do homem para entender as lógicas que norteiam o nosso comportamento nessa segunda metade do século XXI, onde conceitos como privacidade se alteram com o fortalecimento das redes sociais. Uma nova sociedade da exibição, onde o corpo passa a ser uma mercadoria a ser trabalhada para criar uma identidade pretendida do indivíduo. E que gera insatisfações para quem não atinge os modelos idealizados por essa sociedade. Mas também ansiedade entre aqueles que obtiveram os padrões valorizados e não desejam perde-los

The purpose of this study was to examine any differences that may exist among demographic variables such as gender, age, and race in regard to internalization of society and media messages leading to body dissatisfaction that may lead to disordered eating behaviors such as preoccupation with weight, dieting, and eating restraint. A total of 324 participants completed the demographic questionnaire, the Multidimensional Body Self Relations Questionnaire, the Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Questionnaire for women, the Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Questionnaire-Revised-Male-Version for men, and Rotter’s Internal-External (I-E) Locus of Control Scale. The results of this study found, as predicted, that Caucasians reported higher internalization, higher body dissatisfaction, and higher preoccupation with weight, dieting, and eating restraint than African Americans. This study showed no differences regarding men’s and women’s internalization or body dissatisfaction but did reveal that women reported higher preoccupation with weight, dieting, and eating restraint than men. Regarding age, this study found that age did not predict internalization, body dissatisfaction, or preoccupation with weight, dieting, and eating restraint.