Model of mental health stigma and views of masculinity as contributing factors to body dissatisfaction as measured by the BDD-SS

Abstract

There seems to be a gap in the current literature when identifying factors which exacerbate Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) within males. Most literature which focused on body image disturbance examined the impact of the lived experiences of women. Males and their experience with masculinities, had little emphases from researchers. The purpose of this study was to further the understanding of the impact of gender roles and the stigma associated with seeking mental health which was examined as predictive factors to BDD symptomology, and examine the impact masculinity and mental health stigma had on the manifestation of BDD symptomology for those who identify as masculine. Both mediation and moderation analyses were used to examine the relationships between masculinity, mental health stigma, gender, and body dissatisfaction. The total sample size for this study was determined to be n=396 (148 male, 243 female, 3 non-conforming, and 2 identifying as transgender (f-m)). The results of this study indicated that there were no mediating or moderating effects for any of the four research questions, however there were telling results which added to the literature related to men, mental health stigma, and BDD, as well as identifying developmental factors addressed at an early age so that preventative measures associated with toxic masculinity could be addressed.