Institute of Health and Sport, Victoria University, P.O. Box 14428, Melbourne, VIC, 8001, Australia.
Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia.
Arch Sex Behav. 2018 Nov;47(8):2467-2479. doi: 10.1007/s10508-018-1208-5. Epub 2018 Jun 20.
Past studies have demonstrated associations between gay men's body image disturbances and poorer mental health. However, little research has considered whether relationship status, or sexual agreements within relationships, moderates these associations. The present study was designed to address this gap. Results from a survey involving 796 Australian gay men between the ages of 18-39 showed that various measures of body image disturbance significantly and independently predicted satisfaction with life, self-esteem, positive well-being, and psychological distress. However, neither relationship status nor sexual agreement type (monogamous vs. non-monogamous) moderated these associations. These findings suggest that, although gay men may experience appearance-related pressure in order to attract sexual or relationship partners, simply being in a relationship does not reduce the detrimental associations of body image disturbance with mental health. Future research could examine specific aspects of relationship quality and dynamics that may serve as risk or protective factors in this context.
过去的研究表明，男同性恋者的身体意象障碍与心理健康状况较差之间存在关联。然而，很少有研究考虑到关系状况或性关系中的性协议是否会调节这些关联。本研究旨在填补这一空白。一项涉及 796 名年龄在 18-39 岁之间的澳大利亚男同性恋者的调查结果表明，身体意象障碍的各种衡量标准显著且独立地预测了生活满意度、自尊、积极幸福感和心理困扰。然而，关系状况和性协议类型（一夫一妻制与非一夫一妻制）都没有调节这些关联。这些发现表明，尽管男同性恋者可能会为了吸引性伴侣或恋爱伴侣而面临与外表相关的压力，但仅仅处于一段关系中并不能减轻身体意象障碍与心理健康之间的不利关联。未来的研究可以探讨关系质量和动态的特定方面，这些方面在这种情况下可能是风险或保护因素。
