Mary E. Pritchard

This qualitative study examined gender differences in sociocultural pressures related to body image and the psychological mechanisms through which these pressures are experienced among college students. Responses from 1014 undergraduates to an open-ended question about perceived pressure to conform to cultural body ideals were analyzed. Results revealed distinct gender-specific patterns: women’s narratives primarily emphasized media pressure, drive for thinness, and social comparison, while men’s responses more frequently featured internal pressure alongside drive for muscularity and drive for leanness. These findings demonstrate how similar sociocultural pressures operate through different pathways across genders—women more explicitly acknowledged external pressures through direct social comparison, while men more frequently transformed sociocultural pressures into internalized goals framed as personal motivation. This pattern aligns with the theoretical frameworks of Objectification Theory and Self-Determination Theory, and extends the Tripartite Influence Model by illuminating the gendered nature of body image concerns through narrative accounts. Implications for gender-specific clinical approaches to body image disturbance are discussed.

Objective: The present mixed-method study aims to understand the association between sociocultural pressures, disordered eating, and compulsive exercise in men, with body shame as a mediator. Participants: We surveyed 263 U.S. men recruited from a public university in the Rocky Mountain region of the United States. The majority were White/Caucasian and heterosexual, ages 18-40. Methods: Participants completed measures assessing compulsive exercise, disordered eating, body shame, sociocultural pressures, and answered one open-ended question about their experiences with body image. Results: The results of our study aligned with our hypothesized mediation model: body shame mediated relationships between sociocultural pressures, disordered eating attitudes, and compulsive exercise. Qualitatively, most of the men in our study expressed having felt pressure to change their bodies. Conclusions: Our study aligns with current research and contributes to the need for future research surrounding eating pathology and the shame that leads to such outcomes in men.

Purpose Previous studies have suggested that drive for leanness (DL) may be less maladaptive than drive for thinness (DT) or drive for muscularity (DM). However, no studies have examined whether there might be gender differences in the relationships between these three drives and mental health variables. The purpose of this study was twofold. First, we wanted to examine DL in the context of mental health and to see if it is less maladaptive than DT and DM. Second, we wanted to examine gender differences in the relationships between body dissatisfaction (DT, DM, DL) and mental health in a sample of college students. Methods A sample of 988 White, heterosexual, cisgender college students (76.8% female) completed an omnibus survey measuring body image (DL, DT, DM) and mental health (generalized anxiety, social physique anxiety, self-esteem) variables. Regression analyses evaluated associations between these drives and mental health variables. Results DT predicted all three mental health outcomes in both men and women. DM predicted generalized and social physique anxiety in women but only generalized anxiety in men. DL predicted social physique anxiety only in women. Conclusion Because we found gender differences in body image and relationships between body image and mental health, future studies should take gender into account when exploring body image and related variables. Level of Evidence V Cross-sectional descriptive study.

The purpose of the present study was to explore the relative contributions of self-blame and internalized shame to variability in disordered eating and drive for muscularity scores in collegiate men.

The purpose of this present study was to examine gender differences in overall scores on the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26) in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) college athletes in “lean” sports versus “non-lean” sports.