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Updated: May 31, 2026

Skeletal Muscle Gender Dimorphism from Proteomics
Published on: December 14, 2011
Muscle dysmorphia, gender role stress, and sociocultural influences: an exploratory study
Readdy Tucker1, Patti Lou Watkins, Bradley J Cardinal
1Division of Kinesiology and Health, University of Wyoming, USA. tucker.readdy@uwyo.edu
Abstract:
Our study explored the contribution of gender role stress (GRS) and sociocultural appearance demands to symptoms of muscle dysmorphia (MD) in a college sample of 219 women and 154 men. For women, five GRS subscales, sociocultural appearance demands, age, and frequency of aerobic exercise predicted MD symptoms (model R2 = .33; F(8,210) = 12.81, p < . 001); for men, only one GRS subscale, age, and sociocultural appearance demands predicted MD symptoms (model R2 = .40; F(3,150) = 9.52, p < .001). Post hoc analyses revealed that a small number of items explained a substantial portion of the variation, suggesting that MD may be more related to specific perceptions of pressure to attain an attractive body than to global gender role stress.
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