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Updated: Aug 22, 2025

Validation of a Psychosocial Intervention on Body Image in Older People: An Experimental Design
Published on: May 31, 2021
Relationships between body image and mental health in white, cisgender college students
Anastasiya Artyukhov1, Mary Pritchard2, Kyle Brasil3
1Department of Psychological Science, Boise State University, Boise, ID, USA.
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.
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