Binary gender differences in the domains of body regard and nonsuicidal self-injury

There is growing evidence of the relevance of body regard (i.e., one's relationship with, attitude toward, and experience of the body) to nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) among college students, although there remain notable gaps in our understanding of this relationship. The present study thus explored (1) binary gender differences in body regard subdomains (i.e., body acceptance, athleticism, body care, body connection) among college students reporting past-year NSSI and (2) the relative contribution of each subdomain in predicting past-year NSSI across binary genders.

College students (N = 3343; 12.7 % of whom reported past-year NSSI) completed online measures of NSSI and body regard.

Results revealed that women reported lower body acceptance and athleticism, but similar body care and connection, relative to men. Among women, all subdomains of body regard were significant negative predictors of past-year NSSI, whereas among men, only body care and connection were.

Findings lend support for the protective role of high body regard in relation to NSSI among college students and advance our understanding of binary gender differences in this relationship.