The mean age was 38.6 ( SD = 14.3) and 69.4% had a college degree or higher. Overall, the sample was 85.2% White, 3.0% Asian or Pacific Islander, 2.0% Black, 0.5% Native American, 3.9% multiracial, and 6.6% Hispanic/Latino/a. We compared MDDI scores by sexual orientation using linear regression models, both unadjusted and adjusted for sociodemographics. We calculated means, standard deviations (SD), and percentiles for the MDDI total and subscale scores for cisgender sexual minority men and women.
Participants included cisgender gay men ( N = 1090), cisgender bisexual plus (bisexual, pansexual, and/or polysexual) men ( N = 100), cisgender lesbian women ( N = 563), and cisgender bisexual plus women ( N = 507). Methodsĭata from participants in The PRIDE Study, an existing study of health outcomes in sexual and gender minority people from the United States, were examined. The objective of this study was to examine the nature and severity of MD symptoms in cisgender sexual minority men and women and provide community norms of the MDDI for these populations.
Despite evidence of elevated body image-related concerns among sexual minority populations, little is known about the degree of muscle dysmorphia (MD) symptoms among sexual minorities, particularly based on Muscle Dysmorphic Disorder Inventory (MDDI) scores. Representing the pathological extreme pursuit of muscularity, muscle dysmorphia (MD) is characterized by a pervasive belief or fear around insufficient muscularity and an elevated drive for muscularity.