McCabe, Ricciardelli (2004)

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Body image dissatisfaction among males across the lifespan: a review of past literature

Body dissatisfaction in males is associated with:

poor psychological adjustment

eating disorders

steroid use

excessive dependence

other health behaviours

Study looked at body dissatisfaction among:

children

adolescents

adults

Study found (abstract):

similarities in the levels of body dissatisfaction of male and female children

most children demonstrating high levels of body dissatisfaction

that during adolescents body are about equally divided between wanting to lose weight and wanting to gain weight

in adulthood men evidence a stronger desire to lost weight as they get older

Body image dissatisfaction among males:

Body image can involve perceptual, affective, cognitive or behavioural disturbances

its clear that there are pressures for males to adhere to the sociocultural ideal for males

Body image disturbance among males:

the types of questions that are asked of males are important so that you can distinguish between wanting to be bigger or more muscly or whatever

Preadolescent boys

Body dissatisfaction:

most studies have found a strong relationship between BMI and body dissatisfaction among children

has been found that kids aged 10-11, girls more dissatisfied with body and boys more satisfied

strong association between body dissatisfaction and negative self concept for boys in grade 6

even at young age theres a high level of body dissatisfaction among boys

younger boys have been found to want to get bigger but as they get older they want to get leaner

"figure rating scales" have found that girls rate their ideal figure as substantially smaller than their current figure but no difference in boy's

Sociocultural influences:

limited research on sociocultural influences on body image in children

few studies that have examined this, data that are available suggest that boys are primarily satisfied with their bodies

Adolescent boys

Body dissatisfaction:

the sociocultural ideal for males is very similar across cultures

there hasn't been much research into the importance boys put on body image

but the importance put on body image appears to be greater for girls than boys

Sociocultural influences:

O'Koon examined the impact of parental peer attachment on self image

Adult men

Body dissatisfaction

women of all ages generally strive for a slimmer body regardless of their BMI

some adult men strive for a slimmer body, others want a larger, more muscular body

literature suggests that women attach a greater importance to the appearance of their bodies than men

women also attach greater importance to body weight as BMI increases

at all ages women attach greater importance to the attractiveness of their body than men

men were more satisfied with their bodies than women and considered themselves be more attractive

feminine men were found to have a poor body image in a number of domains, wheres masculine women had more favourable body image

college men who were physically active were less likely than college women who were physically active to demonstrate high levels of body dissatisfaction

the nature of expertise adopted by men may reflect different levels of body dissatisfaction

high levels of exercise does not necessarily indicate higher levels of body dissatisfaction

sexual orientation: gay men demonstrate higher levels of body dissatisfaction than straight men

nature of the dissatisfaction that they experience with their body

Sociocultural influences

men think that both other men and women think that the ideal body for men is bulkier than their current body

Mishkind et al: association between muscularity and masculinity -emphasised the importance of the association between the male's body image and his sense of self

the strongest predictor of body dissatisfaction was internalisation of social standard of appearance

"lean mesomorphic muscular ideal"

in order for these images to impact on body dissatisfaction among men, the forms that they represent need to be internalised

Conclusion

is it the adult male's appearance that is causing him to be dissatisfied, or does the dissatisfaction relate more to the functioning and capacity of his body