Quality of life and body dissatisfaction in cisgender men reporting sexual attraction toward men or women

Abstract

Gay men report poorer body image than straight men, but no research has examined other dimensions of sexual identity (e.g., sexual attraction). Most research also focused on clinical outcomes of body dissatisfaction rather than subclinical influences on quality of life. We examined the association between sexual attraction (i.e., attraction to men or women), body dissatisfaction and quality of life in cisgender men. We hypothesised that: 1) men attracted to men would report higher body dissatisfaction, 2) men attracted to men would report lower quality of life (i.e., psychological, physiological, social, and environmental), 3) body dissatisfaction would be negatively associated with quality of life, and finally 4) body dissatisfaction mediates the association between sexual attraction and quality of life. A cross-sectional study (86 men attracted to men and 87 men attracted to women) supported these hypotheses but showed that sexual attraction was only associated with psychological quality of life. While sexual attraction was only associated with psychological quality of life, there were indirect associations with all quality of life domains acting through body dissatisfaction. Our findings emphasise that men attracted to men are at greater risk of poor body image and that body dissatisfaction is a pervasive health problem, negatively influencing subclinical health and well-being in cisgender men. We also highlight how body dissatisfaction may be one psychological process negatively influencing the psychological quality of life in men attracted to men. More resources should be directed toward preventing body dissatisfaction, particularly in sexual minoritised men.