Determinants of body image disturbance and disordered eating behaviors among self-identified LGBTQ individuals

Journal of Eating Disorders

Research

Lama Mattar¹  Nour Kalash¹  Hana Harb¹  Nadine Zeeni¹  Myriam El Khoury² 

[1] Nutrition Program, Department of Natural Sciences, School of Arts and Sciences, Lebanese American University, P.O. Box 13-5053, 1102 2801, Chouran, Beirut, Lebanon;Psychology Program, Department of Social Sciences, School of Arts and Sciences, Lebanese American University, Beirut, Lebanon;

关键词: Disordered eating behaviors;    Body image disturbance;    Sexual minorities;    Gender identity;    And sexual orientation;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s40337-023-00810-2

 received in 2022-12-20, accepted in 2023-05-15,  发布年份 2023

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

It has been previously established that sexual minorities are more likely to suffer from mental health illnesses due to experiencing unique stressors such as fear, anxiety, stigma, harassment, and prejudice. Results revealed two noteworthy mental health disorders reported by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) individuals, disordered eating behaviors and disturbed body image. Yet, a-priori studies revealed inconsistent results with regards to body image concerns and eating disorder symptoms and attitudes among sexual minorities. Therefore, this cross-sectional study aimed at investigating the occurrence of disordered eating behaviors (DEB) and body image disturbance (BID) among sexual minorities in Lebanon. Additionally, the correlation between several determinants of DEB and BID including fear of negative evaluation, generalized anxiety, social support, and harassment levels have been examined. Generally, the present study revealed that LGBTQ population scored higher than cisgender and heterosexual individuals for the mean and global scores of the EDE-Q6.0 and BAS-2. Only generalized anxiety and fear of negative evaluation scales were significantly associated with DEB and BID among different sexual orientation and gender identity individuals. Therefore, it is very important that health professionals working with such vulnerable populations meticulously assess for disordered eating behaviors and body image disturbance for better communication and management.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© The Author(s) 2023

【 图 表 】

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