Correlates of social physique anxiety in men

Journal of Sport Behavior, Dec, 2008 by Frederick G. Grieve, Lindsay Jackson, Thomas Reece, Lesley Marklin, Andrea Delaney

Social physique anxiety (SPA) involves anxiety that is experienced due to the perception that others are evaluating one's body in a negative manner (Russell, 2002). Correlates of SPA include low participation rates in public exercise or social events (Crawford & Eklund, 1994; Eklund & Crawford, 1994), low self-esteem (Davison & McCabe, 2005; Russell & Cox, 2003; Silberstein, Striegel-Moore, Timko, & Rodin, 1988), fear of negative evaluation (Crawford & Eklund, 1994; Eklund & Crawford, 1994), a dissatisfaction with body image, and an increase in disordered eating (Hulya, Macide, & Koca, 2006).

Women are more likely to report higher levels of social physique anxiety (Davison & McCabe, 2005), and are more likely to report that social physique anxiety influences their behaviors than are men. However, the social pressures for men to obtain and maintain a certain body type are increasing (Olivardia, 2001).

The muscular, V-shaped body is promoted as the social ideal (Leit, Gray, & Pope, 2002; Grieve, Newton, Kelly, Miller, & Kerr, 2005; Ridgeway & Tylka, 2005). While, in the past, body image disturbance was thought to mostly be a women's disorder, the social pressures on men have increased the distance between men's actual and ideal body and increased dissatisfaction with their bodies (Drewnoski & Yee, 1987; Grieve, Wann, Henson, & Ford, 2006).

One consequence of the increased attention to men's bodies is the development of the disorder called muscle dysmorphia (Olivardia, 2001). Muscle dysmorphia involves the belief that a person's body is not sufficiently muscular, and its development stems from a number of psychosocial factors, including media pressures, endorsement of the social ideal, and negative affect (see Grieve, 2007, for a review).

There are a number of connections between SPA and muscle dysmorphia. First, both phenomena are associated with body dissatisfaction (Hulya et al., 2006; Olivardia, Pope, Boroweicki, & Cohane, 2004) and low self-esteem (Davison & McCabe, 2005; Olivardia et al., 2004). Second, men with muscle dysmorphia act much like women with anorexia nervosa--they feel anxiety over their bodies and work to hide their bodies in public (Olivardia, 2001), which appears to describe SPA.

Studies that examine SPA in men are limited, mostly because, historically, SPA has been seen as a phenomenon that affected women to a greater extent than men (Martin, Engles, Wirth, & Smith, 1997). In one of the few studies to examine SPA only in men, Russell (2002) found that high levels of SPA were associated with high levels of body dissatisfaction and low levels of self-esteem for both Caucasian and African American participants.

The present study was designed to replicate and extend the findings of Russell (2002). The major purpose of the study was to examine the relationship between SPA and reasons for exercising, which is an extension of the findings of Russell. Because people with SPA are concerned about their body shape (Hulya et al., 2006), the first hypothesis under study was that men with higher levels of SPA will report a greater desire to exercise for appearance motives, rather than for social or health motives. A second extension of Russell involved the relationship between SPA and symptoms of muscle dysmorphia. Because of the relationships between SPA and muscle dysmorphia noted above, the second hypothesis was that men with higher levels of SPA are expected to report higher levels of muscle dysmorphia symptoms. Finally, the study was designed to replicate Russell's finding of a relationship between SPA and low self-esteem. Thus, the third hypothesis under study was that men with higher levels of SPA are expected to report lower levels of self-esteem.

Method

Participants

The participants for this study consisted of 134 college-aged men (M age = 22.06 years, SD = 4.90) who were recruited via in person solicitation, through their undergraduate psychology courses, and by completing an internet survey. There were 104 (77.6%) Caucasians, 18 (13.4%) African Americans, 3 (2.2%) Asian Americans, 1 (0.7%) Latino American, and 7 (5.2%) participants who identified themselves as from other ethnicities in the sample. One person did not indicate ethnic background. On average, the men self-reported to be 71.12 inches tall (SD = 2.89), with a weight of 182.64 pounds (SD = 32.06), for an average body mass index (BMI) of 25.97 (SD = 4.13).

Measures

Demographics. Each participant completed a demographics survey that assessed age, height, weight, and racial background.

Social Physique Anxiety. The Social Physique Anxiety Scale (SPAS; Hart, Leary & Rejeski, 1989) is a 12-item self report inventory which measures social physique anxiety on a five-point Likert type scale ranging from 1 (not at all) to 5 (extremely). Several studies have indicated that a version of the SPAS with fewer items is more psychometrically sound (e.g., Martin, Rejeski, Leafy, McAuley, & Bane, 1997; Motl & Conroy, 2000). The version of the measure used in this study was the seven-item version created by Motl & Conroy (2000). A high score (maximum score is 35) on this scale expresses a perceived importance of the opinions of others, which manifests itself in a fear of being judged and observed by others. The SPAS has been shown to have adequate construct validity (Motl & Conroy, 2000), test-retest reliability and internal consistency (Hart et al., 1989).