Eating disorders, body image satisfaction and physical, mental and
sexual health among gay and bisexual men who identify with
ethno-racialised communities (2008-2009)
Principal Investigator: David J. Brennan, Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, University of Toronto
Co-investigator: Newman, P.A., George, C., Hart, T.A.
Collaborators: Persad, I., Ceranto, A.
Funded by: SSHRC Standard Research Grant
Gay and bisexual men (GBM) score significantly higher than heterosexual identifying men on body dissatisfaction ratings, and disordered eating attitude. Multiple experiences of racialized, economic and homophobic discrimination are known to have a deleterious impact on health outcomes. However, issues of body image and eating may not manifest in the same way for ethnoracialized GBM as for White GBM. The objectives of the proposed research are: 1) to explore the relationship between ethnoracialized identity, resiliencies and risks for body image dissatisfaction, and associated eating behaviours and attitudes among ethnoracialized GBM; 2) to develop socioculturally relevant tools for assessing a) body image satisfaction, and b) eating attitudes and behaviours for ethnoracialized GBM. A three-phase mixed-method study design is proposed. Phase 1: focus groups and in- depth individual interviews will explore the ethnocultural context of body image, eating and health among ethnoracialized GBM. Phase 2: Findings from phase 1 will be used to develop and pilot test socioculturally relevant assessment tools for body image satisfaction, disordered eating behaviours and attitudes among ethnoracialized GBM. Phase 3: implementation of new tools on larger populations of ethnoracialized GBM to examine body image satisfaction and disordered eating.