Relationships Between Men's and Women's Body Image and Their Psychological, Social, and Sexual Functioning

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This research has demonstrated the importance of considering multiple measures of body image, given that different measures were associated with different aspects of psychological, social, and sexual functioning. Social aspects of body image, particularly concerns about how others may evaluate one's body, are a particular area that requires further research. The results of the present research also demonstrated the importance of investigating the effects of body image separately for men and women and for different age groups. This is the first study to demonstrate that body image may play different roles in the lives of different adult populations. Replication of these findings is required, particularly in longitudinal research, in order to explore potential underlying mechanisms to explain the role of body image in the psychological, social, and sexual functioning of men and women at different stages of adult development. The current sample was divided into three broad age categories, on the basis of sample size. Future researchers exploring the development of body image in adulthood should consider theoretically developed stages of adult development when selecting appropriate age categories to investigate. For example, body image may play a different role in the lives of adults 50-65 years than for adults in later years. Smaller, more homogeneous groups may demonstrate differences in the development of body image and highlight specific associations of body image and day-to-day functioning at different ages.

This study was limited by the use of correlational data. Small sample sizes in each group precluded the use of more sophisticated techniques, such as structural equation modeling, which may be employed in future research with larger samples to model relationships between body image and psychological, social, and sexual functioning variables. An investigation of these relationships was beyond the scope of this article, and they were not accounted for in the present analysis, which was focused on understanding which specific aspects of body image were of most relevance to particular aspects of day-to-day functioning. Future researchers may gainfully model the nature of the relationships between different aspects of body image for different populations. It is hoped that increased acknowledgement of the complexity of the body image construct, particularly in relation to the varied roles it plays in the lives of adult men and women, will stimulate further theoretical and empirical development in this area.

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