This study examined the presence and experience of muscle dysmorphia among current and former steroid-using recreational bodybuilders. The Muscle Dysmorphia Inventory was given to 60 male participants, with 9 of these being interviewed to examine the predisposing factors, characteristics, and negative consequences of muscle dysmorphia comprising Lantz, Rhea, and Mayhew’s (2001) conceptual model. Quantitative results from the MDI data showed no significant differences between current and former steroid users in their experiences of muscle dysmorphia. In contrast, interviews suggested that former users appeared to be more susceptible to some of the characteristics of muscle dysmorphia, including physique protection and body distortion/dissatisfaction, which suggests perhaps a limitation in the amount of information that can be extracted from a questionnaire. These preliminary findings also raise concerns about the lack of a diagnostic tool available for the condition and are discussed in relation to Lantz et al.’s (2001) conceptual model.
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Muscle Dysmorphia Among Current and Former Steroid Users
Rebecca Davies, Dave Smith, and Kevan Collier
Trait Perfectionism, Perfectionistic Self-Presentation, and Muscle Dysmorphia in Male Exercisers: A Structural Equation Modeling Strategy
Michael C. Grugan and Kieran J. Wright
Lay Summary We know that high levels of trait perfectionism are a potential risk factor for muscle dysmorphia (MD) in male exercisers. This study shows that higher levels of perfectionistic self-presentation (a dynamic interpersonal style characterized by a drive to appear perfect or conceal
Early Maladaptive Schemas, Cognitive Fusion, and Anabolic-Androgenic Steroid Use Attitudes: The Mediating Role of Muscle Dysmorphia in Iran
Mehdi Ebrahimi, Zahra Zamani, and Ebrahim Bagheri
variable of muscle dysmorphia (MD). People with MD have a constant mental preoccupation with having a muscular body and, as a result, do excessive bodybuilding exercises. MD, defined as obsessive–compulsive disorder and related disorders, is a subcategory of body dysmorphic disorder, in which the defect in
Competitive Bodybuilding: Positive Deviance, Body Image Pathology, or Modern Day Competitive Sport?
Mark T. Suffolk
The sport of competitive bodybuilding is strongly associated with muscle dysmorphia, a body-image-related psychological disorder. This theoretical article draws on existing concepts, namely stereotyping, prejudice, and positive deviance in sport, to explicate the notion that competitive bodybuilding and body-image disturbance may be mistakenly conflated. The perspective offered here goes beyond the countercultural physique to argue that a negative social perception of competitive bodybuilders obscures the pragmatic necessity to develop a hypermesomorphic physique. Competitive bodybuilders (CBs) and athletes in mainstream competitive sport exhibit congruent psychobehavioral tendencies. In a competitive-sport context, behavior among CBs perceived as pathological may primarily represent a response to the ideological sporting ethic of “win at all costs,” not extreme body-image disturbance. Analyzing the psychobehavioral characteristics of CBs within a sporting rather than a pathological framework, allows for a contextual assessment of behaviors to then determine the clinical significance relative to the research population under investigation.
How Healthy is a Desire to be Fit and Strong? Drives for Thinness, Leanness, and Muscularity in Women in Weight Training
Andrea S. Hartmann, Florian Steenbergen, Silja Vocks, Dirk Büsch, and Manuel Waldorf
muscularity (DM) is the hallmark feature of a phenomenon that has gained attention in recent years: muscle dysmorphia, which is a subtype of body dysmorphic disorder (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; American Psychiatric Association, 2013 ). Muscle dysmorphia is characterized by the
Eating Behaviors Among Male Bodybuilders and Runners: Application of the Trans-Contextual Model of Motivation
Lisa Chaba, Stéphanie Scoffier-Mériaux, Fabienne d’Arripe-Longueville, and Vanessa Lentillon-Kaestner
’Arripe-Longueville, Lentillon-Kaestner, & Mériaux-Scoffier 2018 ; Davis & Scott-Robertson, 2000 ). Numerous studies on male bodybuilders have focused on muscle dysmorphia (e.g., Fabris et al., 2018 ; Palazón-Bru et al., 2018 ). This pathology is present when individuals perceive themselves as small and weak (e.g., Pope
Predictive Factors for Compulsive Exercise in Adolescent Athletes: A Cross-Sectional Study
Martine Fortier, Christopher Rodrigue, Camille Clermont, Anne-Sophie Gagné, Audrey Brassard, Daniel Lalande, and Jacinthe Dion
muscle mass. Indeed, this notion is supported by the growing literature on muscle dysmorphia, characterized by a preoccupation over one’s muscularity, which is more prevalent in adult and adolescent males ( Ganson et al., 2023 ; Mitchison et al., 2022 ) and is frequently linked to eating disorder
Adapting a Technology-Based Eating Disorder Model for Athletes
Rachael E. Flatt and Craig Barr Taylor
muscle leanness: A complex case with features of muscle dysmorphia and eating disorder not otherwise specified . Eating and Weight Disorders – Studies on Anorexia, Bulimia and Obesity, 11 ( 4 ), 117 – 118 . PubMed ID: 17272941 doi:10.1007/BF03327575 10.1007/BF03327575 Carrard , I. , Crépin , C
