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Publication
Between the Mirror and the Screen: Predictors of Body Image in Middle- Aged Men
| Name: | Description: | Size: | Format: | |
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| 1.89 MB | Adobe PDF |
Advisor(s)
Abstract(s)
O construto imagem corporal (IC) em homens de meia-idade reflete a interseção entre diversos fatores, como envelhecimento biológico e ideais socioculturais de juventude e desempenho físico, tornando este grupo vulnerável, porém pouco explorado na literatura científica. Este estudo investigou preditores da IC nesta população, incluindo fatores sociodemográficos, de estilo de vida, psicológicos, perceções do envelhecimento e uso de redes sociais. Uma amostra de conveniência de 181 homens brasileiros (87,8%), portugueses (9,9%) e com dupla nacionalidade (2,3%) completou medidas validadas de IC (satisfação e importância atribuída à aparência), perceções do envelhecimento e uso de redes sociais. Foram realizadas análises descritivas, análises fatoriais confirmatórias e modelação por equações estruturais. O modelo preditivo apresentou bom ajustamento (RMSEA=.059;CFI=.892; TLI=.880;SRMR=.107). A satisfação com a aparência foi negativamente predita pela perceção cíclica do envelhecimento (β=−.300;p=.002), pelo IMC (β=−.179;p=.004) e uso do WhatsApp (β=−.130;p=.023), e positivamente pela satisfação com a gordura abdominal (β=.366;p=.014), controlo negativo (β=.257;p=.010) e consequências positivas do envelhecimento (β=.159;p=.022). A importância atribuída à aparência associou-se positivamente às representações emocionais do envelhecimento (β=.514;p=.000), ao controlo negativo (β=.292;p=.018), à preocupação com a gordura (β=.185;p=.014), ao uso do YouTube (β=.245;p=.000) e ao uso geral da internet (β=.198; p=.006), e negativamente ao uso do Instagram (β=−.213;p=.004) e do TikTok (β=−.172;p=.015). Estes resultados questionam a adequação de intervenções simplistas para lidar com as especificidades biopsicossociais da IC neste grupo, destacando percursos passíveis de intervenção clínica. Ademais, evidenciam a natureza multidimensional da imagem corporal e apoiam empiricamente a aplicabilidade do modelo integrativo
proposto por Matsumoto e Rodgers (2020) nesta população.
The construct of body image (BI) in middle-aged men reflects the intersection of multiple factors, such as biological aging and sociocultural ideals of youth and physical performance, making this group vulnerable yet understudied in the scientific literature. This study examined predictors of BI in this population, including sociodemographic, lifestyle, psychological, aging perceptions, and social media factors. A convenience sample of 181 men — Brazilian (87.8%), Portuguese (9.9%), and dual nationals (2.3%) — completed validated measures of BI (appearance satisfaction and importance), aging perceptions, and social media use. Descriptive statistics, confirmatory factor analysis, and structural equation modeling were conducted. The predictive model showed good fit (RMSEA=.059; CFI=.892; TLI=.880; SRMR=.107). Appearance satisfaction was negatively predicted by cyclical perception of aging (β=−.300; p=.002), BMI (β=−.179; p=.004), and WhatsApp use (β=−.130; p=.023), and positively by abdominal fat satisfaction (β=.366; p=.014), negative control (β=.257; p=.010), and positive consequences (β=.159; p=.022). Importance attributed to appearance was positively associated with emotional representations of aging (β=.514; p=.000), negative control (β=.292; p=.018), fat concern (β=.185; p=.014), YouTube use (β=.245; p=.000), and general internet use (β=.198; p=.006), and negatively with Instagram (β=−.213; p=.004) and TikTok use (β=−.172; p=.015). These findings question the adequacy of simplistic interventions to address the biopsychosocial specificities of BI in this group, highlighting pathways that may be targeted in clinical practice. Furthermore, they underscore the multidimensional nature of body image and empirically support the applicability of the integrative framework proposed by Matsumoto and Rodgers (2020) in this population.
The construct of body image (BI) in middle-aged men reflects the intersection of multiple factors, such as biological aging and sociocultural ideals of youth and physical performance, making this group vulnerable yet understudied in the scientific literature. This study examined predictors of BI in this population, including sociodemographic, lifestyle, psychological, aging perceptions, and social media factors. A convenience sample of 181 men — Brazilian (87.8%), Portuguese (9.9%), and dual nationals (2.3%) — completed validated measures of BI (appearance satisfaction and importance), aging perceptions, and social media use. Descriptive statistics, confirmatory factor analysis, and structural equation modeling were conducted. The predictive model showed good fit (RMSEA=.059; CFI=.892; TLI=.880; SRMR=.107). Appearance satisfaction was negatively predicted by cyclical perception of aging (β=−.300; p=.002), BMI (β=−.179; p=.004), and WhatsApp use (β=−.130; p=.023), and positively by abdominal fat satisfaction (β=.366; p=.014), negative control (β=.257; p=.010), and positive consequences (β=.159; p=.022). Importance attributed to appearance was positively associated with emotional representations of aging (β=.514; p=.000), negative control (β=.292; p=.018), fat concern (β=.185; p=.014), YouTube use (β=.245; p=.000), and general internet use (β=.198; p=.006), and negatively with Instagram (β=−.213; p=.004) and TikTok use (β=−.172; p=.015). These findings question the adequacy of simplistic interventions to address the biopsychosocial specificities of BI in this group, highlighting pathways that may be targeted in clinical practice. Furthermore, they underscore the multidimensional nature of body image and empirically support the applicability of the integrative framework proposed by Matsumoto and Rodgers (2020) in this population.
Description
Keywords
Middle-Aged Men Body Image Aging Social Media Structural Equation Modeling