Adonis on the Apps: Online Objectification, Self-Esteem, and Sexual Minority Men

The recent proliferation of mobile dating applications ("apps") has led to profound shifts in the ways sexual minority men (SMM) connect with others and themselves (Anderson, Holland, Koc, & Haslam, 2018). These apps, which often categorize users by factors such as body build, may promote sexual harassment and objectification (Griffiths, Murray, Krug, & McLean, 2018), potentially compounding already disproportionate body image concerns among this population (Daniel & Bridges, 2010). To test relations of app use and online objectification, we examined a path model testing tenets of objectification theory (Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997) among a national sample of 230 SMM. We measured direct and indirect relations between patterns of app use (i.e., number of apps used, app use frequency), online objectification, internalization of sociocultural standards of attractiveness, two psychological reactions (i.e., body surveillance, body satisfaction), and self-esteem, a mental health risk particularly salient among SMM. The present study demonstrated support for expansions of objectification theory both online and among SMM. Regarding direct relations, number of apps used (though not app use frequency) was positively related with objectification, internalization, and body surveillance, and negatively related with body satisfaction and self-esteem. Variables yielded indirect relations via internalization, body surveillance, and body satisfaction. Implications of our findings, as well as limitations and implications for future research and practice, are discussed.

Association of No Promotion of Homosexuality Laws and Electronic Cigarette Use Disparities for Sexual Minority Youth

This study examines the disparities in e-cigarette use between heterosexual and sexual minority youth in US states with and without laws prohibiting positive portrayals of homosexuality in public school education.

Precursors to Heterophobia: An Examination of Temporal Sequence Among a Sample of Gay Men

Heterophobia, defined as gay men's fear and avoidance of heterosexual men, has been linked to behavioral health outcomes and could contribute to social disconnectedness and intergroup conflict. The Gay Male Heterophobia Scale assesses 3 meaningful aspects of gay male heterophobia: disconnectedness, expected rejection, and unease/avoidance. The current study sought to assess the development of heterophobia among gay men over 2 weeks using a longitudinal cross-lagged panel design. Using data gathered from 253 gay-identified men collected on MTurk, the results indicated that disconnectedness is an important mediator in the relationship between minority stress and unease/avoidance of heterosexual men but does not mediate the relationship between minority stress and expectations of rejection. Implications for future research and clinical applications are provided, in addition to a discussion of study limitations.

Partners and Prejudice: Bisexual Partner Gender and Experiences of Binegativity From Heterosexual, Lesbian, and Gay People

Bisexual individuals may experience pervasive binegativity originating from both heterosexual and lesbian/gay (L/G) individuals as a result of various psychosocial and relational factors. The present study aimed to explore how partner gender is particularly associated with experiences of binegativity from heterosexual and L/G persons and to examine how such experiences are related to internalized binegativity. A total of 350 self-identified cisgender bisexual men and women from across the United States were recruited online for this study. Participants completed an online survey battery assessing levels of both experienced and internalized binegativity. Regression analysis results indicated that binegativity from L/G persons, but not heterosexual persons, was significantly and positively associated with internalized binegativity. A significant interaction between binegativity from L/G persons and partner gender revealed a stronger association among those in same-gender relationships, such that those with same-gender partners who reported binegativity from L/G persons experienced more internalized binegativity than those with other-gender partners. When further examined by gender, these findings appeared to be driven by the relation among women, but not men, as women in same-gender relationships who reported binegativity from L/G persons reported the highest levels of internalized binegativity. Among men, binegativity from heterosexual, but not L/G, persons was significantly related to internalized binegativity independent of partner gender. The present study highlights key gender differences in interpersonal factors related to binegativity and have important implications for clinical practice with bisexual clients facing stigma and advocacy work addressing bisexual discrimination.

Social Media Behavior, Toxic Masculinity, and Depression

Social media/social networks (SM/SNs), while ubiquitous in their use, have not been well integrated into psychological theory or practice. Most research addressing SM/SNs has examined frequency and modality of SM/SN use, rather than the valence of online interactions or potential mental health consequences of use. Further, SM/SN use has also not been well integrated with relevant paradigms from the psychology of men and masculinities paradigms. The present study contributes to both of these research need areas by testing the associations among SM/SN use, toxic masculinity, positive or negative SM/SN interactions, and depression among a sample of 402 men. Results of a structural equation modeling analysis indicated that SM/SN use and toxic masculinity were associated with depression. Positive and negative SM/SN interactions mediated the relationship between SM/SN use and depression indicators, and negative SM/SN interactions mediated the relationship between toxic masculinity and depression. Implications for future research directions and for working with men who use SM/SNs are discussed.

The Physical Health of Men and Boys: Integrating Biomedical and Psychological Science

Rigid adherence to traditional male norms has been found to be associated with many health outcomes. This special issue aims to bring together biomedical and psychological researchers as a means to generate interest in integrating scientific approaches so as to advance the health of men and boys. In this guest editorial, the authors first provide a brief review of some key biological factors that contribute to sex differences in health. The editorial then introduces the ten articles included in this special issue, which focus on paternal influence on health-related behaviors; cancer; reproductive and sexual health; eating disorders; and health-related beliefs. Ultimately, by continuing to work across disciplines, those interested in the psychological study of men and masculinities can assist biomedical researchers in promoting better health outcomes.

The Strong, Silent Type(ology): Examining Intersections of Alexithymia and the Drive for Muscularity

This study used latent profile analysis to explore the interrelations of drive for muscularity (DM) and alexithymia among 505 men. Four unique classes of men emerged: (1) low endorsement of DM and alexithymia, (2) moderate endorsement of alexithymia and DM, (3) moderate endorsement of alexithymia and high endorsement of attitudinal and behavioral DM, and (4) high endorsement of DM attitudes and alexithymia, and low endorsement of DM behaviors. We explored relations between class membership and avoidant attachment, social pressure to be muscular, help-seeking attitudes, and body appreciation, using Class 1 as the reference group. Alexithymia and attitudinal DM, in the absence of behavioral DM, appear to be a particularly unhealthful constellation of alexithymia and DM.

Stress and substance use among sexual and gender minority individuals across the lifespan

Sexual and gender minority (SGM) individuals face marked disparities in substance use. The present narrative review explores research on substance use in SGM communities using a minority stress theory lens. We define the SGM population and minority stress, and explore stresses and substance use disparities in adolescence, adulthood, and older age. Though research on this topic is beginning to highlight the relationship between stress and substance use for SGM individuals, more work is needed on older SGM populations and in translating research findings to effective interventions.

Development of the Gay Male Heterophobia Scale

The current study presents the initial validation of a new 20-item measure of heterophobia, a construct frequently discussed but inadequately researched in the literature on gay men's lives. This process included initial focus groups, exploratory and confirmatory national samples of gay men. The sample included measures of homophobia, rejection sensitivity, discrimination history, gay identity development, and social desirability to address convergent and discriminant validity. Results of an exploratory factor analysis yielded three meaningful factors: Disconnectedness, Expected Rejection, and Unease/ Avoidance. These factors had significant positive associations with constructs such as rejection sensitivity, homonegativity, and previous experiences of gay-related discrimination, but were only weakly associated with gay identity development. Heterophobia factors had insignificant or negative correlations with social desirability. This factor structure was supported by the results of confirmatory factor analyses. Implications for future research and clinical practice, along with limitations, are provided.

The development and evaluation of a brief form of the Normative Male Alexithymia Scale (NMAS-BF)

The current study extended prior work on the Normative Male Alexithymia Scale (NMAS), a unidimensional measure of some men's limitations in expressing emotion that results from gender-based socialization informed by the masculine norm of restrictive emotionality (RE). Data (N = 505 men) were from Amazon Mechanical Turk participants. First, dimensionality was reassessed using exploratory factor analysis, which supported the unidimensional structure. Second, based on these results, three 6-item models of the NMAS-Brief Form (NMAS-BF) were developed, based on classical test theory (CTT), CTT optimized to avoid item redundancy, and item response theory (IRT). Third, the relative fits of these versions were assessed using confirmatory factor analysis on a separate part of the sample, finding that the IRT version was the best fitting model. Fourth, evidence for reliability for the NMAS-BF items (α = .80) and validity was found. Convergent evidence for validity was supported by a significant, moderate, positive correlation between the latent constructs of the NMAS-BF and Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20 (TAS-20), which measures clinical alexithymia. Concurrent evidence for validity of the latent factor of the NMAS-BF was assessed in a structural regression model which found that the NMAS-BF uniquely predicted RE scores when TAS-20 scores were included in the model. Finally, incremental evidence for validity was examined using hierarchical multiple regression, finding that NMAS-BF scores significantly predicted variance in RE scores above and beyond that predicted by TAS-20 scores. The results are discussed in relation to prior literature, future research directions, applications to counseling practice, and limitations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Is Minority Stress in the Eye of the Beholder? A Test of Minority Stress Theory with Christians

Studies using minority stress theory have focused on the experiences of numerical and social power minorities, though majority individuals may also perceive themselves to be minorities. We explored minority stress theory among a sample of members of a numerically and socially dominant group: Christians in the USA. Perceiving oneself to be a member of a minority as a Christian was associated with stress indirectly via perceived experiences of faith-based discrimination (i.e., harassment due to being Christian). Being more open about one's religion moderated the relationship between experiences of faith-based discrimination and stress, such that those who were open about their faith reported a stronger relationship between experiences of faith-based discrimination and stress. These findings indicate that perceptions of minority status are important to understanding stress and have implications for minority/majority dialogues.

Critical consciousness moderates the relationship between transphobia and "bathroom bill" voting

In recent years, antitransgender legislation that focuses on gender and the use of public restrooms-so-called bathroom bills-has been considered in many states in the United States. The present study was designed to extend research on transphobic attitudes and elucidate links between religious fundamentalism, social dominance orientation, transphobia, and voting for bathroom bills. Further, we examined the moderating influence of critical consciousness on the relationship between transphobic attitudes and voting on a hypothetical bathroom bill. Results of a moderated mediation multinomial logistic regression path analysis using data from a sample of 282 college students (154 women and 128 men) indicated that religious fundamentalism and social dominance orientation were associated with transphobic attitudes. Transphobia was associated with lower likelihood to vote against or abstain from voting on the bill, compared to voting for it. Critical consciousness was also associated with greater likelihood of voting against the bill rather than for it. The interaction between transphobia and critical consciousness was associated with voting against rather than for the bill, such that at higher levels of transphobia, those higher in critical consciousness were more likely to vote against the bill rather than for it. Implications for incorporating critical consciousness into advocacy efforts to promote transgender rights are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record

The Co-Occurrence of Asexuality and Self-Reported Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Diagnosis and Sexual Trauma Within the Past 12 Months Among U.S. College Students

An increasing number of individuals identify as asexual. It is important to understand the relationship between a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder or a history of sexual trauma co-occurs with asexual identity. We aimed to assess whether identification as asexual was associated with greater likelihood for self-reported PTSD diagnosis and history of sexual trauma within the past 12 months. Secondary data analysis was undertaken of a cross-sectional survey of 33,385 U.S. college students (12,148 male, 21,237 female), including 228 self-identified asexual individuals (31 male, 197 female), who completed the 2015-2016 Healthy Minds Study. Measures included assessment of self-report of prior professional diagnosis of PTSD and self-report of prior sexual trauma in the past year. Among non-asexual participants, 1.9% self-reported a diagnosis of PTSD and 2.4% reported a history of sexual trauma in the past 12 months. Among the group identified as asexual, 6.6% self-reported a diagnosis of PTSD and 3.5% reported a history of sexual assault in the past 12 months. Individuals who identified as asexual were more likely to report a diagnosis of PTSD (OR 4.44; 95% CI 2.32, 8.50) and sexual trauma within the past 12 months (OR 2.52; 95% CI 1.20, 5.27), compared to non-asexual individuals. These differences persisted after including sex of the participants in the model, and the interaction between asexual identification and sex was not significant in either case. Asexual identity was associated with greater likelihood of reported PTSD diagnosis and reported sexual trauma within the past 12 months. Implications for future research on asexuality are discussed.

Sexual orientation, bullying for being labeled gay or bisexual, and steroid use among US adolescent boys

Use of anabolic-androgenic steroids is a public health concern for adolescent boys. This study examined bullying based on being labeled gay/bisexual and steroid use among US adolescent boys, including sexual orientation disparities. Data from 2660 boys from the 2015 Youth Behavior Risk Survey were used. Among heterosexual boys, steroid use was higher among those who reported being bullied due to being labeled gay or bisexual. No such relationship existed among non-heterosexual boys. The results speak to the need to address issues of masculinity in clinical work with boys and young men.

Mental Help Seeking Attitudes Scale (MHSAS): Development, reliability, validity, and comparison with the ATSPPH-SF and IASMHS-PO

Attitudes is a key help-seeking construct that influences treatment seeking behavior via intention to seek help, per the theory of planned behavior (TPB). This article presents the development and psychometric evaluation of the Mental Help Seeking Attitudes Scale (MHSAS), designed to measure respondents' overall evaluation (unfavorable vs. favorable) of their seeking help from a mental health professional. In Study 1 (N = 857 United States adults), exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and item response theory (IRT) analysis were used to identify an optimal set of 9 items that demonstrated initial evidence of internal consistency, unidimensionality, and strong measurement equivalence/invariance (ME/I) across gender, past help-seeking experience, and psychological distress. Initial convergent evidence of validity was demonstrated via theoretically anticipated relationships between the MHSAS and key variables in the help-seeking nomological network (e.g., subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, intention, public stigma, self-stigma, anticipated risks and benefits, gender, previous help seeking). Initial incremental evidence of validity was demonstrated when the MHSAS demonstrated the ability to account for unique variance in help-seeking intention, beyond that accounted for by the Attitudes Toward Seeking Professional Psychological Help-Short Form scale (ATSPPH-SF) and the Psychological Openness subscale of the Inventory of Attitudes Toward Seeking Mental Health Services (IASMHS-PO). Study 2 (N = 207 United States adults at Times 1 and 2) provided initial evidence of test-retest reliability over a 3-week period. The MHSAS offers mental health professionals a new tool for measuring attitudes that may avoid limitations of current help seeking-attitudes measures (e.g., construct-irrelevant variance). (PsycINFO Database Record

Mental Help Seeking Attitudes Scale (MHSAS): Development, reliability, validity, and comparison with the ATSPPH-SF and IASMHS-PO

Attitudes is a key help-seeking construct that influences treatment seeking behavior via intention to seek help, per the theory of planned behavior (TPB). This article presents the development and psychometric evaluation of the Mental Help Seeking Attitudes Scale (MHSAS), designed to measure respondents' overall evaluation (unfavorable vs. favorable) of their seeking help from a mental health professional. In Study 1 (N = 857 United States adults), exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and item response theory (IRT) analysis were used to identify an optimal set of 9 items that demonstrated initial evidence of internal consistency, unidimensionality, and strong measurement equivalence/invariance (ME/I) across gender, past help-seeking experience, and psychological distress. Initial convergent evidence of validity was demonstrated via theoretically anticipated relationships between the MHSAS and key variables in the help-seeking nomological network (e.g., subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, intention, public stigma, self-stigma, anticipated risks and benefits, gender, previous help seeking). Initial incremental evidence of validity was demonstrated when the MHSAS demonstrated the ability to account for unique variance in help-seeking intention, beyond that accounted for by the Attitudes Toward Seeking Professional Psychological Help-Short Form scale (ATSPPH-SF) and the Psychological Openness subscale of the Inventory of Attitudes Toward Seeking Mental Health Services (IASMHS-PO). Study 2 (N = 207 United States adults at Times 1 and 2) provided initial evidence of test-retest reliability over a 3-week period. The MHSAS offers mental health professionals a new tool for measuring attitudes that may avoid limitations of current help seeking-attitudes measures (e.g., construct-irrelevant variance). (PsycINFO Database Record

Racial Disparities in Substance Use by Sport Participation Among High School Students

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study was to assess the association between team sport participation and substance use, and racial/ ethnic disparities, among U.S. adolescents.

METHOD

Data from 6,721 male and 6,761 female high school students in the 2013 Youth Behavior Risk Survey were used. Logistic regression was used to assess the relationship between team sport participation and substance use across gender and race/ethnicity.

RESULTS

Among males, participation in team sports was associated with increased risk for use of smokeless tobacco (odds ratio [OR] = 1.81, 95% CI [1.42, 2.32]), alcohol (OR = 1.30, 95% CI [1.11, 1.52]), and steroids (OR = 1.69, 95% CI [1.26, 2.27]), and decreased risk for use of smoked tobacco (OR = 0.80, 95% CI [0.65, 0.99]) and inhalants (OR = 0.67, 95% CI [0.53, 0.85]). Among females, participation in team sports was associated with increased risk for use of smokeless tobacco (OR = 1.49, 95% CI [1.03, 2.18]) and diet pills (OR = 1.31, 95% CI [1.02, 1.68]), and decreased risk for use of smoked tobacco (OR = 0.60, 95% CI [0.50, 0.72]), cocaine (OR = 0.66, 95% CI [0.46, 0.94]), and prescription drugs (OR = 0.77, 95% CI [0.67, 0.89]). When examined within specific racial/ethnic groups, these patterns were not consistent.

CONCLUSIONS

High school athletes are at increased risk for use of smokeless tobacco as well as alcohol, steroids, and diet pills. At the same time, they are at lower risk for use of smoked tobacco, inhalants, and cocaine, compared with non-athlete peers. Specific intersections of race/ethnicity and gender demonstrated deviations from these patterns.