The Role of the Socio-cultural Attitudes Towards Appearance, Perfectionism, and Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Factors in Prediction of Muscle Dysmorphia Symptoms

The purpose of this study was to examine the role of the socio-cultural attitudes towards appearance, perfectionism, and difficulties in emotion regulation factors in prediction of muscle dysmorphia symptoms. In a cross-sectional design, 240 male body builders of Gorgan city were selected by using purposive sampling and study questionnaires were administered. Results showed that internalization-general, information, pressures, internalization-athletic (factors of socio-cultural attitudes towards appearance), concern over mistakes, parental expectations, parental criticism, doubts about actions (factors of perfectionism), non-acceptance, goals, impulsive, strategies, and clarity (factors of emotion regulation) have a significant relationship with muscle dysmorphia symptoms. Multiple regression analyses showed that internalization-general, internalization-athletic, non-acceptance, goals, and clarity can significantly predict muscle dysmorphia symptoms. Importance and multi-aspect nature of social, cognitive, and emotional variables in formulation of muscle dysmorphia disorder were emphasized in this research.