Relationship between Body Image and Self-esteem in Andropausal Men Referring to Health Centers in Neka, Iran

With increasing age in men, the level of some essential hormones in their bodies gradually decreases, leading to physical and psychological symptoms in middle-aged and elderly men, known as andropause. The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between body image and self-esteem in andropausal men referring to health centers in Neka, Iran.

In this descriptive-analytical study, 376 elderly 60 years and older living in Neka were studied, applying the multistage cluster sampling method. Data were collected using a demographic information questionnaire, the Iranian Male Andropause Symptoms Self-Assessment Questionnaire (MASSQ), Rosenberg's Self-Esteem Questionnaire, and the Multidimensional Body Self-Relations Questionnaire (MBSRQ). Descriptive statistics, including mean, standard deviation, frequency, percentage, and parametric tests, including Pearson correlation coefficient, independent t-test, one-way ANOVA, and linear regression, were used to analyze the collected data.

The mean (SD) age of the participating elderly was 66.6 ± 5.5 years, with an age range of 60-91 years. The education level of more than half of the elderly was elementary school (66.1%). Approximately half of the participants suffered from chronic diseases. The mean (SD) self-esteem and body image scores of the elderly were 5.78 ± 3.44 and 176.33 ± 18.33, respectively. The test results showed that the variables of number of years of marriage had a significant inverse relationship, and the number of sexual relationships per month had a significant direct relationship with self-esteem score. In aadition, the results of spouse's age and number of children variables had a significant inverse relationship with body image score. Multiple linear regression results showed that variables, including occupation, spouse's occupation, socioeconomic status, lifestyle, body mass index, physical activity, underlying disease, physical illness, number of relationships per month, years of marriage, and body image score, had a significant relationship.

Understanding the meaning of body image, its influencing factors, and how they relate to the self-esteem of the elderly helps them to have a positive body image of themselves, which leads to the enhancement of their psychological-social status and improvement in their quality of life.